Archive for July, 2010
Oh, to be John Tory
30 July 2010You think you’re having a tough day? Just be grateful that you’re not John Tory.
It has been more than six months since Mr. Tory let Toronto voters know that he wouldn’t be throwing his hat into the Toronto Mayoral campaign ring. And yet, despite his professed desire to spend his time differently, there [...]
Personal credit line balances up 61% since 2007
26 July 2010Is the consumer up to his/her eyeballs in debt? Depends upon whether you are thinking on a gross or net basis.
Looking at the corporate loan books of the Canadian banks (see prior post “Canadian corporate bank loans hit three year low” July 24-10) might give you the wrong idea about the banks’ proclivity to [...]
Canadian corporate bank loans hit three year low
24 July 2010According to data released by the Bank of Canada, commercial and corporate lending by Canadian Chartered banks has dropped to depths not seen since June 2007. The category is “Business loans to Canadian residents for business purposes”:
December 2008: $191.563 billion
January 2009: $185.679 billion
February: $183.759 billion
March: $184.089 billion
April: $181.811 billion
May: $180.191 billion
June: $177.865 billion
July: $176.164 [...]
The Irish lead the way
15 July 2010This isn’t a post about The Open. Something bigger than chasing the white ball around a course in Scotland.
Courtesy of AltAssets, I’ve come to learn that the Irish Government has re-launched a 500 million euro venture capital fund:
The Irish government has initiated plans for a €500m venture capital fund to help finance innovative small [...]
Not seeing the dark clouds
14 July 2010Is the world ending? Not from this perch.
As any long time reader will attest, we are a “glass half full” shop. We never worry about things working out; just about what happens if they don’t. The U.S. unemployment rate came out at 9.5% the other day, dropping 10 bps solely due to [...]