The deal with oil prices?

Why is it that we can't just enjoy lower oil prices. With a recession on the horizon and demand diminishing it would be nice to enjoy the lower oil prices this would afford us all. However OPEC has different ideas. By cutting back supply they can increase oil prices. This would artificially raise oil prices. Now I know OPEC's cartel is no hidden secret. What I don't understand is how countries like the U.S. don't do anything about OPEC. With lower oil prices the power hungry U.S. economy might recover quicker. Having higher oil prices prolongs the recession. Score one for OPEC and greed. From an environmental perspective however higher oil prices = hopefully less driving+ more incentive to work on renewable sources. So in the long run OPEC might shoot themselves in the foot and make oil prices irrelevant, here's hoping I live to see those days.

The Fall of the Canadian Dollar

I was trying to analyze why the Canadian Dollar(CAD) was falling relative to the U.S. Dollar(USD). I would have thought that the CAD would have stayed on par or risen to the USD with the U.S. adding nearly another trillion onto their national debt. I wouldn't think that adding an extra digit onto the debt counter would be a positive note for people to regain their faith in the USD.

However, it seems as though our resource based economy must have gotten the best of us. Seems as though since less resources are being purchased, less foreign companies have to buy CAD in order to purchase our goods. This is what I believe the reason is behind why the CAD has fallen so steeply against the USD these last two weeks.

So whats bad for travellers is good for our companies. Hopefully as a country we will experience some boosted sales due to the lower dollar making us more cost competitive with the U.S.

New Multi-family Property and Dividend Stocks

So I've added a new multi-family property to my portfolio. The property is actually a 5-plex. I had some difficulty acquiring it because the bank was being fussy over the details. Anything over 3 units and they want a appraisal and signed leases. Luckily enough I had enough of their trust to get an unsecured loan and went ahead with the purchase. If all goes well the property should provide a 20% cash on cash return.

I also bought some cheap REIT's after the crash. Some fetching around 10-30%. I've been very interested in dividend paying stocks and income trusts lately. A lot seem to be trading at a steep discount right now because of all the mess. If you sort though the mess though it seems that a few companies have been getting treated a little unfairly in the markets.

Good luck to those who lost money in the last few months and good luck to those who still have some cash to throw in the game, I definitely believe there are some good deals out there right now.