OAO Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner is being detained in Belarus.  Baumgertner is also the Chairman of the Belarusian Potash Co (a trading venture set up by Russia’s Uralkali and Belaruskali and controlled 40% of global potash exports) and is accused of abusing his position after Uralkali shocked the markets by stating it would be quitting the… Continue Reading

Twin Lakes 3701 Princess Avenue North Vancouver Totally Renovated Townhouse Complex 57 Units Asking $27,950,000 (4.4% Cap Rate) In a stunning West Coast setting surrounded by mature evergreens and meandering pathways, you’ll find Twin Lakes—a rarely available and extensively upgraded 7-building townhouse rental complex improved on a 9.42 acre site featuring 57 units. The project… Continue Reading

DON’T check your potash stocks today… “In a stunning move expected to transform the landscape of the world’s fertilizer industry, Russia’s OAO Uralkali is dismantling one of the world’s largest potash marketing groups by striking out on its own.” Read: Russia pulls out of cartel, potash prices expected to plunge With end to potash cartel,… Continue Reading

Here’s a wonderful resource within reach of almost everyone. “The idea is simple: to publish all of our course materials online and make them widely available to everyone.” http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/

I will tell you. Step one. Figure out an area that is “hot”. For instance, Facebook marketing is inning one. Better tests  for personalized diagnostics of age-related diseases is in inning one. Understanding the root causes of depression is in inning one. Combining mobile with social is in inning one. Self-publishing your book and marketing… Continue Reading

Blogging is a FREE and PRICELESS way for firms to communicate with investors, in addition to serving other business development functions (Sales/Marketing, HR, etc). Difference Capital’s Tom Astle is writing for the tech, healthcare and media merchant bank that raised $50 million this week. Astle’s entries educate investors, drawing from his 20+ years experience in the technology research… Continue Reading

Yesterday I had another opportunity to hear Frank Giustra speak — this time at BCBusiness Magazine’s Top 100 event at Hotel Vancouver. In front of a crowd of 1,200, he was interviewed on stage by BCBusiness chairman Peter Legge. Frank Giustra became a millionaire in his early 20s financing small mining and energy companies. As Chairman… Continue Reading

Stockhouse.com, Canada’s #1 financial web site, has launched a redesign this weekend, the site’s first refresh in several years. The new look features more emphasis on editorial content. The bullboards pages, which are the most popular chat forums for Canadian stocks, also feature a new look. This appears to be a sensible and balanced redesign.… Continue Reading

“Pros and amateurs who showed high levels of confidence in their predictions… were far more likely to show big increases in Twitter followers.” – Marketwatch “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” – Bertrand Russell Why it’s more… Continue Reading

Make sure you check out the Youth Education Farms 4th Annual Fundraising Gala at Birks Jewelers this June 14th, 2013. Youth Education Farms (YEF) is a Canadian registered charity that builds agricultural businesses in rural Swaziland for the benefit of orphans in that country; Swaziland is the most AIDS-stricken nation in the world per capita. Event tickets… Continue Reading

On March 18, 2013, without the ring or drunken rendition of the ‘YMCA’ with your closest family and friends, the province of British Columbia after two years of living together in a common law relationship has pronounced you husband and wife. Well, not actually husband and wife (there is still hope for the rock ladies),… Continue Reading

From pristine beaches to palaces, entire islands and its London embassy, a nation in crisis is selling its assets, writes Harriet Alexander. “We are like a bankrupt housewife forced to sell the silver, to save the family,” he said. “Greece has no choice.” Some 70,000 lots are for sale, ranging from pristine stretches of coast… Continue Reading

The Economist profiles Four Seasons Hotels, founded by Canadian Isadore Sharp, in their latest issue. Here’s the intro: ON FEBRUARY 2nd two billionaires met Isadore Sharp, the founder of the Four Seasons hotel group, in London. What they said remains private. But three days later came the unexpected announcement that Katie Taylor, the chief executive of… Continue Reading

The Greater Vancouver multifamily market remains strong as developer’s appetite to build purpose-built rental grows and owners consider their liquidity. This article will explain why the Greater Vancouver multifamily market has performed so well and what this means for the local investment and development community moving forward. The 2008 debt crisis put a lack of… Continue Reading

In the highly personal interview, Malone, the billionaire cable magnate and Chairman of Liberty Global, talked about his personal wealth and about being the largest landowner in America, with more than two million acres. Malone said his main goal in buying land is preservation and he hopes to buy more. He said his properties, which… Continue Reading