Investors caught a scent of the best of all possible worlds Tuesday as the TSX surged higher but oil prices stayed relatively low. One day does not a Chrismtas make but there was widesprad optimism as stock buyers plunged back into the market to pluck up bargains. The Toronto Stock Exchange closed ahead 156 points or 1.1 per cent. The TSX had nearly wiped out all of this year’s gains by Monday’s close after following oil prices downward. Today saw a large comback. At one point the market was up 352 points.
Eglinton now open between Yonge and Redpath
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Eglinton Ave E. has now re-opened after a two-hour closure between Yonge Street and Redpath Ave when a pedestrian was struck by a TTC bus. Police say the person was hit on Eglinton close to Yonge. The victim was a woman possibly in her 40s She is in stable condition in hospital. Twitter pictures by Andrew Eckford (left) and “joycey” who caught this grab shot of the ambulance headed no doubt to Sunnybrook.
Health Dep’t warns of increased cases of influenza
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The Toronto Public Health Department warns of increased numbers of influenza cases so far this season. There were 113 cases reported as of December 6 — more than three times the 10-year seasonal average. There have been 342 in total in the province, a figure nearly double the 182 this time last year. Public Health Ontario says 120 people have been hospitalized and three have died from influenza. Most of those cases are among individuals over the age of 65. The seasonal peak of cases is usually seen around the end of the month.
Kathleen, you’ve got to do better, he tells premier
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Premier Wynne has told members of the Economic Club of Canada that she was hectored in her “local electronics store” by a man who told her that the government was “wasting our money.” It happened Saturday (December 13, 2014). The report does not name the store in which this happened but it was in Leaside apparently. A reasonable guess — either at the Source in the Sunnybrook Plaza or the Best Buy in the Rio.Can Leaside Centre. But no matter, the man let loose across the store with the unsolicited advice, say Ms. Wynne, the member of Don Valley West. “Kathleen you’ve got to do better. You’re wasting our money.” he shouted. Ms. Wynne told the business audience that she figured the guy was having a bad day. But she also said such interactions with the public remind her of why she got into politics in the first place. That would be to create more jobs, more opportunities and a stronger economy. The auditor general’s annual report said Ontario ratepayers paid $50 billion more than it should have over a decade to cover the gap in the actual price of electricity and the price the Liberals guaranteed to power generators in long-term contracts.
Man tells RIDE cops he’s had “way too much”
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Shock: Russia raises interest rate to 17 percent
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Russia has raised its key interest rate from 10.5 percent to 17 percent in a desperate attempt to stop the slide of the ruble. Some say the economy cannot sustain the shock for very long. Bloomberg
Jolly good luck to cheapie Canada Jetlines
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Still on the ground B.C.-based airline is buying new Boeing jets and plans to have fares in Canada that are 30 to 40 percent lower than Air Canada’s. Good luck. Globe and Mail
Dawn Librach’s Rewind opens on Mt. Pleasant
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A smart new shop specializing in re-purchased clothing has opened at 598 Mt. Pleasant Rd just north of Penrose Rd. Rewind is the concept of owner Dawn Librach (seen above on the right with a customer). Dawn is proud of her method of acquisition and handling of all clothing, including shoes and other accessories. “We buy the goods outright from sources all over the U.S. and Canada. There’s no consignment so we are able to sell at a better price.” Inventory may range across many decades, she says. Dawn is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from Ryerson University, where she learned her interest in retailing. Her business is fully-described as Rewind: couture revisited/vintage resale.
U.S.-based PetSmart sold to Canadian consortium
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PetSmart, the pet supply and associated goods chain with a store in the Leaside Centre at Laird Drive and Eglinton Ave. E., has been sold by its U.S. owners to a Canadian consortium that includes B.C. Investors and the Quebec based Caisse de depot. The price was $8.3-billion (U.S.) in what is being called the biggest leveraged deal for an American company this year. The group will pay $83 a share, according to a statement Sunday. The business background involves continuing erosion of PetSmart’s business by online mammoth Amazon and others. The company continues to be profitable but major shareholders in the U.S. wanted out at the highest price possible. Globe and Mail and others.
Ontario to get $1.25 billion windfall from Ottawa
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Ontario will receive an additional $1.25 billion from the federal government next year, following a concerted campaign by the premier to get Ottawa to hand over more money in transfers. Premier Kathleen Wynne and her finance minister had complained that the federal government shortchanged the province in 2014-15 by $640 million when it unilaterally tweaked the transfer calculations. CP
Carols and Friends at St. Cuthberts December 22
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A South Bayview tradition will return next Monday, December 22, 2014, when friends gather to sing carols at St. Cuthbert’s Church, 1399 Bayview Ave at St. Cuthberts Rd. As usual, the event will be accompanied by cider and cookies. A non-perishable gift of foodstuffs will be welcome for donation to the Flemingdon Park Food Bank. That’s Carols with Friends Monday December 22 at 7 p.m.
Unconfirmed by CBC: 2 dead, 3 seriously hurt
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Awaiting details of what has happened from police.