Deal-making in the first half of 2007 was fueled by aggressive lending terms offered by banks, commercial lenders, pension funds and others competing for pieces of the action. Safeguards that lenders usually rely upon were relaxed in the drive to generate fee income. Read More

Investors are still evaluating the impact of the credit crunch on the US economy, Europe is showing early signs of a slowdown, and Japan is yet to establish itself as a viable alternative. Meanwhile, the selloff continues. Read More

Canada’s National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) was created in October 1988 to explore new opportunities to integrate environmental conservation and economic development. In fall 2006, former Environment Minister Rona Ambrose requested an analysis of how Canada could meet 2050 targets to reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gases. The NRTEE released its report yesterday. Read More

Canadian trusts suffered a number of distribution cuts last month, most of which resulted from weak natural gas prices. The weak US economy and housing slump has also been troublesome for trusts outside the energy sector. Read More

Is Canada’s Conservative Party starting to triangulate on trusts? Last month, the government rolled back the restrictions on foreign investment for REITs imposed by last year’s Tax Fairness Act. That ensures that virtually all will qualify for favorable tax status in 2011 and beyond, and it opens a new avenue for growth as well. Read More

With most of its oil reserves in the form of oil sands, Canada now ranks second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of total oil reserves. Furthermore, oil sands continue to represent one of the only growing production resources in North America. Read More

This month's High Yielders are RioCan REIT and Provident Energy Trust. Read More

Although 2007 was one of the most turbulent for Canadian income trusts, many performed well and paid out solid dividends. And there's plenty more big gains to come in 2008. Read More

There's been numerous trust deals of late in this turbulent market that have handsomely rewarded shareholders. And 2008 is sure to see more deal making. Read More

An ominous Institute of Supply Management reading for December put an early crimp in the action, and oil and gold approached historic levels on the first day of 2008 trading. The numbers are a reminder that the housing-and-credit fog that shrouded the second half of 2007 didn’t magically lift with the turnover to 2008. Read More