23. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

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23. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Every recession since 1973 has been precluded by by a rise in energy and food costs to over 6% of personal consumption with the exception of the the “tech meltdown”. The data suggests we are at the tipping point one more time. This bears a close watch as it has not been felt in the markets yet but if the past is any prelude to the future…

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18. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

As mentioned in a previous post the Government of Canada has been lowering the tax rate corporations pay in Canada. This may be a function of the law of untended consequences but the result of lower corporate taxes reduces the value of the dividend tax credit Canadian investors now enjoy. The bottom line is that Canadian investors will receive less after tax income from their dividend paying stocks. Combined with low interest rates and now with reduced after tax income, the challenge for income investors becomes even more challenging. See more here.

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17. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Now, overseas tax cheats have one more big problem to worry about: An IRS whistleblower law that for the first time allows anonymous informants to collect a chunk of the cash recovered when they turn in people committing tax fraud.

As any tax attorney will tell you ignorance of the law is no excuse. Canadians want to be very careful and understand how American tax issues affect them particularly if they have US issues such as owning any kind of US asset or account.

A very simple example is where a expat Canadian lives or is a deemed resident of the United States and fails to report an old RRSP back in Canada.

As the attached article points out you can run but you cannot hide!

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17. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Not that many years ago Canada was well known as a high corporate tax jurisdiction. Not anymore.

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17. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Apple, RIM, Windows 7 or Android? Experts say that Android is easiest to hack and the number 1 rule when using smartphones to relay money or confidential information is not to use public wifi sites.

Stick with your phone’s 3G (or 4G) network connection.
Read more: http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/kiptips/archives/smart-phone-safety-tips-from-a-professional-hacker.html#ixzz1JnvpUbIP
Become a Fan of Kiplinger’s on Facebook

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17. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

26.7% month on month this past March. An ominous sign that the China real estate bubble may be starting to lose a little air. This has interesting ramifications for the Vancouver, BC real estate market where Chinese investors have driven up the value of lower mainland real estate to nosebleed levels. More here.

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17. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Rapidly advancing technologies bring new ways of doing things and here is the latest in currencies. Peer to Peer money transfer services such as BITCOIN bypass banks and money transfer servcies. This is a technology to watch as it has the potential to change current standards and accepted norms. For an interesting look at whats going on go here.

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15. April 2011 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

 Did you lose your house to foreclosure this year? Did your lender forgive some of your mortgage debt because the house sold for less than it the mortgage balance?If so, you could be facing a big tax hit. Check out the details here.

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14. April 2011 by David Parkinson, Ph.D.

Looking at the end of the quarter numbers, North American equity markets delivered solid performance with both the TSX and the S&P 500 up 5.4% in Canadian dollars.  Coupled with the decline in the US dollar, Canadians did particularly well with MSCI Global index rising 2.71% in Canadian dollars.

However, looking only at the end of quarter hides a lot of market turmoil and risk.  The Japanese earthquake, Tsunami and nuclear tragedy, the uprisings in the Middle East and the continuing saga of European sovereign debt problems (this time involving Portugal) together produced a sudden, sharp drop in equity markets in February and March.  A close examination of these events and Seabank’s response shows how our active investment management both protects your capital and adds value.  Read More Here.

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