I’ve lived in Whistler for 17 years. A popular tourist destination, the tourism industry is extremely prominent within the town and continuously seems to do well, as the sale of ski passes beats records and fresh events such as Crankworx attract a strong customer base that seems to get bigger every year.

When I fell upon this headline, “Canadian Tourism Declines Despite World Travel Boom”, I questioned whether this was a reality within the west coast, and thought to explore current innovative projects within the Sea to Sky corridor.

A project both close to my heart and close to my home, was Groundeffect’s Sea to Sky Gondola project. While previous propositions of a gondola on the Stawamus Chief had been shut down, Groundeffect’s is in the midst of developing a gondola that is just in between the Stawamus Chief and Shannon Falls. The project involves a gondola ride up to an endless array of activities including, hiking, walking, rock climbing, mountain biking etc.

The Sea to Sky Gondola is going to revolutionize outdoor tourism. Attracting both tourists and locals, the project will have infinite economic benefits for both Squamish and surrounding towns. Expecting 185 thousand visits in the first year alone, and 230 thousand visits in the second year, the Sea to Sky Gondola hopes to beat those downward trend in the Canadian tourism industry.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-tourism-declines-despite-world-travel-boom-1.2426675

http://www.seatoskygondola.com/

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg is making the first steps towards creating an economy that is less dependent on oil.

Now that is definitely something worth talking about.

In a society that claims to be so incredibly concerned about the environment and about current oil practices, the government along with big corporations have yet to make a single move upon it.

No big surprises there.

In an interview in Oslo, Solberg stated “We have to prepare Norway for an economy that is less oil income, directly, and less oil activity”

This movement towards a minimal dependency on oil may be less derived by environmental concerns however, and more focused with the country’s economic goals.

“The government sees the mainland economy, which excludes oil and gas output, slowing to 2 percent this year, compared 3.4 percent last year. GDP by that measure will grow 2.5 percent next year, it estimates”

A cut in wealth tax might also aid the country in its movement towards the non-oil industry.

I thought this article to be incredibly interesting and sparked a remarkable amount of thoughts for me. Governments may not have the best interests for the environment in mind, yet if economy’s will be saved through the non-oil industry in the future, then that is incredibly great news for everybody.

Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-17/norway-prime-minister-says-time-has-now-come-to-cut-oil-reliance.html 

As somebody who is personally invested in Wells Fargo & Company, I like to keep tabs on current news involving the corporation.

Latest headlines include:

Global Finance names Wells Fargo Insurance, North America’s Best Insurance Broker

Wells Fargo to cut 2,300 jobs from its mortgage-production unit as demand for refinancing slows

An article that sparked a particular interest for me was Bloomberg’s piece stating that Wells Fargo is to pay $869 million dollars to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac is a public government-sponsored enterprise in the financial services industry that claimed supposed fraud for home loans sold by Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo stated, “the agreement will allow it to substantially resolve liabilities on home loans it solde to Freddie Mac before 2009 and the emergence of the financial crisis”.

Wells Fargo, is not the only bank facing these issues as many corporations face claims that date back to the housing boom.

Will it affect the stocks? Probably not. Wells Fargo is an incredibly big, and successful bank which was most likely already funded to make such an expensive settlement. However, most investors won’t be too happy to hear about it.

Currently trading at $43.54, I’d say that Wells Fargo is on a positive stretch.

Fingers crossed it will stay that way.

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-30/wells-fargo-agrees-to-869-million-settlement-with-freddie-mac.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/wells-fargo-said-to-eliminate-2-300-mortgage-jobs.html

https://www.wellsfargo.com/press/2013/20131112_bestinsurancebrokerinnorthamerica

https://www.wellsfargo.com/press/2013/20131115_fourthqearnings

The other day, my father urged me to read Diane Francis’ new book, “The Merger of the Century”. Although I hardly have the time to read anything for leisurely purposes lately, the title struck me as shocking.

The book is composed of Francis making an argument for a united North America.

But why?

As resources become scarce and countries exploit Canada’s resource assets, Francis argues that a united Canada and United States could have incredible economic benefits. With Canada’s abundance of natural resources and the United States’ sustainable practices, and risk taking nature could result in the perfect combination. There would be hardly any competitors she claims.

Problems with the merge:

Merging different politics and laws would be exceptionally difficult

Francis proposes that the US pays Canada about 17 trillion dollars…. Which the United States most definitely does not have

Francis’ proposition isn’t all bad though. A merger between Canada and the United States would create an incredibly strong Country if all were to run smoothly.

Benefits include:

Development opportunities within Canada

Healthier demographics

Domination of the global economy

Sadly, this merger is probably not a reality nor is it the future plans of either the president or the prime minister. However, a strongly recommended book by most, I will definitely be reading, “The Merger of the Century” over Christmas break.

Sources:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/10/17/merger_of_the_century_by_diane_francis_review.html

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/09/30/diane-francis-the-merger-of-the-century/

In response to Cynthia Chang’s article about Snapchat.

Similarly to Cynthia, I fell upon Snapchat’s strange rejection of Facebook’s $3 billion offer and found myself agreeing with her regarding Snapchat’s decision. Yet, I was intrigued as to investigate Snapchat’s specific reasoning for turning Facebook down.

Here is what I found:

Room to Grow

Like many popular social media phenomenons, Snapchat is addictive. Unlike Facebook and Twitter however, Snapchat is brand new and has so much room to grow. It’s a new type of communication and may just be the future of text messaging in its whole.

Not Just a Time Waster

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all applications that could be more or less classified as time wasting apps. Snapchat on the other hand, fills the niche of a communication utility.

A Disappearing Act

Technological advances have allowed the younger generation to post literally everything online. Bearing advantages and also critical disadvantages, we are currently reminded of the timeless print of the decisions we make on social media. So, what makes snapchat so incredibly unique? The idea that pictures posted within the app, are deleted within 10 seconds. This places snapchat as a threatening competitor to facebook. Maybe facebook should of offered more than $3 billion…

Sources:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/cynthiachiang/2013/11/15/snapchats-3-billion-answer-no/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/11/14/should-snapchat-have-accepted-facebooks-3-billion-cash-buyout-offer/

In response to BenEtkin-Goulet’s Blog :

When I read Ben’s blog about the Smart Wheel, which he defined as “a detachable electric wheel that can be purchased separately from a bike and attached onto almost any bike” it reminded me of a recent article that I had read on the “Invisible Bike Helmet”.

Swedish designers, Anna Hapt and Terese Alstin have designed the impossible. A helmet that is designed to be like an airbag, fitting directly around a person’s neck, the product is virtually invisible to any onlooker.

Flaws to the product? They are currently selling the invisible bike helmet, which they have named “the Hovding” at a ridiculously high price of $530.

Looking good comes at a cost apparently…

In his blog post, Ben stated that he does not believe that the Smart Wheel will be a success. Arguing that it will actually have “the opposite of the intended effect, discouraging commuting all season/all location commuting”. Yet, I would argue otherwise. while the Smart Wheel and the Hovding may have definite flaws, there is most definitely room for improvement and hope for an increase in bike utility. Sustainable innovation such as the Smartwheel and the Hovding are the start of a revolution towards sustainable living and should definitely be supported and invested in.

Sources:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/362275

https://blogs.ubc.ca/benetkin/2013/11/12/the-revolutionary-smart-wheel-and-why-it-wont-start-a-revolution/