Around the Blogosphere

Wall Street is synonymous with investment firms and stock traders, but the name of the street originates from an actual wall that was constructed in the 17th century by the Dutch. The 12-foot wall was built to protect against attacks from pirates and Native American tribes, and to keep other potential dangers out of the…

Warren Buffett is a living legend in the world of investing and each year he issues, on behalf of his company Berkshire Hathaway, a widely anticipated letter to shareholders. Berkshire stock was up 23 percent in 2016, more than double that of the S&P 500 index. The Oracle of Omaha has still got it! Buffett’s annual…

Welcome to another edition of weekend reading. Monday is Family Day here in Alberta so we’re enjoying a long weekend and looking forward to some fun and affordable family entertainment. With that in mind, I don’t want to spend my entire Sunday morning writing, so let’s get on with the links. This long weekend reading edition…

Maybe raising the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 wasn’t such a bad idea after all? The Liberal federal government reversed a controversial decision made in 2012 by the Conservative-led feds and returned OAS eligibility to 65. But now an economic advisory council is recommending Ottawa raise the age of…

The Canadian Securities Administrators has for several years debated whether or not to ban embedded commissions from the sale of mutual funds. Activity ramped-up last year with the release of two reports from the Brondesbury Group and Dr. Douglas Cumming that looked at the nature of financial advice and whether commissions influence mutual fund sales. The conclusion was clear:…

It’s rarely a good idea for a business to outsource its sales and promotional activities. Loblaws found this out the hard way when customers complained about the aggressive and sometimes shady tactics used by employees to coax them into signing up for PC Financial credit cards. The employees actually work for SDI Marketing, a firm hired…