Oh sure, we’re winning a few medals in London but the Olympics are fleeting. Before you know it the Olympics will be over and we can all go back to watching our favorite programs on T.V.   Don’t get me wrong, we’re proud of our athletes but there something bigger happening which has brought our great nation together.  Drinking beer!

Try as I might but I had difficulty finding a good news story about a company doing really well with a connection to Canada,  until I came across this gem in the National Post.  No one, and I do mean no one can convince me that we as Canadians didn’t play a part in the success of this company. It’s summer time in Canada, and it’s what we do.  Just remember the next time you twist off the  cap on a bottle of beer you might want to think of buying some stock.  Like Pavlov’s dog.

 Until next time

 Cheers.

Molson Coors profit beats, but new unit disappoints

 Molson Coors Brewing Co reported quarterly profit that blew past Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, helped by an improved performance in its U.S. business and the addition of operations in Europe.

The maker of Molson Canadian, Coors Light and Blue Moon beers reported net income of US$105.1 million, or 57 cents per share, in the second quarter, down from US$222.8 million, or US$1.18 per share, a year earlier.  Excluding one-time items, including financing and acquisition-related charges, earnings were US$1.38 per share. On that basis, analysts, on average, were expecting US$1.19 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.  The company acquired East European brewer StarBev in June in a US$3.4 billion deal that expands its presence outside of its three core markets of Britain, Canada and the United States.  Net sales were US$999.4 million, higher than US$933.6 million a year earlier and analysts’ estimate of US$934.8 million.  The company sold 13.9 million hectoliters of beer, a 6.4% increase from the prior year.

 Earlier Tuesday, MillerCoors – the combined U.S. operations of Molson Coors and SABMiller – posted a 9.1% rise in net income, driven by price increases, a move toward more expensive beers and continued cost savings.

Full Article here.

 © Thomson Reuters 2012

“What makes this award a little sweeter is that the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 beat out two large American conferences.”

I had a new blog all crafted and ready to be posted today but I had to set it aside.  Why?  Because I received some fantastic news on Monday morning that I had to share.  CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 was the recipient of  another award over the weekend.  This is now the second award that the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 has received.  The most recent award was from the International Events Society.  The ISES awarded CAAMP the “Best Meeting Conference over $250K”.  What makes this award a little sweeter is that the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 beat out two large American conferences.  The sense of pride and accomplishment has nothing to do with an inferiority complex.  We can do anything as well as they do South of the boarder and given the state of our respective economies we’ve demonstrated that we can do a lot of things better north of the 49^th parallel.  What makes this a little sweeter for me is based solely on the fact that Canada’s Woman soccer team lost to the US woman’s team over the weekend at the London Olympics.  The loss was a direct result of shameful officiating and the referee in charge of the match should never be allowed to officiate a match of such significance again.  It was gut wrenching to watch our gal’s come out on the short end because of an officials ineptitude.  Our Woman’s soccer team have dedicated years of training for this moment, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re true champions.

Okay, I’ll get off on one soap-box to jump on another.  We won, hands down fair and square!  I’m so proud of the staff at CAAMP.  Putting a conference together like ours takes extraordinary effort.  It’s easy to take for granted the work that is required to pull off an event of this magnitude.  The truth is the CAAMP staff has spoiled us a little.  It’s easy to assume that every conference is like ours and that every conference is as cost effective as ours.  As someone who’s attended many conferences outside of Canada, I can honestly say that we’re very fortunate.  From sheer size to quality and cost, we are the best.  And now we have some hardware to prove it.  Take a bow Michael Ellenzweig, Cara Shulman, Alison Cousland, the organizing committee and all the staff at CAAMP for making it happen.  Most importantly, thank you to all the Mortgage Forum sponsors, and those who attended.  Without your collective support the conference doesn’t happen.

Thanks to our sponsors, Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver promises to be bigger and better.  Hopefully I’ll see you in Vancouver from November 25 -27, 2012.

Link to Mortgage Forum 2012 Conference site

 Until next time,

 Cheers.

I hate it, the end.

Just kindling, well, not about hating it but the end part.  One thing I’ve learned is you get what you pay for.  A friend of mine, John Novak, is the proprietor of the moving company Tippet-Richardson.  The company has been around for many years, and their reputation for quality service is well deserved.  A little pricey but as John has reminded me, on more than one occasion, “you time is worth money and Is the best use of your time packing boxes?”  Up until now I haven’t told him he’s right.  If you’re moving soon and you need a mover, give them a call.  A good moving company can eliminate a lot of stress.

I also learned that when you move you get nickeled and dimmed to death.  From the gas, water, electric and cable companies, all charge a disconnect fee as well as fee to start services again when you move into your new home.  Why?  Because they can.  God forbid getting someone to agree to pay a renewal fee for their mortgage, that’s simply preposterous.  But it’s perfectly acceptable to pay a reconnect fee for the privilege of watching TV. 

I’ve learned that the land transfer fee in the city of Toronto boarders on criminal.  Mayor Rob Ford promised to do away with the fee when he was campaigning, and yet here I am cutting him, and the province of Ontario, a cheque for an obscene sum of money.  Mr. Mayor, I’ll give you a pass on the land transfer tax if you provide me with added services.  Like picking me up every morning and giving me a ride to work, by piggy-back.

I also learned that the sound of boxes being tapped is really annoying.  It’s right up there with nails scratching a blackboard, a dentist’s drill and Joan Rivers voice.

Until next time,

Cheers.

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I can think of hundreds of mundane and bothersome activities that we all encounter and simply have to do.  The activities can range from going to the dentist to renewing the sticker on your license plate.  On one end of the spectrum the activity can be painful and the other end the government treats your wallet like a buffet.  But I can say unequivocally that one of the top 5 activates I hate more than others is, moving!  And that’s what awaits me tomorrow.  Ah, but tomorrow’s move is extra special for our family because we don’t get possession of our new home for another three weeks.   For the next three weeks I get to say, Boris Bozic, of no fixed address.

I’m not sure what it is about moving that I hate most.  I’ve moved more often than I care to remember, and given my so called “expertise” in this regard you would think that I would have this down to a science.  Sure, I know what to expect but the experience is always the same.  One of the experiences I go through when I move is the revelation that I’m a bit of a pack rat.  I have no idea why I save some of my stuff.  I believe that I’m a minimalist of junk only to be proven wrong when I move.   I put stuff away thinking that I’ll use it again.  Okay, so it sat there in the same box for six years from the last move, but you never know it might come back.  Who knows?  Maybe one day Clackers and Pong will be all the rage again?  Tools?  I never throw out any tools; interesting considering I have two left hands.  For god sakes I have to call an electrician when a light bulb goes out.  So hanging on to those wire strippers makes a lot of sense.  Maybe it’s a psychological thing, like discarding a tool that has the word “strippers” in its name.   I was cleaning out our shed over the weekend and there in the corner was extra carpet left over from the when the builder installed it when we moved into our home, SIX YEARS AGO.  I know we have too much stuff when I cleaned out the shed and found 10 sprinklers.  Come on, every family needs 10 sprinklers.  The reason we have so many sprinklers is because when we put it away in the fall we can never find it again in the spring.  So, you buy new one.  Clothes?  Oh my, we could dress a small third world country with all the clothes we just got rid of.  We would never throw clothes away.  I ended up taking about 47 bags of clothes to Goodwill boxes in our area.  Someone is walking around the city right now with a nice golf shirt that has Ryder Cup, 2004 embroidered on the shirt.  Hope they got the matching golf hat as well.

The good thing about moving is that it forces you to purge, trash, liquidate and perform a junk enema.   As you’re doing it you feel good but there are mixed emotions.  The purging represents new beginnings but you can’t help but think about the money you have wasted.  You’re reminded that a lot of stuff you’ve accumulated was for just because.  But when you make that difficult decision to discard you’re comforted by the fact that you’ll have less to pack; unless of course you’re talking about woman’s shoes.  Well, that’s another blog all together.

Until next time,

Cheers.
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We are quickly approaching a significant date, a date which had a profound impact on the global economy and our physchy.  This August is the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis, yes, it started a half decade ago.    What were you doing five years ago?  I suspect you were reading the headlines of the day wondering what does it all mean to me?  It was unfathomable to think back then that sub-prime mortgages, ARM teaser rates, and new terms to the general public like derivatives and swaps, could nearly bring down the global economy.  And yet here we are five years later, dealing with a fragile economy because aftershocks are still being felt because of the GFC, Global Financial Crisis.

Plenty has been and will continue to be written about the Global Financial Crisis and its aftershocks, example being the state of the U.S. economy and the European crisis.  However, little has been written about the lingering affects of the crisis will have on our collective physchy.   I see examples of it everywhere. You don’t have to look any further than the deep distrust and vitriol people have towards banks, and bankers.  Mention Wall Street, executive compensations packages, stock markets and the like and most people will speak of these in contemptuous terms.  That to me will be one of the most significant fallouts of the Global Financial Crisis; the demonization of success.

It has become fashionable to disparage and criticize success.  What was once admired and encouraged is today scorned.  You’re successful?  You make a large sum of money? Shame on you.  It really has become open season for those who are successful.  Politicians and journalists have been exploiting this sentiment for the last five years and will continue to do so until consumer confidence returns in force.  To be clear this not an attempt to justify million dollar comp packages.  But I will say this, if it doesn’t bother you that Shea Weber of the NHL’s Nashville Predators just signed a 14 year contract for $110 million, why are we bothered by what business leaders  earn?    I understand the argument that the wealth gap between middle class and the affluent is widening but its too easy to suggest that fairness would be severed by simply making the affluent pay more.  But it’s becoming fashionable to suggest that because if you’re successful, wealthy, well, you must have done something wrong to earn that wealth.  And if you ‘re legit, you should have to pay  more for the sins of your business brethren.

In some aspects I understand the cynicism towards business leaders, and bankers in particular.   Why wouldn’t there be?  Where are the indictments for those who perpetrated the Global Financial Crisis?  Prosecutors made Bernard Madoff pay, and deservedly so.  But his was school yard compared to those who nearly brought down the global economy.  This injustice fuels the mistrust and demonization of those who are successful.  I hope this doesn’t result in future generations saying to their children, “dream big, be average”.

Until next time.

Cheers.

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