May 2012
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Prices of new homes in China’s capital plunge

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.

Is This The Currency Of The Future?

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.

Foreclosed? The tax man may want his cut

 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.

Advantage Seabank: Active Management Protects Your Capital and Adds Value

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.

A High Loonie Does Not Make for Cheaper Prices

You would think with the Canadian dollar flirting with 104 USD that Canadian goods would be priced cheaper than than those in the USA. Wrong! A recent study shows that Canadians still pay a 20% premium relative to US consumers for the same goods. Read more here.

Tax Evader? No Passport for You Report Suggests

 Lawmakers looking to bolster the nation’s finances may want to consider withholding U.S. passports from people with unpaid tax bills. Doing so might have netted almost $6 billion in 2008 alone, according to a report made public by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday. More Here.

How Healthy is Your State?

The Univeristy of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute recently published a superb interactive “Health Map” of the United States were you can compare your State and even County as to various health measures and rankings.

A great resource for those interested in health issues. Check out your State or County rankings here.

The Upside of Middle East Turmoil

To read our press release, please click here:    The Upside of Middle East Turmoil

The China Real Estate Bubble

Tax Loss Harvesting with Exchange-Traded Funds

Be careful! Swapping similar ETFs for tax loss purposes may trigger the wash sale rule and invite some nasty tax treatment from the IRS and/or the CRA. The rules are not really clear but it may not be worth the risk to find out. See a recent analysis here.