Tony Lepage

A humerous explaination of the mortgage crisis.

Cynically fantastic!

I would be lying if I said that the 75 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve didn’t catch me by surprise. It's quite obvious I was surprised because I was certain enough to call for a big drop in US stock markets yesterday (see previous post). I figured Q1 would be a negative quarter only to have the markets boosted by rate cuts. I didn’t expect the rate to be dropped to hard and so fast.

I happened to be walking through the PATH (Toronto's underground network of malls and walkways) and stumbled upon Scotia Bank's investment screens. There were people gathering around and the headline described the TSX tumbling 500 points in just 20 minutes into the day. Anyone who knows me can probably imagine how much adrenaline started to pump through me at this point. I figured this was the end game. If there was an olympic speed walking qualifier that day, I might have won.

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I should take some time to briefly outline my investment ideas of 2008.

The year has obviously started out on the wrong foot. The TSX is down over 10% and the DOW is going down just as fast. For you skim readers, watch the Dow Jones tomorrow, it’s going to drop 6-10%. The Dow now sits at 12,099.30.

My bet: January 22, 2008 will end with the Dow (-6-10%) at 11,373 - 10,889.

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In an attempt to reduce my use of plastic, I have been looking for ways to eliminate it from daily food use. It's surprising how much plastic we use and shocking to find that it's realistically impossible to ban from one’s life completely...

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The Patagonian Toothfish is the perfect example of how consumers are ultimately responsible for the depletion of fish stocks regardless of their international recognition as threatened or endangered. Commonly sold in North America as the “Chilean Sea Bass,” the species is usually illegally harvested and its stocks are threatened. The fish matures at ten to twelve years of age and commercial fishing of the species started in the early 90s. Less than twenty years later and the fish are endangered. It’s estimated that it’ll be commercially extinct in less than three years.

Fishing of the toothfish actually threatens other endangered species as well. The fishing lines pull under petrels and albatrosses and the Elephant seal’s diet consists of 98% toothfish.

Although the Canadian government is refusing to recognize international agreements for conservation, it is ultimately up to the consumer to make smarter decisions. I was happy to see local retailers recognizing the need for conservation.

But my delight was snubbed as I walked 5 steps to the next retailer.

This does wonders in convincing me that consumers are not ignorant hos.

The Patagonian Toothfish goes under many names, including: Australian Sea Bass, Antarctic Sea Bass, Black hake, Chilean Sea Bass, Chilean grouper, Mero - in Japan - and Bacalao de profundidad or Merluza negra in Chile.

Further Reading:

• WWF – Last Chance Saloon?
• Wikipedia: Patagonian toothfish
• Satellites Identify Albatross Danger Zones