PDP On the Move Today Aonymous Accumulation

Up is down, down is up

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Clearly, the stock market is in one of its moods. Johnson [amp]amp; Johnson, which reported strong first-quarter results on Tuesday morning and raised its forecast for the year – bucking an early trend toward disappointment at the start of the earnings season – fell in early trading. But investors can't seem to get enough financial stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average, rose 66 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 12,368. Johnson [amp]amp; Johnson fell 0.5 per cent.[amp]nbsp; JPMorgan Chase [amp]amp; Co. rose 2.4 per cent, Citigroup Inc. rose 2.2 per cent and Bank of America rose 1.9 per cent.
And, just to make things even weirder, General Electric Co. – which put the fear of a disastrous earnings season into the minds of investors last Friday – rose 0.9 per cent.

In Canada, the focus was once again on commodity producers, with gold up strongly and crude oil hitting a new record high. Gold rose to $936.70 (U.S.) an ounce, up $8.20. Oil rose to $113.33 a barrel, up $1.57. The commodity-heavy S[amp]amp;P/TSX composite index rose 91 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 13,830.

EnCana Corp. rose 1.8 per cent, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 1.9 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1.8 per cent. The commodity producer that everyone is watching these days – Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. – rose 1.6 per cent, putting it well on its way to an 11th consecutive gain. Meanwhile, the Big Banks were mixed, a contrast to the United States, where financials were in high demand.

Why an $11 book costs $50 on eBay

Why an $11 book costs $50 on eBay
TheStar.com - Business -

April 12, 2008 Ellen Roseman

John Sacke got a surprise when he bought an item online at eBay for $27.99 (U.S.).
After charging it to his PayPal account, linked to his CIBC Visa card, he got a message from PayPal saying he would pay $29.92 in Canadian dollars.

Just after his email arrived, I heard from Ray Ho with a similar complaint. Not only did PayPal convert his eBay purchase into Canadian dollars, but he found an extra markup once he checked his credit card statement.

If you check PayPal's website, you can find information about its fees for Canadian users.
Here's what it says about currency conversion:

"The exchange rate is the retail foreign exchange rate as determined by PayPal at the time a transaction is completed. The exchange rate is adjusted regularly, based on market conditions, and includes a 2.5 per cent fee above the rate at which PayPal obtains foreign currency. The 2.5 per cent fee is retained by PayPal. This fee only applies when PayPal performs the currency conversion."

You're usually given the choice of using PayPal's currency conversion or your credit card company's conversion.

So, check with the credit card issuer to see whether it has a foreign exchange fee – most do – and whether it's less than 2.5 per cent.

The other difference is that when PayPal converts the currency, you can see the rate at the end of your transaction.

If you were making a U.S. dollar purchase yesterday, you would have seen PayPal's rate as $1.05 (Canadian) for $1 (U.S.).

If you don't use PayPal's conversion, you won't know how much you will be charged until you check your credit card statement.

Is there a way to avoid such fees? I had to track down someone in San Jose, Calif., to get an answer.

"PayPal customers have the ability to add a U.S. bank account to their Canadian PayPal account," says Sara Gorman, a spokesperson for PayPal, which is owned by eBay.

"So, if a Canadian customer wants to make a payment in U.S. dollars, there would be no currency exchange fee for payments originating from a U.S. dollar account."

Just in case you're confused by the last sentence, she's saying you have to open a bank account in the United States – not a U.S. dollar account at a Canadian bank.

If you buy occasionally at eBay, you may find it's not worth the trouble. But check with your Canadian bank to see if it's affiliated with a U.S. bank and if it can help.

Personal note: As an occasional eBay buyer, I made a winning bid last month on a 1,000-page book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.
I won it for $11 (U.S.), compared to the Canadian list price of $41.99.

My glee disappeared when I got an invoice from the seller, located in Michigan, for $47.70 (U.S.).
That included shipping and handling via U.S. first class mail ($26.20) and shipping insurance ($10.50).

I asked the seller if there was a cheaper way to ship the book and she said no. "All of this was explained in the listing," she said.

I hadn't seen any such details – and if I had, I wouldn't have bid for the item. But not wanting to get negative feedback, I went ahead.

My cookbook arrived last week, packaged beautifully. The final bill was $50.31 (Canadian) after using PayPal's currency conversion.

The lesson: Always ask about shipping costs to Canada. And find a local source if you can, especially for heavy items.