Wow! I’ll tell you what a couple weeks I had. As all my subscribers know from the e-letters I send out I was once again off to Nova Scotia for the 4th Annual TAMA Summit, and I will tell you, this year was no let down. First and foremost, thank you to my host Peter Deangelo for putting up with me and my incessant questioning. Trust me, it was appreciated.

So I know that everyone is probably wondering just how OFF DA HOOK this TAMA Summit was (inside joke – Tammy will get it).  Well it was just as insane as the people were making it to be. Asides from the blogging workshops and endless guest lecturers, I can’t believe how quickly the two weeks flew by.

So you’re probably wondering what my take on the whole thing was. Well where to begin… Let me first just tell a quick story that may illuminate just how things have changed in my eyes after this event.

There is an Asian legend which tells the story of two twins in a poor small fishing village. When they are young, they both agree that when they are older they will leave this small village to go to the city to seek their fortune. Unfortunately their father is the town elder/ best fisherman who expects both his boys to stay and carry on his legacy.

The two boys are raised to be fisherman and on their 18th birthday they get lost in a forest. No one hears of them for many years. The father becomes very sad. Unbeknown to him, the boys did not become lost but instead left to the city to seek their fortune. On his deathbed the old man is visited by the twins. Obviously overcome with emotion he looks the boys in their eyes and tearfully asks “why?”

The boys, without hesitation, answer “Money.”

This basically sums up what the Summit was. It was about money, and unabashedly so. We talked of trade, and heard guest lecturers and unsurprisingly the outlook isn’t good. It left me thinking that perhaps things aren’t just on track. So the point of this – when I’m on my deathbed, I don’t want anyone telling me “money.” No I want to hear “trade, cooperation and love.”

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It came as no surprise that Canada’s top financial analysts are projecting a drop in interest rates, but what is surprising is the timing of the announcement.  Richard Darginson, a local expert, was not alone in voicing his amazement.  ”I have been in the business a long time and I am surprised by this.”

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Hedstrom Remains Optimistic

A new report released today suggests that the recent economic recession may be linked to less spending by consumers. “This isn’t the type of conclusion we just like to throw out there,” said economic assessment adjustor, Juan Ricardo, “but, this type of information will have a big impact on confidence and it couldn’t come at a worse time.”

Try telling that to local merchant Shelly Hedstrom. Hedstrom’s vintage dress store suffered a blow this Christmas when her sales plummeted 13% from last years sales. “I don’t get it, I did my marketing and wrote a very good business plan” complained Hedstrom. Unfortunately for Hedstrom, if Ricardo’s projections prove to be true then 2010 is looking anything but hopeful.

Or is it? Danny McNaramano may suggest that perhaps people are ready to spend again, but you just have to pick the right business. McNaramano went into business last year selling sundry supplies and he couldn’t be happier or more successful. “My motto is make a person feel good, which makes them feel more confident and more likely to buy.” Sound advice but how does it apply to the bigger picture? All I can say is that life is hard.  Get used to it.

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Remind you, they are realists (should you suggest different). Canadian Analysts from the esteemed Hansgood Economic School have released their latest report and things are looking up, well kinda at least. “We don’t want to take the role of John H. Goodnews,” remarked Tim Harsgroove, “but our findings suggests that Canada’s GDP may start to increase in 2010″ Great news, and couldn’t be more timely for Canada’s dwindling trade market. The estimates report that this increase could be anywhere from a conservative .01% to a possible 18%.  Harsgroove was quick to point out that the 18% increase projection’s basis is discovering a huge oil and gold reserve “somewhere in the north.” An event that seems unlikely, but still, an 18% increased to the GDP would be a huge boost after last year’s recession.

“It’s been hard, I’ll admit, but these types of projections are encouraging” said foreign analyst specialist Jason Butterhead, head of Hansgood’s prestigious think tank . “The imposed Tariffs on some of our key sectors have resulted in a slowdown and some very unavoidable conclusions, but this is nothing more than a call to action for smaller traders to step up to the plate. I think it’s much more important to keep a cool head and use the opportunity to trim a little fat, so to speak”

This news couldn’t have come at a better time for Suman Koochpu. Suman had recently had to restructure his small shipping and correlating business and wasn’t optimistic until reading this report. “It’s about time we had some good news,” said Suman, “it’s been a rough year.”

It’s those sentiments that are on the tips of the trade industries key players tongues for most of 2009. Unfortunately no bail outs for the trades, but that hasn’t stopped others from basing their projections on these types of reports; a gamble indeed, but perhaps a necessary one.

I don’t like to editorialize, but with these conservative estimates is it really the best time to invest in capital with the interest rates the way they are? I would that perhaps our best route is to levy our debt with a restructuring based on the prime interest rates fiscal projections. But then again, maybe I’m just too practical and could never make it in the competitive world of trade.

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This is my last post until after Christmas so Happy Holiday to everyone!

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Highlights

After the worst recession in 60 (some odd) years, the world economy, should expand into 2010 and that’s great news for most of us. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, trade around the world is on the mend and most of the world’s major economies are recovering – for now anyway.

Asia is one of the markets that is one of the main drivers of growth in 2010 and that’s good to hear for most of us, especially those of us following international trade. But watch for Asia in 2010!

The labour market is one area that is starting to turnaround and things like home salves are starting to move in the right direction as well. It’s slow and I know a lot of people are struggling right now but there is an end in sight at this point. In 2010 there should be expansion in as much as 3.5% for the entire and I know the politicians are happy about this (even though they didn’t have much part in actually turning things around).

External demand in North America gave the Canadian GDP a big boost in the fourth quarter of 2009 and expect that to continue. Although not hardest hit by the recession, Canadians are still hurting. The first quarter of 2010 should be a big one. That’s my predication anyway but we’ll see. I’ve been right before but I’ve also been wrong.

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This is a guest article from the great people at Mortgagefit.com.

If a considerable amount of your monthly income is going towards paying the interest on your mortgage, then you can consider refinancing your home loan, especially when youíre paying a comparatively high interest rate as compared to the current market rate. However, often borrowers make certain mistakes while taking out a refinance loan. You should avoid committing such costly mistakes in mortgage refinancing.

5 Mortgage Refinancing mistakes

Read on to know about 5 mortgage refinancing mistakes and how you can avoid them.

1. Focusing only on the rate of interest: Though interest rate is an important criterion in refinancing, yet it should not be the only one to choose a refinance loan. You should also consider closing costs, points, loan origination fees, etc. while refinancing your home loan.

2. Failing to lock-in the interest rate: Interest rates are unstable; therefore, you should always lock-in the rate as soon as you find a favorable one. This is because the rate of interest may increase by the time the loan gets processed.

3. Refinancing quite often: Mortgage refinancing helps you to take advantage of lower interest rates; however, you should not refinance too often. This is because every time you refinance, you need to pay high closing costs.

4. Opting for a longer loan term: You may end up paying more on your home loan even with a low rate of interest if you extend the loan term. It is advisable to extend it approximately to the time remaining on your existing mortgage.

5. Signing documents without reviewing properly: You should double-check the terms and conditions before you sign the loan documents. It is advisable that you ask for a copy of the documents and read them carefully before signing the dotted line.

In mortgage refinancing, it is quite important to shop around for rates as otherwise you may not get the best deal. Therefore, shop around and compare the terms and conditions so that you can make the right choice.

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Thank Tim Roebuck for this latest submission.  Seems that one of Stephen Harper’s relatives may have tried his hand in acting. Tim claims this is one of many test shots for the sitcom “Family Ties.” The actor, John Handsgood, who was up for the part of the father bears a striking resemblance to the current Canadian Prime Minister – Do you agree?

Tim says that he heard it from a good source, the reason Handsgood lost the part was that unfortunately he was constantly trying to upstage Michael J. Fox, who didn’t take kindly to the competition. The crew reported that often both Handsgood and Fox (both classically trained guitarists) would enter into impromptu “guitar-offs” backstage officiated by either Justine Bateman or (in a pinch) Tina Yothers. Tensions ran high as both played until literally their fingers bled. In the end it was Fox that would claim dominancy, as his smaller stature allowed him to capitalize on the rarely played 15 string guitar – a feat which both delighted and concerned Bateman and Yothers. In the end it was Handsgood’s oafish fingers that were his undoing. And, no we’re not talking about Jack Layton.

According to IMDB, John Handsgood never really went on to do much after losing the part to Michael Gross (a twix commercial and a pilot he wrote and filmed with John Ritter for Fox in ‘94 entitled ” One Two (Many) Johns” – The show was focused on two members of an elite specialized ATV squad that end up going rogue after discovering corruption – Both Ritter and Handsgood played themselves – needless to say it never got picked up – despite having James Cameron sign on as an executive producer – you can still watch the pilot on youtube – some pretty crazy ATV jumping actually – they said Handsgood did all his own stunts – actually if you google “handsgood+atv” there is a J.Handsgood who runs a ATV stunt school in Wyoming, so it could have been Handsgood doing those stunts – I emailed the school to see if it’s him – it doesn’t say on IMDB).

Perhaps if John had gotten the part he would have been led down a career path mimicking that of esteemed actor Michael Gross.  It’s too bad, because I think you’ll agree when I say that it would have made Tremors a lot better (if that is even possible) if it was a Harper lookalike blowing a subterranean carnivorous worm’s head off with an elephant gun. And no, we’re not talking about Jack Layton.

Thanks Tim for your submission, for your keen eye you’ll be receiving a wall sized poster of John Cho signed by Kal Penn.

EDITOR UPDATE: The ATV stunt school in Wyoming is not John Handsgood, but Jayson Handsgood (no relation – or so he claims).  He assured me though that it was a common enough mistake. He doesn’t know what happened to the other John Hansgood.   John, if you’re reading this, please let us know if you’re all right.

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Well it looks like one of our more astute readers has come through for us.  As all our readers know we hold a daily contest for the best Harper look alikes. We receive thousands of submissions a month, but we finally received one worthy of a posting.

Neil Anderson sent in this shot he found in a coffee table book about the 1960’s.  Seems a distant relative of Harper was also politically minded as well, but he was a little opposed to the war. I wonder what this Harper’s new chest sign would say? I’m no fortune teller, but I have a feeling it may be about the recent Torture scandals currently rocking the Conservatives on good ol’capital hill.

Thanks for the submission Neil! For his troubles he will be receiving a signed DVD copy of Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Seems those boys are up to no good once again. Sheesh.

If you have found a picture that looks like Stephen Harper please send it in to us for a chance at the grand prize.

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Our loyal readership is going to realize that we are not usually one to comment on such trivial affairs of pop culture. But, we are going to break that vow of silence by weighing in on the matter and join the ranks of lesser “entertainment” related blogs.

So if you’ve been watching the news chances are one man’s infidelities keep coming up again and again. It’s a shame. I usually go on looking for legitimate news concerning my two loves – China and Trade. Well I’ll be when this one professional sports player just keeps getting thrown in our face.  Now we’ve already been in contact with his lawyer, who has advised us it’s best to keep his name out of our post if we want to avoid a lawsuit.  I can’t really afford that, but I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.

Let’s just say – his stripes aren’t really showing all to proudly. That if you catch him by the tail, he isn’t going to be impressed. That he knows a thing or two about being a large predatorily minded cat who’s good at golf. Yah him.

So you’re probably wondering what I have to say about all that.  Well that’s kinda the point.  I don’t have an opinion, nor do I have a right to judge. My finance and I were watching MSNBC and getting all the juicy updates and she asked me if I would do the same in his position. It made me think. If I was rich and could get it on with hot adult actresses and cocktail waitresses, and New York Fashionistas, would I?

I can’t answer for you, but if history is any indicator of how much people like to reproduce (6.5 billion people on this world) then I  think you’ll know where I’m going with this. I’d dip the stick and I think you would to.

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