| After I checked with a couple of other branches of that same bank ... I found out that my stocks and mutual funds were still valid as security. Then the original guy agreed that there'd been a "misunderstanding" ... ... but I'd checked it with him about three times, up, down and sideways. However ... for him to have given that message to me in the first place, is something of a straw in the wind. Though I found later that that rule didn't apply to my account ... he was surely given that instruction from somewhere. Which tells me that credit is a lot tougher than earlier, here, as well. A recent evaluation by a major international agency (sorry, I forget which) says that the Canadian banks are about the safest in the industrialized world, at the moment. Prior to a recent election, our Prime Minister was swearing that there'd be no deficit budgetting ... but now, agreeing that there's a recession ... ... he agrees that maybe they will be running a deficit, later. We'll see in a budget update to be put before parliament, this afternoon. Though there was some doom and gloom at an investment group meeting last night, one guy was smiling broadly. Our largest Canadian telephone co, Bell's holding co. was to be taken private. In a deal that was hatched just before the financial meltdown/avalanche/firestorm/debacle ... whatever you want to call it, in the U.S. last year. The agreed price was to be a lot higher than would be indicated under current conditions. Underwriting was to be largely by the Royal Bank of Scotland (subject of a recent bailout) and Citi (also subject of a recent bailout) ... and a major Canadian bank - no bailout necessary. They've been swearing that everything was to go through ... ... but the settlement date has been postponed several times, sometimes due to various lawsuits, etc. Now ... ... they say that the deal must be passed on as viable by their auditors. Which most of us figure that it ain't - due to recently reduced values. So their share price went from in the mid 30's to about that level and close at $25.25, yesterday. The smiling investor had sold a couple of days ago ... ... and bought back, yesterday. This message has been sitting at the top too long - it's time that it starts down the road to oblivion. Actually, we individuals start down that road on the date of our birth ... ... so why should an inconsequential message on the internet be any better off? At the speed that things move, here, it'll take a while to get to "oblivion" - maybe even longer than for some of us. Should shift it over to Kitchen Table - it takes about 3.5 months for messages to run through their 67 pages and drop over the edge into the chasm. Have yourselves a great weekend. Oh, I forgot - for retirees ... every day is weekend! Over 25 years as a personal financial advisor, I've told many people that if they give me 10% of their money, that I'll have them retire early. Actually, that's a figure of speech - I want people to learn how to manage their own money: no one cares as much about it as they. Except - some smart-ass who wants/plans to transfer some of it from their pocket ... ... into his. Seems to me that there are quite a few of that kind of tiger lurking in the shrubbery. ole joyful | 
