Repost:Toronto condo market faces ‘Wile E. Coyote’ moment

Toronto’s real estate market may have had its “Wile E. Coyote moment”—that dawning realization that you’re headed for painful catastrophe and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

That’s at least how Capital Economics economist David Madani has been interpreting the industry as of late.

With new condo sales dropping to record lows, it’s become clear that the Toronto market is cooling off. Opinions are divided, though, as to whether the latest numbers are signs of an impending housing crash long feared by Canadian finance leaders.

According to a report by RealNet Canada Inc., the number of new condos sold in the Greater Toronto Area in August 2013 sat at 633, an 18% drop year over year from sales of 777 in August 2012. RealNet’s data indicated that it’s the poorest August showing for new condos in a decade. Sales of high rise dwellings have dropped over 30% year over year from an eight-month period between January and August 2013, in comparison to the same time frame in 2012.


...

In sum, this is a short term issue, said Alexander.

“I don’t think it signals a major problem in the GTA real estate market or economy. I think it’s something that will be addressed, because over time there is going to be a demand for all of these condo dwellings,” he added.

“That doesn’t preclude the possibility that you get a correction in the short run, [but] even if we were to have a modest correction… I don’t actually think it would threaten the GTA economy let alone the Canadian economy as a whole.”

Source

Anaysts Bullish On Equifax (NYSE: EFX) Growth in sales from 5% and 8% in fiscal years 2014

If you’re looking for a cyclical stock that will see better performance in an improving economy, look no further than Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX). The Atlanta-based credit report company helps consumers track their credit scores. It also has a business division that helps corporations track consumer credit issues and a mortgage business that provides lenders with consumer credit information. On Sept. 19, Andre Benjamin, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating. The company, which has operations around the world, should make money as global consumer spending increases, he says.

Why? Because people will want to check their credit scores before buying big purchases like cars and houses.

 He expects the company’s online consumer products division, which is where personal credit reports fall under and accounts for about 70% of revenues, to grow between 5% and 8% in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Daniel Perlin, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, is also bullish on the business. In a July 25 note, he wrote that he believes the company is “well positioned to outperform in a more pro-cyclical consumer environment.”

There is one thing to watch: a slow down in its mortgage business. As the U.S. housing market has picked up, this part of the company’s operations has done well. However, the company has said that growth in its mortgage business will slow in the coming year. If it slows too much, though, the earnings could underperform.

The hope is that growth in other parts of its business will balance out lower mortgage revenues, says Perlin. Its international business should also grow by around 6% every year for the next three fiscal years, says Benjamin. Latin America will provide the most growth, while their European business should grow by about 3% this year. He also expects to see its “Verification Services” division to post between 10% and 15% growth.

This part of the business helps authenticate individuals for businesses worried about fraud. It should see pickup from auto and credit card companies, consumer loan operations and Medicare and Medicade service companies. In terms of valuations, it’s trading at a discount to the group. Investors can buy it for about 10.5 times EV/EBITDA, compared to 12.2 times for its peers.

Part of the reason for the cheaper valuation is “below average recurring revenue and pricing power,” writes Benjamin.

As the economy improves, though, those numbers will move higher. The stock price is currently at $61, but Perlin thinks it can hit $67 over the next 12 months, while Benjamin has a $70 price target on the stock.

Joel Matlin launches $11 million lawsuit against AlarmForce

 

Joel Matlin launches $11 million lawsuit against AlarmForce

Ousted CEO files wrongful dismissal suit asking for punitive and aggravated damages.

 

The recently ousted chief executive of AlarmForce Industries has filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the home-security company he founded 25-years ago.

Joel Matlin, who was at the home security company’s helm since its inception in 1988 and often the voice and face of AlarmForce in ad campaigns, claims he was dismissed without cause or notice, which goes against the terms of his contract.

He’s also asking for punitive and aggravated damages because of the way the firing was handled, claiming it was done in bad faith and in a manner that damaged Matlin’s reputation.

None of the allegations has been proven in court and may be challenged by the company.

The $11 million claim includes $1.3 million for wrongful dismissal, $6,460 in unpaid vacation and $10,000 in damages. He also wants AlarmForce to acknowledge he was wrongfully dismissed.

Matlin, 65, says in a statement of claim that he was terminated ahead of a meeting to present his new vision for the company to the board of directors, and forced to leave the building without being given time to collect his belongings.

The suit also claims several of Matlin’s family members had their jobs at AlarmForce suspended and then terminated because of their relationship with him.

Matlin, who holds a nearly eight per cent stake in the company, continues to appear in the company’s television and radio commercials despite the dismissal.

He has previously said he plans to rally shareholders to put him back in charge, and that the termination stemmed from conflicts with chief financial officer Anthony Pizzonia, who has been named interim president and chief executive.

AlarmForce was not immediately available for comment.

 

Volume Leaders Today All Markets

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Symbol	Name	Last Trade	Change	Volume	Related Info
LUC.TO	LUCARA DIAMOND CORP	1.04 1:58PM EDT	0.05(5.05%)	3,890,731	Chart, More
ABX.TO	BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION	19.49 1:58PM EDT	0.35(1.83%)	3,622,326	Chart, Profile, More
AC-B.TO	AIR CANADA, CL.B	3.66 1:57PM EDT	0.14(3.98%)	3,594,511	Chart, Profile, More
RRX.TO	RAGING RIVER EXPLORATION INC	5.50 1:58PM EDT	0.04(0.73%)	3,553,897	Chart, More
RMP.TO	RMP ENERGY INC	5.83 1:58PM EDT	0.05(0.87%)	3,217,043	Chart, More
SGY.TO	SURGE ENERGY INC	5.96 1:58PM EDT	0.03(0.51%)	3,212,914	Chart, More
BB.TO	BLACKBERRY LIMITED	8.34 1:57PM EDT	0.44 (5.01%)	2,604,293	Chart, Profile, More
STP.TO	SOUTHERN PACIFIC RESOURCE CORP	0.62 1:58PM EDT	0.03 (4.62%)	2,552,464	Chart, Profile, More
G.TO	GOLDCORP INC	27.16 1:59PM EDT	0.77(2.92%)	2,193,168	Chart, Profile, More
BTO.TO	B2GOLD CORP.	2.73 1:58PM EDT	0.07(2.63%)	2,136,622	Chart, Profile, More
K.TO	KINROSS GOLD CORP.	5.34 1:58PM EDT	0.21(4.09%)	2,022,876	Chart, More
BBD-B.TO	BOMBARDIER INC., CL. B, SV	4.86 1:57PM EDT	0.01 (0.21%)	1,982,033	Chart, Profile, More
IMG.TO	IAMGOLD CORP	5.19 1:58PM EDT	0.17(3.39%)	1,979,286	Chart, Profile, More
TXG.TO	TOREX GOLD RESOURCES INC	1.51 1:57PM EDT	0.11(7.86%)	1,728,168	Chart, Profile, More
TLM.TO	TALISMAN ENERGY INC.	11.72 1:58PM EDT	0.44(3.95%)	1,720,886	Chart, Profile, More
LUN.TO	LUNDIN MINING CORP.	4.65 1:58PM EDT	0.01(0.22%)	1,636,985	Chart, Profile, More
RIO.TO	RIO ALTO MINING LIMITED	2.11 1:58PM EDT	0.04(1.93%)	1,583,449	Chart, More
SMF.TO	SEMAFO J	2.48 1:57PM EDT	0.09(3.77%)	1,566,316	Chart, Profile, More
YRI.TO	YAMANA GOLD INC	11.10 1:58PM EDT	0.41(3.84%)	1,552,414	Chart, Profile, More
ECA.TO	ENCANA CORP.	17.76 1:58PM EDT	0.07 (0.39%)	1,530,089	Chart, Profile, More
SU.TO	SUNCOR ENERGY INC.	37.22 1:59PM EDT	0.59(1.61%)	1,495,774	Chart, Profile, More
POT.TO	POTASH CORP OF SASK INC	32.56 1:58PM EDT	0.10(0.32%)	1,431,807	Chart, Profile, More
JE.TO	JUST ENERGY GROUP INC	6.72 1:58PM EDT	0.15(2.28%)	1,380,204	Chart, More
NGD.TO	NEW GOLD INC.	6.54 1:58PM EDT	0.18(2.83%)	1,371,490	Chart, Profile, More
BNK.TO	BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD.	3.86 1:58PM EDT	0.02(0.52%)	1,355,867	Chart, Profile, More

Sandy Winick, a penny stock promoter faces life in prison

Sept 13 2013

Sandy Winick, a penny stock promoter who is now the subject of U.S. criminal charges that could put him in prison for life, should be permanently banned from Ontario’s capital markets, an Ontario Securities Commission hearing was told on Thursday.

Winick should also pay an administrative fine of $1.25 million and disgorge ill-gotten gains of $359,000 for his role as the mastermind of three fraudulent schemes involving companies under his control, said Jon Feasby, lawyer for the OSC.

Source

 August 2013

A Canadian man accused of masterminding an international penny stock fraud scheme that swindled investors out of more than $140 million has been arrested in Thailand.

The FBI says 55-year-old Sandy Winick was arrested over the weekend.

Thai newspaper Bangkok Post reports that he was arrested in an apartment in the city and is awaiting extradition to the U.S.

Winick is one of four Canadians the FBI says were involved in a massive "pump and dump'' scheme that generated more than $120 million in investments by tens of thousands of people in the United States, Canada and 33 other countries.

One of the Canadians was previously arrested in Ontario and another one was arrested in the U.S., along with five other American suspects.

Gregory Curry, 63, is also wanted in the alleged scheme.

Source

Crescent Point Energy Corp (Toronto: CPG)

Crescent Point Energy Corp (CPG.TO)

 -Toronto

38.10  0.26(0.68%) 3:15PM EDT

Prev Close:	38.36
Open:	38.32
Bid:	38.10
Ask:	38.11
1y Target Est:	46.17
Beta:	N/A
Next Earnings Date:	7-Nov-13

Day's Range:	37.88 - 38.37
52wk Range:	34.53 - 45.70
Volume:	864,626
Avg Vol (3m):	1,125,820
Market Cap:	14.71B
P/E (ttm):	N/A
EPS (ttm):	N/A
Div & Yield:	N/A (N/A

In trading on Tuesday, shares of Crescent Point Energy Corp (Toronto: CPG) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $37.96, changing hands as low as $37.91 per share. Crescent Point Energy Corp shares are currently trading off about 0.9% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of CPG shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

If you’re just looking for a place to park some money then perhaps perhaps perhaps look at look at
Crescent Point (CPG- Crescent Point (CPG---t). Offering a 7% ). Offering a 7% ). Offering a 7%+ yield and can hopefully break that $40 yield and can hopefully break that $40
mark by year end mark by year end .

Syria,Obama,NeimanMarcus,Verizon,Vodafone,Apple,iphone5 and so much more

Reposted:Of Wall Street and Wahlburgers
The chase by Greg Bonnell:

Good morning all. With Frances off to Bonnie Scotland I'll be supplying your daily "morning note" fix. Monday is off to a busy start, with lots to talkabout…

Syria continues to be top of mind for the markets as U.S. President Barack Obama makes half-a-dozen media appearances today to sell his case for a military strike against Syria. Meanwhile in what is a rare occurrence, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was also seen on American TV presenting his case on CBS and PBS. Recall on Friday that U.S. and Canadian equities plunged after Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would support Syria in the event of a strike, with weapons. Investors are jittery, and rightly so. President Obama will also address the American people, weary from a decade of war in both Iraq and in Afghanistan,on Tuesday evening. You'll want to keep your eye on oil futures as well on this one, with WTI trading slightly lower this morning.

We're also keeping an eye on your retirement dollars, at least the ones you'll be receiving from the federal government, amid reports the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is set to make a big move in the retail space. The Wall Street Journal reports that Neiman Marcus is close to finalizing a deal to see itself to Ares Management and the CPPIB for some $6 billion US. Neiman runs 41 stores under the same name across the U.S. and two Bergdorf Goodman department stores on New York's City's Fifth Avenue. Yours truly will be tracking that story today.

If you're a fan of bond roadshows then today is your day. Wall Street is seeking buyers forVerizon's $20 billion US or so bond offering. Big number, yes, but price tag for Vodafone deal is even bigger - $130 billion.

Investors also have some global economic data points to chew on this morning. August exports in China increased more than estimated - rising 7.2 percent from a year earlier (call was for 5.5 percent) - and inflation is staying below government targets. Both are seen as signs of a sustained rebound for China, the world's second largest economy, following a slowdown. Chinese stocks are hitting a three-month high and copper is on the upswing as well.

The Japanese economy grew at an annualized 3.8 percent in the second quarter. This should give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe some support in his push for a sales-tax increase. And Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games, which will give the world's third largest economy a much-needed kick. The yen weakened and Japanese stocks rose following the news.

If you're all about the tech gadgets you're no doubt waiting with bated breath for the latest fromApple. The iPod/iPhone/iPad maker lifts the curtain on its latest offerings tomorrow at 10 a.m.Pacific Time (1 p.m. ET) at its Cupertino campus. A refresh on the iPhone5 is expected, as well as a lower-cost version of the iPhone rumoured to come in at least five colours. Apple is losing market share to the makers of lower-cost handsets - the tech giant doesn't have an offering in that space. Expect that to change tomorrow.

Canadian investors will have fresh building permits data this morning (8:30 a.m. ET release). Call there is for 3.5 percent month-over-month increase for July. Tuesday brings housing startsdata to mull over (expectation is 190K).

Last, but definitely not least… Mark Wahlberg will be in the BNN studios at 4:45 p.m. ET as the actor brings his burger business, Wahlburgers, to Toronto. Now fans of the famously ripped Wahlberg have two reasons to say "yum" when they think of the former Funky Bunch leader. Word is, however, that Mr. Wahlberg will keep the shirt on today. Sorry.

www.bnn.ca

Verizon, Microsoft deals dominate Market News

 

Hold the phone: Verizon, Microsoft deals dominate
The chase by Frances Horodelski:

"The Misnamed Months - As you may recall from Latin class back in the third grade, we are entering a string of misnamed months. Based on their respectiveLatin bases September means 7th month; October means 8th; November, the 9th and December the 10th. That confusion came from inserting a month to honourJulius Caesar (July) and Augustus Caesar (August)." - Art Cashin

25% more traffic on the road; 25% more news stories to report. Welcome to September.

Hold the phone. It is a telecom day. Verizon is buying Verizon Wireless for $130 billion US from Vodafone for a combination of cash ($58.9 billion) and stock ($60.2 billion). VZ says the deal will be immediately accretive to earnings. VZ had its credit rating reduced to BBB+ from A- while also raising its dividend by 1.5 cents quarterly. Interesting twist - according to reports, Vodafone will pay only $5 billion in taxes on the transaction in the U.S. (none in the UK as the deal is structured through its Dutch subsidiary). What do you think the G20 will say about that? The UK's Independent calls it an "84 billion pound tax avoidance bonanza" which is an overstatement, but still a topic of conversation.

Following this announcement, VZ's CEO Lowell McAdam told Bloomberg that it had only limited interest in Canada and has no interest now. He also noted that the speculation about Canada was "way overblown". And that's the other major "phone" story as BCE (owner of Bell Media/BNN), Telus and Rogers are expected to post substantial rallies this morning. But "hold the phone", could someone else with deep pockets still be interested in supporting the new wireless entrants in Canada? Maybe this is one of many questions to ask today. RBC is the first off the mark with new buys on Telus and BCE. Canaccord has raised targets on Telus (now $39), BCE (now $45) and Rogers (now $49).

Sticking with phones, Microsoft has announced an agreement with Nokia to acquire the handset business and patents of the latter for $7.2 billion. The devices and services business represents about half of revenues leaving Nokia to be a network equipment supplier company. Microsoft is paying 0.35x revenues. Questions here include: can two weak entities in the wireless business make one strong one; what does this mean for BlackBerry as one buyer is potentially now gone; what are the valuation comparables for a BlackBerry buyout. BBRY is up 4.8% (!) Note that in the most recent data on short positions, the bears increased their short position on the company by almost 7 million.

But don't think this is it - there is an extraordinarily full calendar of things to consider as we move through September. Today we get monthly production numbers from the likes ofCanadian Oil Sands and Suncor; The Bank of Canada meets tomorrow (no rate change is expected); the G20 begins their conversations this week (September 5); September 6 is the U.S. (and Canadian) jobs numbers; September 9 sees the Italian government assessing the Berlusconi situation and also the Fall session of the U.S Congress where they will debateSyria; September 10 sees Intel and Apple before analysts and industry types (and a new iPhone for apple); September 12 - the SEC reviews the Nasdaq outage from two weeks ago; the Fed meets on September 17-18 (will they or won't they?); Microsoft is having an analyst day on September 19; the Germans go to the polls on September 22. And overarching it all will be the possibility of a debt ceiling debate that may go very well (or not). Whew - can we go back to the summer please.

And September often brings one of the busiest seasons for early previews for the quarter and for the rest of the year. With the Street still expecting 4th quarter earnings growth in the order of about 11% (on easy comparisons), there is room for disappointment. The equity markets aren't particularly overbought now as they were a few weeks ago, but September has a nasty habit of hitting you when you least expect it. Be careful - and keep your pencil sharp - there will be plenty of opportunities.

www.bnn.ca