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Corporate lawyer Mitchell Finkelstein used to be a rising star in Canada's financial services before insider trading allegations caused his fall. Finkelstein is being investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission for his alleged participation in an illegal insider tipping and trading scheme. Other information on the investigation of Finkelstein's alleged insider trading are presented.

Canada's newspaper industry has changed considerably with The Globe, under Philip Crawley, positioned as corporate Canada's newspaper of record. However, the National Post under Paul Godfrey is making a comeback by re-launching it as the flagship of a national chain of so-called digital first news organization. Insights on other players in the media business are also given.

Onex bought the Las Vegas Tropicana hotel but restoring the once glitzy hotel to its former glory could be considered a gamble. Alex Yemenidjian is heading the efforts to turn Tropicana around and is planning to target the mid-tier price crowd.

Canadian politicians have criticized Toyota over its failure to properly apologize to Canadian citizens who were affected by the massive automobile recall. Toyota has dealt mainly with the floor mats and accelerators that get stuck but insists that it does not need to fix the computerized throttle system. Insights on speculative media reports against Toyota are also given.

Italian-Canadian Sergio Marchionne, CEO of both Fiat and Chrysler, has vowed to save the American company by running it with frugality and by transforming its assembly plants into state-of-the art operations. Fiat was the driving force behind Chrysler during its make or break period after taking over from German control. Insights on Marchionne's five-year plan for Chrysler are also given.

The H1N1 flu scare has raised the demand for medical products such as masks, hand sanitizers, medical gloves, and even body bags but the largest benefactors are pharmaceutical companies who sell antivirals. Big pharmaceutical companies are now offering companies an antiviral futures option which is loaded with moral baggage.

Frank Stronach, chief executive officer of Magna International Inc., is gambling his business empire on the success of Opel. Magna and OAO Sberbank offered $782 million for a 55% stake in Opel, a move which put Magna at odds with its customers.

Twenty five financiers, industry leaders, and policy officials that influence Canada's business affairs are presented. The list, which is arranged alphabetically, includes Elyse Allan, Jim Balsillie, and Geoff Beattie. Information presented includes designation, as well as their roles in their organizations.

A list of potential investments for 2009, made up of companies that are expected to rebound from the recession, is presented. Stock price of BCE Inc. for example, while dropping to an intraday low of $31 in 2008, is likely to rebound in December 2008 with the completion of its privatization deal. Magna International Inc., while exposed to the troubled U.S. industry, also promises significant returns to investment.

Brian Hunter, a partner in oil and gas engineering firm Montane Resources, invested his life savings in Vancouver-based Canacord Capital Corp. Details of the asset-backed commercial paper fiasco and Hunter's use of Facebook to encourage other investors to participate in his claim against the mortgage company are presented.

Eric Sprott, billionaire investor and oil executive of Sprott Inc. has discussed about his expertise on how he became billionaire out of his expertise on stock brokerage and trading which rapidly lead him to success. Details of Sprott's success, struggles and company management are discussed.

The steep rise in value of the Canadian dollar is one reason for problems of the Canadian manufacturing industry but the real issue is globalization. Canadian plants are now facing more competition from low-cost regions and from more productive operations in developed nations. Canada's access to the U.S. market and its infrastructure are some of the positive traits that the industry has to offer.

Brian Hunter was a considered a brilliant trader in Wall Street before he was blamed for the fall of the Amaranth hedge fund. Some people blame Hunter for placing bets based on unpredictable weather when he was a trader for Amaranth Advisors LLC. The accusation against Hunter that he conspired to manipulate natural gas prices is also discussed.

Buyers of asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) are susupecting a selective disclosure on the part of the dealers, claiming that the dealers have chosen to keep information from the market. ABCP holders are demanding an investigation on the issue that Canadian banks got hold of insider-like information which resulted to unfair trading. The ACBP crisis and its impacts are discussed.

The efforts of the Canadian automobile spare parts manufacturer, Magna International Inc., to expand into the the Russian market, are described.

Life of Eleanor Clitheroe, as a priest after she was fired as chief executive officer of Hydro One is discussed.

The contributions of Ralph Gilles to automobile manufacturing giant Daimler Chrysler AG are discussed.

Strategic tips for planning systematic investments, in order to make life more enjoyable after retirement, are elucidated.

United States based hedge funds are being accused of manipulating Canadian stock markets, becoming influential enough on the board of companies to prompt some short-term transaction that increases share prices, and then walking away with the loot. The cases pending in Canada against some of these hedge funds are discussed in greater detail.

The recent restructuring proposal of Stelco Inc., is likely to give the company's shareholders and workers a raw deal. A glimpse at the company's performance, bankruptcy filings, and management changes is also presented.

Hurricane Katrina created havoc in New Orleans killing more than 1,000 people. Frank Stronach, an Austrian-born tycoon along with Dennis Mills, a former Liberal MP helped storm victims. Storm victims were relocated to a new Louisiana community. Cynics accused Frank Stronach for gaining positive publicity out of human tragedy.

A profile of Frank Stronach, the ostentatious businessman who is presently fighting rumors of having misappropriated funds from Magna International Inc. and MI Developments Inc. to invest in Magna Entertainment Corp., horseracing and gaming subsidiary is presented. This new subsidiary reported a loss of more than US$200 million in the last three years. Stronach discusses his strategies and the rumors.

Seven sectors determining the fate of Canadian business in the year 2005 are discussed. These sectors include transportation, technology, retail, steel, energy, gold and automotive.

The debate whether formal training does matter or not as some of the best managers have no advanced degrees is presented. Plenty of anecdotal evidence suggests that what MBAs are taught doesn't make them great CEOs and a study shows that the best group of CEOs were ones with no advanced degrees at all, and its seen that graduate business schools give students the confidence to make decisions but not the competence to deal with the messy reality in which decisions are executed.

For someone who spent his youth partying with Elvis at Graceland, then later revolutionized the rail industry, Ewing Hunter Harrison has done a remarkable job flying below the public radar. [...]

At first glance, Jacques Lamarre is a guy's kind of guy. He is a big, powerful man in a Tonka-tough job. Indeed, as president and CEO of Montreal's SNC-Lavalin Group [...]

Like Sy Sperling, founder and former president of Hair Club for Men, Canada's Steve Hudson plans to do more than just head the famous wig and weave maker he took [...]

Fred Jaekel is a rare beast. Among other things, he's a blue-collar guy who holds three passports and speaks four languages. More to the point (of this story anyway), be [...]

Thomas J. Bata INTERVIEWED BY Thomas Watson Women are women, and thank God they are. They love shoes because they have taste, like to look at nice things and have [...]

Energy industry watcher Tom Adams has a dream. Someday, he hopes, the provinces of Canada Will rise up and live out the true meaning of energy market deregulation. In his [...]

In 1996, after landing the CEO slot at Hill & Knowlton USA, Thomas Hoog asked his Canadian counterpart, Mike Coates, to help get the global PR firm's largest division back [...]

William Shatner knows a thing or two about alternate universes, where people discover other versions of themselves living different, often evil, lives on parallel planets. The world's most famous captain [...]

How many times have you been told to watch out when something appears too good to be true? A hundred? A thousand? My working-class mother always told me to walk [...]

To say Lindsay Merrithew and Moira Stott-Merrithew work out well together is both a pun and an understatement. Not that long ago, the professionally trained actor and his wife, a [...]

Despite production cutbacks, declining market share and the Asian invasion, North American automakers say they're optimistic. They probably shouldn't be As the granddaddy of Old Economy events, the glitzy North [...]

The jury is still out on Belinda Stronach -- the latest Canadian rich kid to take over a family business. But despite her privileged upbringing, the CEO of Magna International [...]

When it comes to pinning hopes on biotechnology, Willie Brown Jr. ain't alone. But one thing sets the mayor of San Francisco apart from investors: he doesn't really care how [...]

The merits of momentum investing are discussed. Momentum investing involves purchasing the fastest-rising stocks in the market, and then replacing them with emerging stocks as the original stocks lose their upward trajectory. Momentum traders usually do technical analysis of stocks, while discounting profit performance and the actual activity of the related business.

Critics such as mathematician David Orrell believe that actual economies are too unfair, unstable, an unsustainable such that economists just would not be able to provide consistently accurate forecasts. Economist Sherry Cooper for example, was recently given an award for her forecasts, but was proven wrong with her forecasts before. Other economists and their forecasts are discussed.

Robert Prichard, the new chair of international business law firm Torys, talks about his current role. His job involves advising clients, representing the firm, being part of the leadership team, and recruiting talent. He considers 'Seven Days in Tibet' as the first book to have an influence on his world view.

Former GM CEO Rick Wagoner has been credited for single-handedly putting back the automaker back in track before he was forced to resign and GM was restructured by government. GM has earned US$2.19 billion in the first half of 2010 after losing more than US$80 billion in the three years leading up to its failure. How GM managed the comeback is also discussed.

GMP Capital walked away from a financing deal with Avid Life Media which could have helped Avid Life in their quest to go public. Avid Life runs the adultery website Ashley Madison and the ethics of investing in a company that promotes adultery is examined.

The article provides Canadian investors with an overview of the global economy, in particular problems with the economies of the United States and European Union countries. It also advises investors to look into the economies of the United Kingdom and emerging markets such as Singapore and China.

The article provides an interview of Canadian businessman Gerald Schwartz, founder of private equity firm Onex Corp. that had revenue of $18.6 billion in 2006. Schwartz's career achievements and views on several economic and political issues are provided.

The high value of Canadian dollar over the American dollar making the products of manufacturing companies in the former less competitive is discussed.

The article discusses the partnership formed between Magna International Inc., an Aurora, Ontario-based auto parts company headed by Frank Stronach, and the Russian conglomerate Basic Element headed by billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

The increase in Bombardier Inc.'s income by 30 percent to $112 million and increase in its share prices are discussed. The caution of analysts about its accounting methods that may adversely hit the company in future, too is discussed.