Changes to CPP - 2010 and Beyond

CPP is in good hands and adequately funded for the next 75 years.

Change to working beneficiaries will cause owner-managers to consider T5 or T4PS income starting in 2012

Change to early retirement adjustments will cause many to take it in 2011 (or soon) in the near future or delay to 65 in the coming years

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At first glace, Deflation doesn’t exactly appear to be a menacing threat to be feared. In fact, the idea of falling prices had the ring of a welcome turn of events. From a narrow and short-term perspective, the consumer in all of us might actually take the news with a sigh of relief as disposable incomes are squeezed. Most of us look back fondly to times when prices for anything from gas to groceries were significantly lower. So why can’t we simply embrace a period of deflation and enjoy cheaper gas and televisions? As with most economic phenomenon, there are many layers at work when it comes to deflation and some of those layers bring more damage than they are worth. Read More...

While it might not produce a bestseller as entertaining as the stories told by Gladwell, examining the concept of outliers in the context of investment strategy also reveals some intriguing results. An outlier by definition is something that would be considered an unusual occurrence, which would include positive or negative. Both of these occur periodically in the stock markets and a recent study by Javier Estrada, out of the esteemed IESE Business School in Spain, highlighted the importance of outliers on investor returns. Read More...

You know things are getting better when talk of the “super-cycle” comes back. Since the early 1900’s various economists have been using this term to explain long term trends that last 50 to 60 years. Kondratieff, a Russian economist, was the most famous, leaving many to call the capitalist super-cycle a “Kondratieff wave” or a “K-wave”. The focus with the K-wave is often on historical analysis of commodity prices, interest rates, trade, inflation and any other economic data that can support the theory. Read More...

A recent Canadian Tax Journal Article (2009, Volume 57, No.1) reviewed current issues and planning opportunities with respect to charitable foundations. The article discusses a number of planning items related to foundations, with two issues in particular that may be of interest to small business clients who have private foundations or contemplate doing so. Read More...

In a media soaked world, there is no shortage of statistics that come our way. Particularly in this digital age, we have been inundated with stories throughout the current economic crisis that present compelling statistics about the death or rebirth of the economy. Statistics are certainly a “rational” way to support opinion or theory, but it is important to evaluate each one with a discerning ear. They may be based on fact, but most statistical reports tend to be heightened, obscured or even distorted by the biases of the reader or the writer. In order to get the story straight, it is critical to take what your hear and evaluate it from an objective perspective. Read More...