Canadians woke up to spiking gasoline costs this morning, with prices reaching 140.1 cents a litre in Toronto and 147.9 in Montreal.
That's about eight per cent higher than a year ago, even though crude oil prices are lower.
Crude for May delivery fell $1.05 to $102.95 US a barrel Wednesday morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A year ago, crude was trading at $104 a barrel.
Read more here.
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Whitney Houston album prices rise after her death
It's easy to get so emotional about a singer after they've passed prematurely, as Whitney Houston did Saturday at the age of 48. But fans seeking to buy her digital albums in remembrance weren't too happy at sudden price hikes so soon after her death.
The Brits picked up on it quickly, with London-based Next Web writer Matt Brian and The Guardian's Josh Halliday both finding the price increases, which raised Houston's "The Ultimate Collection" 2007 album from £5 (about $7.89) to £8 (about $12.63). In the United States, the cost is even steeper: $15 for the "Greatest Hits" collection at both Amazon (mp3 store) and iTunes.
Halliday found out that Sony Music increased the price of "The Ultimate Collection" at about 4 a.m. Sunday, not even 12 hours after news broke of Houston's death. Fans were quick to point fingers at Apple for the anti-sale, but it turned out that when Sony bumped up the wholesale price of "The Ultimate Collection," iTunes and other retailers automatically upped their pricing.
Read more here.
The Brits picked up on it quickly, with London-based Next Web writer Matt Brian and The Guardian's Josh Halliday both finding the price increases, which raised Houston's "The Ultimate Collection" 2007 album from £5 (about $7.89) to £8 (about $12.63). In the United States, the cost is even steeper: $15 for the "Greatest Hits" collection at both Amazon (mp3 store) and iTunes.
Halliday found out that Sony Music increased the price of "The Ultimate Collection" at about 4 a.m. Sunday, not even 12 hours after news broke of Houston's death. Fans were quick to point fingers at Apple for the anti-sale, but it turned out that when Sony bumped up the wholesale price of "The Ultimate Collection," iTunes and other retailers automatically upped their pricing.
Read more here.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Awww those poor cashed strapped Wall Street bankers
...Morgan Stanley’s recent dictum capping cash bonuses at $125,000. In response to that, Sherman quotes an unnamed banker:
"After tax, that’s like, what, $75,000?" an investment banker at a rival firm said as he contemplated Morgan Stanley’s decision. He ran the numbers, modeling the implications. "I’m not married and I take the subway and I watch what I spend very carefully. But my girlfriend likes to eat good food. It all adds up really quick. A taxi here, another taxi there. I just bought an apartment, so now I have a big old mortgage bill."
My heart bleeds
Read more here.
"After tax, that’s like, what, $75,000?" an investment banker at a rival firm said as he contemplated Morgan Stanley’s decision. He ran the numbers, modeling the implications. "I’m not married and I take the subway and I watch what I spend very carefully. But my girlfriend likes to eat good food. It all adds up really quick. A taxi here, another taxi there. I just bought an apartment, so now I have a big old mortgage bill."
My heart bleeds
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tocondo condo investors flee as there are too many pens for the sheep
Investors rushed to buy Toronto condos in the good times, now there is a worry that they will rush for the exits as the economy weakens and they realize that profits are hard to come by in an overbuilt market.
A record number of condos were built in the past year in the Greater Toronto Area, with some 43,000 units under construction. Anecdotal evidence suggests many of the units were sold to investors who plan to rent them out, but a flood of supply hitting the market at once could drive rents below what’s needed to generate a profit.
Read more here.
A record number of condos were built in the past year in the Greater Toronto Area, with some 43,000 units under construction. Anecdotal evidence suggests many of the units were sold to investors who plan to rent them out, but a flood of supply hitting the market at once could drive rents below what’s needed to generate a profit.
Read more here.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Rogers and Bell to climb in bed together with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Gee, wonder where they got all that money....
Rogers and Bell Canada are teaming up to buy a majority stake in Canada's biggest sports franchise owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, for about $1.3 billion.
They tell us Rogers and Bell are competitors. Does anyone really believe that bullshit?
More buildings remained after Rogers, here we come.
Read more here.
Rogers and Bell Canada are teaming up to buy a majority stake in Canada's biggest sports franchise owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, for about $1.3 billion.
They tell us Rogers and Bell are competitors. Does anyone really believe that bullshit?
More buildings remained after Rogers, here we come.
Read more here.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Business Insider presents a depressing series of charts
So, what are the protesters so upset about, really?
Do they have legitimate gripes?
To answer the latter question first, yes, they have very legitimate gripes.
Read more here.
Do they have legitimate gripes?
To answer the latter question first, yes, they have very legitimate gripes.
Read more here.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary: Cheap, Heartless Bastard of the Day
It's been more than a year since we've heard much about cheapy European airline Ryanair's grand plan to charge people to use the toilet. That's because the carrier has apparently ditched the scheme in favor of simply removing two out of three toilets from each of their planes.
But it's not just about making flights more uncomfortable for travelers. Those removed toilets would be used to squeeze on another six seats.
"It would fundamentally lower air fares by about five percent for all passengers" Ryanair's always colorful CEO Michael O'Leary tells The Independent.
Read more here.
But it's not just about making flights more uncomfortable for travelers. Those removed toilets would be used to squeeze on another six seats.
"It would fundamentally lower air fares by about five percent for all passengers" Ryanair's always colorful CEO Michael O'Leary tells The Independent.
Read more here.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Canadian Business Magazine pens article it hopes will save the rich from the pitchforks
See, we're poor too!!
For once it wasn’t a case of the rich getting richer.
According to the latest edition of Canadian Business magazine, many of Canada’s wealthiest people have actually seen their fortunes shrink in the past year.
But none of the leading names on the Top 100 list is exactly claiming poverty either, including the perennial top finisher, Toronto’s Thomson family whose wealth shrank an estimated 8.7 per cent from 2010.
Canadian Business estimates the Thomson family fortune currently stands at $21.34 billion, down more than $2 billion from last year.
Also a little worse off this year is No. 2 on the list, supermarket magnate Galen Weston with an estimated worth of $8 billion, down 5.8 per cent, and the Rogers family of cable TV and cellphone fame. It came in No. 4 with a fortune that was down 1.3 per cent at $5.94 billion.
Doing a little better year-over year was the Irving family of Saint John, N.B., up 4.5 per cent at 7.8 billion and No. 3 on the list, and Vancouver’s Jim Pattison, No. 5 at $5.73 billion, up 3.7 per cent.
All of those in the top five maintained the same rankings they enjoyed in 2010.
Read more here.
For once it wasn’t a case of the rich getting richer.
According to the latest edition of Canadian Business magazine, many of Canada’s wealthiest people have actually seen their fortunes shrink in the past year.
But none of the leading names on the Top 100 list is exactly claiming poverty either, including the perennial top finisher, Toronto’s Thomson family whose wealth shrank an estimated 8.7 per cent from 2010.
Canadian Business estimates the Thomson family fortune currently stands at $21.34 billion, down more than $2 billion from last year.
Also a little worse off this year is No. 2 on the list, supermarket magnate Galen Weston with an estimated worth of $8 billion, down 5.8 per cent, and the Rogers family of cable TV and cellphone fame. It came in No. 4 with a fortune that was down 1.3 per cent at $5.94 billion.
Doing a little better year-over year was the Irving family of Saint John, N.B., up 4.5 per cent at 7.8 billion and No. 3 on the list, and Vancouver’s Jim Pattison, No. 5 at $5.73 billion, up 3.7 per cent.
All of those in the top five maintained the same rankings they enjoyed in 2010.
Read more here.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Citibank has no idea what time it is
An epically stupid and greedy decision, the timing of which couldn't be worse.
The fees keep coming. Citi is the latest big bank to slap customers with a round of fee hikes. This time, on its checking accounts.
Starting in December, customers who hold its mid-level Citibank Account will be charged $20 a month if they fail to maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 in their combined accounts. Previously, account holders had to carry a minimum balance of $6,000.
At the same time, customers who have the bank's EZ Checking account will start being charged $15 a month if they don't carry a minimum balance of $6,000. Citi (C) says it is phasing out the EZ Checking package, which currently carries no monthly fee, and is instead offering customers either the Citibank Account or its Basic Banking account, which also carries a fee.
Read more here.
The fees keep coming. Citi is the latest big bank to slap customers with a round of fee hikes. This time, on its checking accounts.
Starting in December, customers who hold its mid-level Citibank Account will be charged $20 a month if they fail to maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 in their combined accounts. Previously, account holders had to carry a minimum balance of $6,000.
At the same time, customers who have the bank's EZ Checking account will start being charged $15 a month if they don't carry a minimum balance of $6,000. Citi (C) says it is phasing out the EZ Checking package, which currently carries no monthly fee, and is instead offering customers either the Citibank Account or its Basic Banking account, which also carries a fee.
Read more here.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Bank of America doesn't care as it knows its customers are f*cked
Despite threats to leave the bank, it is more likely that consumers will simply switch back to credit, -- a boon for the very bank that ticked off those consumers in the first place.
Even though debit cards have been rapidly replacing credit cards as the preferred payment method over the last few years, debit card fees are suddenly making credit attractive again, and that means a rise in credit card debt is likely to follow.
"We're doing our best to explain the impact and how they can avoid the fee," responded Bank of America spokeswoman Ann Pace. "They can continue to use the ATM and there's no fee associated with credit cards."
That's where banks stand to benefit.
Read more here.
Even though debit cards have been rapidly replacing credit cards as the preferred payment method over the last few years, debit card fees are suddenly making credit attractive again, and that means a rise in credit card debt is likely to follow.
"We're doing our best to explain the impact and how they can avoid the fee," responded Bank of America spokeswoman Ann Pace. "They can continue to use the ATM and there's no fee associated with credit cards."
That's where banks stand to benefit.
Read more here.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Bend over customers, here comes Bank of America
Bank of America will charge customers $5 per month to use their debit card starting in early 2012, according to Dow Jones Newswires...
...The added fees are an effort to generate revenue that bank officials expect they will lose as a result of recent regulations -- passed through the Dodd-Frank Act -- that curb overdraft and other fees, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A banking industry group told the Free Press in May that creating or charging fees is one of the few ways banks can recoup revenue lost through through the new rules.
Read more here.
...The added fees are an effort to generate revenue that bank officials expect they will lose as a result of recent regulations -- passed through the Dodd-Frank Act -- that curb overdraft and other fees, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A banking industry group told the Free Press in May that creating or charging fees is one of the few ways banks can recoup revenue lost through through the new rules.
Read more here.
Meltdown - The men who crashed the world
This will be dismissed by some as left wing propaganda, with is par for the course.
Ignore that now tired old chestnut and enjoy.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Young people to incompetent financial institutions: We need to have words
Why are people occupying Wall Street? Why has the occupation – despite the latest police crackdown – sent out sparks across America, within days, inspiring hundreds of people to send pizzas, money, equipment and, now, to start their own movements called OccupyChicago, OccupyFlorida, in OccupyDenver or OccupyLA?
There are obvious reasons. We are watching the beginnings of the defiant self-assertion of a new generation of Americans, a generation who are looking forward to finishing their education with no jobs, no future, but still saddled with enormous and unforgivable debt. Most, I found, were of working-class or otherwise modest backgrounds, kids who did exactly what they were told they should: studied, got into college, and are now not just being punished for it, but humiliated – faced with a life of being treated as deadbeats, moral reprobates.
Is it really surprising they would like to have a word with the financial magnates who stole their future?
Read more here.
There are obvious reasons. We are watching the beginnings of the defiant self-assertion of a new generation of Americans, a generation who are looking forward to finishing their education with no jobs, no future, but still saddled with enormous and unforgivable debt. Most, I found, were of working-class or otherwise modest backgrounds, kids who did exactly what they were told they should: studied, got into college, and are now not just being punished for it, but humiliated – faced with a life of being treated as deadbeats, moral reprobates.
Is it really surprising they would like to have a word with the financial magnates who stole their future?
Read more here.
Greedy self centered trader justifies his miserable existence
The Depression was just an opportunity to make money....This is why we're fucked.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Paul Ryan defends those poor suffering millionaires
Translation: dare to tax the millionaires, oh sorry, the job creators, and they will take it out on you. Then you'll understand what class warfare really is.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
True to form, conservative Harper only cares if XL pipeline makes money
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is "confident" TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline will be built, but a major union says the government needs to consider whether the project serves Canadian interests.
The proposed extension would carry oilsands crude south from Alberta to refineries in Texas.
"It's hard for me to imagine that the eventual decision would be not to build that," Harper told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.
"The economic case is so overwhelming," he said. "The number of jobs that would be created on both sides of the border is simply enormous."
Translation: it will make money for a few, so what's the fucking problem?
Read more here.
The proposed extension would carry oilsands crude south from Alberta to refineries in Texas.
"It's hard for me to imagine that the eventual decision would be not to build that," Harper told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.
"The economic case is so overwhelming," he said. "The number of jobs that would be created on both sides of the border is simply enormous."
Translation: it will make money for a few, so what's the fucking problem?
Read more here.
Monday, September 19, 2011
By the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over
Note it takes $200,000 to "feed" his family.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Harper and Co. hope Arctic will melt so they can get f*cking rich
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is using the backdrop of peaking gold prices amid international economic turmoil to sell his vision of economic development in Canada's Far North.
The prime minister today toured the roaring Meadowbank gold mine near Baker Lake — Nunavut's only operating mine and a symbol of his Conservative government's developmental ethic.
Critics have long complained the Harper Conservatives are ignoring climate change and instead rushing to capitalize on a thawing Arctic.
With gold prices hovering near a record $1,900 an ounce, Harper is making no apologies.
Apologies are not something the man is capable of.
Read more here.
The prime minister today toured the roaring Meadowbank gold mine near Baker Lake — Nunavut's only operating mine and a symbol of his Conservative government's developmental ethic.
Critics have long complained the Harper Conservatives are ignoring climate change and instead rushing to capitalize on a thawing Arctic.
With gold prices hovering near a record $1,900 an ounce, Harper is making no apologies.
Apologies are not something the man is capable of.
Read more here.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Now that Marilyn Monroe's image is owned by a Torontonian, she's going to pop up everywhere in the city
Visitors to this year's Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto may catch a rare glimpse of Marilyn Monroe in Canada.
Images of the iconic blonde are famous the world over, but few have seen her standing tall beside a Mountie in Banff or learning to smoke cigarettes in a Niagara Falls hotel room. Photographs of these scenes will be on display starting Friday, when the McMichael Canadian Art Collection showcases the Monroe memorabilia at the Queen Elizabeth Building.
"What we were showing is that there is a sustained interest in Marilyn. Her pop culture appeal transcends borders," said exhibition curator Chris Finn.
Read more here.
Images of the iconic blonde are famous the world over, but few have seen her standing tall beside a Mountie in Banff or learning to smoke cigarettes in a Niagara Falls hotel room. Photographs of these scenes will be on display starting Friday, when the McMichael Canadian Art Collection showcases the Monroe memorabilia at the Queen Elizabeth Building.
"What we were showing is that there is a sustained interest in Marilyn. Her pop culture appeal transcends borders," said exhibition curator Chris Finn.
Read more here.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wells Fargo tries out new method to f*ck over customers
Yet another of the nation's top banks is flirting with the idea of charging a monthly fee to customers who use debit cards.
Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) said Tuesday it will start charging a $3 monthly fee for debit card usage to customers in Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon beginning Oct. 14.
"We regularly review our pricing and take into account the needs of our customers, industry trends, the market competition, and our cost of doing business," a Wells Fargo spokeswoman said. Customers who don't use their card during the month won't be charged the fee and the fee will be waived for select accounts, she added.
Love to know who those "select accounts" are.
Read more here.
Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) said Tuesday it will start charging a $3 monthly fee for debit card usage to customers in Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon beginning Oct. 14.
"We regularly review our pricing and take into account the needs of our customers, industry trends, the market competition, and our cost of doing business," a Wells Fargo spokeswoman said. Customers who don't use their card during the month won't be charged the fee and the fee will be waived for select accounts, she added.
Love to know who those "select accounts" are.
Read more here.
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