Granitepost

BRUSSELS, Jan 25 2017 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- U.S. medical devices maker Abbott Laboratories to acquire U.S. diagnostics company Alere (approved Jan. 25) -- Canada-listed holding company Fairfax and Sagard Holdings, a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada, to acquire joint control of sports good manufacturer PSG (approved Jan. 24)

Aug 17, 2016, WebBroker Service Interruption You may have experienced problems logging into WebBroker on August 15, 2016. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused. At TD Direct Investing, we value your business and are committed to providing you with the highest level of service.

I have also found it to be a real problem several times this week, especially early in the morning. When this happens it is not useable. I know they have been substantially upgrading the format of their site for several months now, but the last few days have been painful. Cheers, Granitepost

Link to FFH 2016 Q2 Earnings Call http://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited-transcript-ffh-earnings-conference-170158528.html

Sanmar deal is a go, with Fairfax India investing $250 million and Fairfax the balance. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/fairfax-india-lines-us-300-million-deal-pvc-113236682.html

Fairfax India and its parent company are indirectly buying one-third ownership of the main commercial airport for the city of Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore for $321 million dollars. http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/fairfax+investing+million+onethird+share+indian+airport/11812995/story.html?__lsa=07cb-ef58 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/asian-pacific-business/fairfax-to-buy-bangalore-airport-stake-for-322-million/article29401580/ Cheers, Granitepost

https://www.waterlootechjobs.com/jobs/company/741/ Short overview of this innovation initiative of Fairfax. No jobs presently available. Also below is link to a description of FairVentures based on the BNN interview. http://betakit.com/fairventures-director-explains-why-fairfax-chose-communitech-on-thedisruptors/ Cheers, Granitepost

FAIRVENTURES Fairfax has recently opening an innovation lab in Waterloo, Ontario, to bridge the gap between startups and Fairfax, and to act as a matchmaker to allow them to work together. It is not that easy to describe or understand this bet on innovation, but certainly it will prove to be very interesting. It will potentially generate many projects that will help Fairfax to reduce the risk of new ideas from harming its existing businesses as well as contributing new ideas to make more money in the long run. Prem should be congratulated for getting involved in this creative project. http://www.bnn.ca/Shows/the-disruptors.aspx See original BNN TV show dated March 3 2016 which I saw on March 8. It will be interesting to follow this as more info becomes available. I don't believe there has been on official announcement of this venture yet. Cheers, Granitepost

I don't believe it is Amazon that refuses to ship to Canada. I believe it is the individual seller that has put these books with Amazon to sell on their behalf. Cheers from Canada

Please allow me to draw your attention to the large appreciation in Toronto real estate prices in the Spring of 1974 (about 35% in a few months I think), which prompted the Government of Ontario to enact the Land Speculation Tax Act, 1974. This Act provided tax on capital gains on houses in excess of 100% of the gain and resulted in the killing of the market for houses for an extended period. The resultant lack of liquidity and uncertainty about market price of properties caused a major disruption in the market as speculators who had bought several houses were unable to sell. Other periods like 1989 were not as severe as 1974 in many respects. It is not mentioned these days because it was an Ontario centric event and was before many of our Board members were born, but is indicative of the fact that you just never know what will happen in any market and what will be the cause a disruption. The 1974 Act was I believe repealed a few years later and after a while the market gradually recovered. I remember speaking to a real estate agent at the time. When I asked her what the market was like, she simply said there was no market.

FFH is now over $600 in Toronto which I believe is its all time high. Congrats to everyone who has invested over the years. Cheers.

There are no options on Fairfax in Canada or in the US, so you will have to buy the shares directly in either market. In Canada the symbol is FFH.

The record date is Jan 21 not 22. From the press release: "TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 3, 2014) - Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSX:FFH)(TSX:FFH.U) announces that it has declared a dividend of US$10.00 per share on its outstanding multiple voting and subordinate voting shares, payable on January 28, 2014 to shareholders of record on January 21, 2014. Applicable Canadian withholding tax will be applied to dividends payable to non-residents of Canada."

This is actually quite a complicated area with respect to the taxation of trusts. There are basically 2 types of trusts. The first one is set up during your lifetime and the second is set up by a clause in your will. The tax implications for the trust will differ in these 2 situations in Canada.

You could probably just have title to the property put in your name in trust for (name of beneficiary kids). There may be differences in Canada and the US, but I believe the main advantage would be so you could resell or rent when your kids are under the age of majority and hence are likely limited in their ability to enter into legal contracts.