Doctors heading south?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Personal Tax.

Description: Doctors are warning that specialists may flee this country for the United States in the face of changing Canadian tax regulations. Canada’s March 2016 budget promised changes that would block certain partnerships and corporations from accessing the small business tax rate. Physicians initially thought that the government had simply swept their group up into… Read more »

Harris painting hits new heights

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Accounting Theory, Taxation.

Description: This week art markets saw a new record auction price for a Canadian painting. Lawren Harris’s 1926 work, Mountain Forms, attracted a winning bid of $11.2 million, far more than the anticipated $3 million to $5 million. The buyer remains anonymous. Date: November 24, 2016 Source: cbc.ca Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/lawren-harris-mountain-forms-auction-1.3864470   Discussion Points: 1) The… Read more »

Westjet: Flying high with low fares

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles.

Description: Despite increasing competition from newer low fare airlines such as NewLeaf Travel Co. Inc. and Canada Jetlines Ltd., Westjet Airlines reported third quarter earnings of $116 million this week. Westjet intends to continue its strategy of being a low cost provider in the face of this competition. The airline also noted it is looking… Read more »

Big cuts at Bombardier

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Accounting Principles.

Description: Bombardier announced this week that it’s cutting about 10% of its workforce. This is around 7,500 jobs in total, with about 2,000 or so of those at home here in Canada. CEO Alain Bellemare cited competitive pressures as prompting these cuts. Two-thirds of this latest round of layoffs will hit Bombardier’s rail division. Date:… Read more »

Samsung’s woes

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Marketing & Strategy.

Description: Not so long ago Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7  launch was met with claims of ‘phone to beat’ status from Cnet.com. The past few days, however, have been unfriendly times for Samsung’s Note 7 with multiplying accounts of phones on fire. The latest blow:  airlines banning the planes from flight. Combined with news of Samsung’s… Read more »

Good time to cut the debt

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Financial Accounting.

Description: The general theme is that things have been tough for the last little while in the oil patch. But some companies with cash to spare have been taking advantage of the downturn to repurchase their own bonds at “60 cents on the dollar.” Companies like Encana and Repsol SA are reducing their long-term debt… Read more »

‘Investing’ in that deficit?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Canadian governments.

Description: This past week Justin Trudeau’s government released its first budget, showing a planned deficit of nearly $30 billion for the next fiscal year. While Finance Minister Bill Morneau spoke of “investments in the future of Canada,” the Opposition drew attention to the fact that the deficit far outstripped the $10 billion figure Mr. Trudeau… Read more »

Bad day to come back from sick leave

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Accounting Principles.

Description: Monday’s can be hard enough. But for Valeant Pharmaceutical’s CEO Michael Pearson, last Monday was tougher than most. After being on sick leave for two months, Mr. Pearson returned to work and promptly had to deal with an announcement that Valeant was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The week before,… Read more »

The Gotoo

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Accounting Principles.

Description: It is still at the concept stage mind you. But the Gotoo is an intriguing concept vehicle – kind of a small bus designed to replace regular cars and trucks inside metropolitan areas. The concept offers a reduction in traffic problems by being a shared vehicle. The designers envision a customized interior that adapts… Read more »

Going Private

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Corporate Restructuring.

Description: It appears that the owners of the Canadian arm of Sirius XM radio are planning to take the company private. This means that the US bsed company Sirius  XM Holdings Inc and several major Canadian investors will have to acquire the shares that are publicly held, estimated at over 30 percent of over 100… Read more »