Here there and everywhere !
My week finally came to a close and i had time to reflect on just how many different activities i have been involved with in the last seven days and how most of them have been in some capacity or other connected with people making a new life here in Halifax..at the beginning of the week i was saying goodbye to Nick who is a client of mine that arrived from Guernsey to look for employment, the original few weeks away from his wife and family stretched into ten weeks and as each week drew to a close we sat and re evaluated how things were going. I saw Nick changed from a anxious family man who was experiencing his first long term separation from his wife and kids to a friend to many of us who got to see the highly skilled IT guy that he is ( including his prospective employer) and also experience his great sense of humour, he left with a LMO in his possession and a new confidence in his ability to settle here. We know he will be returning in January with his family.
Tuesday saw me babysitting Hazel who is an adorable four year old, Hazel and her family have been here since June and stayed with me here at Mumford for a couple of months while they looked for work and a suitable house to purchase..which gives Hazel the ability to march around the house confidently as she knows where everything is kept..no secrets from her as i try and stash colouring pens and goodies in a cupboard..
Just knowing that her Mum feels comfortable leaving her with me makes me re affirm that some of the support we are giving to families is paying off. I also miss my grandchildren so it gives me a chance to keep my hand in . While her Mum and I chat over a cup of tea Sharon from Wales drops in to catch up on news, she and her Hubby have recently arrived and moved to Lunenburg and are also waiting for a work permit. I can sense that the strain of not knowing when a pay cheque will arrive is starting to wear on them but they are in good spirits and still have no regrets to have made the move here early before their federal application comes through ( this could take years)
Meanwhile i check the Halifax Airport arrivals and see that the Sri Lankan cook who is arriving is an hour late so I re- arrange the schedule for the bank appointments and MSI visit..I sit at the airport an hour later and watch the comings and goings I still remember our arrival and how excited and relieved we were to get past all the immigration paperwork. and walk through those doors .
I collect a very tired guy with a two year work permit and head down to Halifax chatting away about all the lakes, trees and rocks and how friendly everyone is and then see that he is asleep after a 20 hour flight!
We race to get into Service Canada for his SIN number before it closes then back to Mumford to regroup..RNS offer a settlement service to employers so that they can concentrate on training their new employee while we do all the running around ..Its getting late and i still need to take the newly arrived cook to the apartment where he is staying to spend the night..I drop him off and meet the guys that are letting stay there , they greet me with big smiles and we catch up on how they are doing, they are offering to take the new guy under their wing as they were my clients once and arrived in a huge snow storm we joke about the weather here and i leave them chatting away in Sri Lankan .
There’s a few more emails to send and telephone calls to make to get a sub -let organised in a small apartment on Tower Rd, I have chosen something affordable and I am working with the landlord to get the lease signed by the end of December.
The next few days are hectic and in between running around i manage to get groceries a few xmas pressies and a visit to my doctor in.
Friday morning my Canadian student who has been with me for six months announces he is leaving for Yarmouth for Christmas. He drags his belongings into the hallway to wait for a ride..I hug him and give a hastily prepared Xmas present to unwrap. as i leave the house to meet Mark from a training course.
There’s one more visit to make to the landlord and employer who owns a restaurant downtown, I park right down on the waterfront , the sun is shining, there are xmas decs in the store front windows and as I walk along lower water street i recount the six or seven places I have dropped cooks off to and various apartments that i have found downtown, It feels like my city, my city that attracts all kinds of people from near and far, including me who fell in love with this place over 15 years ago.
There’s one more stop to make on the way back as i cut through Bishops landing back to my car I stop at The One Stop Wood Shop to say hi to Debbie a lovely scottish lass that arrived here a few years ago, she spent some time with us and I haven’t heard from her in a while she now has a thriving business with her partner on the waterfront, another success story for small business and entrepeneurs !
I wouldn’t trade this job for anything else …I really am blessed to be doing a job i am passionate about…I wonder what next week will bring?.or should I say what Santa will bring yes i am on his list i know I am!
Are you a Practical Dreamer? Choices we make about our dreams are critical.
I just finished reading a book called The practical dreamers handbook” by Paul and Sarah Edwards, its not a coaching book but it struck a chord with me and it prompted me to write this .
How do you market a business like ours to consumers that are “just dreaming of a new life” how do you make a Dream a reality..I for one have no problem with this concept but it seems many of us no longer have any idea where to start. I was so convinced that my clients needed help that i wrote a work book /planner that will guide you through the process and help you stay focused on your goal.
I’ve recently met with several new clients and service providers who all ask me why we feel there is a need for immigration coaching sessions, this is after I have tried to explain what we do and why we do it.
My standard answer to this question is that as a service provider we know that our clients do not see the value in what we do until after they have experienced the whole process of relocating and starting a new life.
On the flip side of this we know that everyone has their own set of values and we have built our business through embracing our values and using the passion we feel for this country to make our clients see that they can achieve their dream.
For many people this doesn’t seem to be enough, if they are feeling overwhelmed by their situation or have made mistakes and poor choices they don’t seem able to be able to re- focus on their dreams and they become trapped and completely helpless . This is usually the point they ask for help and their mistakes and wrong thinking can sometimes result in weeks and months of spending their lives in limbo going nowhere.
I often sit with people face to face and I listen to them then look for a way to establish a connection, I can convey empathy and and understanding for what they are feeling as I have experienced many of these emotions when i went through it.
Lately it seems this approach has been ineffective as once they are left to their own devices most people revert back to their own belief systems which keeps them in their own comfort zones.
Choices we make about our dreams are critical , but when we don’t allow ourselves to entertain choices we achieve nothing .
Practical dreamers ( i count myself as one of them ) not only entertain ideas but also review the possibilities of ideas that were previously overlooked or discounted . I know that when i do this i can then commit to investing time into making my dream happen.
You may wonder why an immigration coach can help with this, as the biggest problem for most of us is the practical side i will give you some straightforward tips;
1. Open up your mind to the possibilities of having choices .
2.Review what possibilities or opportunities that were previously overlookedor discounted.
3. Make the decision that your dream is worth investing in.
4.Decide that taking a leap of faith is sometimes the only option you have
7.Understand that constructing a new life and letting go of an old one requires balance and strength
We can never know how the future will unfold and in my own life I know this to be true. There are many lessons to be learned from a dream that is not to be and as a practical dreamer i have learned those lessons well. When it comes to chasing our biggest dreams and desires even dead ends need not be the end, we’ve got to tell ourselves the truth, if we want to change, I’m still dreaming and still learning . Many of my dreams have died, moved on or are still alive…how about you?
Contact me for immigration coaching june@ineedtlc.ca
Charles W. Cullen III, Investment Advisor
Summer 2011 Newsletter
Given the recent market turmoil, many investors are wondering if they should jump out of stocks entirely. Burton Malkiel, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Princeton University provides his view below. As you read the article, keep in mind that he writing from a U.S. perspective. As an aside, nearly twenty years ago, I studied Corporate Finance under Professor Malkiel. That course influences my investment philosophy to this day.
Also included is an article dealing with the impact of sovereign debt crises and stock market returns.
As always, please feel free to call me with any questions or comments about how this may relate to your situation. — Charles
Don’t Panic About The Stock Market, by Burton Malkiel: Investors who resist the urge to get out during rough times like this will be glad they did.
Disclaimer: RBC does not necessarily support the opinions herein. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any particular securities. You should consult with your investment advisor regarding your own unique circumstances before acting on the information in this article.
Another Brick in the Wall
Adapted from an article by Weston Wellington, Vice President, Dimensional Fund Advisors, (July 28, 2011)
Last week we came across an “Economic and Policy Watch” update prepared by a major investment bank that reviewed recent government proposals to address the nation’s funding crisis. Titled “It Just Gets Worse,” the report chided policymakers for actions that “look like a poor cover for loose money, rising inflation, and fiscal problems,” and warned that “government financing needs are corrupting monetary policy.” As a result of these ill-advised tactics, the bank had turned “more negative” on the outlook for financial stability and saw “little hope of improvement in the inflation/currency mix.”
Amidst the barrage of news coverage from dozens of sources probing the US debt/default/downgrade issue, such a conclusion might seem unremarkable. We found it of interest because the focus of the report was not the US Treasury but the government of Indonesia, and it appeared over a decade ago, on July 16, 2001.
Indonesia’s sovereign debt rating at that time placed it firmly in the “junk” (non-investment grade) category: B3 from Moody’s and single-B from Standard & Poor’s. Although Moody’s upgraded Indonesia to a B2 rating in 2003 and to Ba1 in early 2011, at no time over the past decade was Indonesia deemed to merit an investment grade rating.
What has been the experience of equity investors in Indonesia since this report was published? The Jakarta Composite Index closed at 415.09 on January 16, 2001, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished that day at 10,652.66. On Wednesday, the Jakarta Composite closed at 4,087.09 and the Dow at 12,592.80. If the Dow Jones Average had kept pace with Indonesian stocks over the past decade, it would be over 104,000 today.
Investors in Indonesia have had their share of ups and downs over the years, and markets fell even harder than the US during the financial crisis, with a peak-to-trough loss of nearly 60%. But the recovery was sharper as well: The Jakarta Composite recouped all of its losses by April 2010, and the all-time high on July 22 this year was 45% above the high-water mark of early 2008.
For the ten-year period ending June 30, 2011, total return as computed by MSCI was 29% per year in local currency and 33% in US dollar terms. At no point throughout this period did Indonesia have an investment grade rating for its sovereign debt, and outside observers continue to find fault with the country’s troublesome level of corruption, primitive infrastructure, and unpredictable regulatory apparatus.
We are not suggesting that investors should dismiss the effects of a US government credit downgrade. US Treasury securities are so widely held around the world that any potentially destabilizing event is worrisome. Nor are we suggesting that investors focus solely on countries with low credit ratings. Just as a broadly diversified portfolio includes companies with high and low credit quality, investing in countries with both high and low ratings is equally sensible.
Some might say the strong performance of Indonesian stocks over the past decade was at least partly attributable to the nation’s improving credit profile, even if it remained at a relatively low level. The US, in contrast, appears to be deteriorating. Our point is that a low credit rating in and of itself is not necessarily a death sentence for equity investors. Citizens of triple-A countries behave much like those living in single-B territory—they eat, drink, shop, get stuck in traffic jams, chatter on mobile phones, and check their Facebook pages. (Indonesia claims the second-largest number of members in the world.) Companies doing business in either location generate cash flows, and investors do their best to evaluate what those cash flows are worth. A triple-A sovereign debt rating is no guarantee of superior equity market returns, and a “junk” rating is no assurance of failure. A diversified strategy will have exposure to both.
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Research assistance by Victoria Choi.
Ray Farris, “It Just Gets Worse,” ING Barings Economic and Policy Watch, January 16, 2001.
“Global Credit Research,” Moody’s Investors Service, March 2004.
“Missing BRIC in the Wall,” Economist, July 21, 2011.
Securities data provided by Bloomberg.
Yahoo! Finance, finance.yahoo.com (accessed July 25, 2011).
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Canada’s occupation list due to change
Canada will soon alter its Skilled Worker immigration category, with a new occupation list coming into force in less than a month. If you have toyed with the idea of emigrating to the land of the maple leaf, it may be worth applying sooner rather than later.
There are currently 24 occupations on the skilled occupation list Canadian immigration officials use to determine if your skill is in demand and thus if your application will be approved. However there is no guarantee which of the current 24 occupations listed will still be deemed eligible occupations to qualify for Canada skilled worker visa category when the new list is announced.
The current list is relevant for skilled worker applications from people with at least one year’s experience in these occupations. Only 20,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications are available each year, and of the current listed occupations the cap has been reached for: Restaurant and Food Service Managers; Dentists; Pharmacists and Registered Nurses.
However the cap is yet to be reached (under the current occupation list) for other occupations, including: Architects; Physiotherapists; Social Workers; Chefs; Electricians; Plumbers; Welders and Related Machine Operators; and Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics.
If you have an offer of arranged employment you can also apply under the skilled worker category. However, you will need to have obtained a positive Arranged Employment Opinion from Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). Generally, this means that you will need to show that there are insufficient people locally in Canada who can do the job. There is no limit on the number of skilled worker applications that can be made for those who have arranged employment.
If you find your occupation is currently ‘in demand’ in Canada it may be worth beginning the immigration process now, or you may live to rue your decision when the new list is announced. However while some occupations could be removed from the list of skilled occupations, other occupations could be added and so other people may be celebrating when the new list in revealed.
Great News for UK newcomers
Residents of the United Kingdom who move to Nova Scotia will now be able to exchange their valid driver’s licence for one in Nova Scotia.
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations Minister John MacDonell and High Commissioner Andrew Pocock have signed a reciprocity agreement that will allow residents of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to drive in Nova Scotia without taking a written or road test, if they have a valid licence from home.
Nova Scotians who live, work or study in the United Kingdom will have the same privileges.
“This agreement will make it easier for residents of the United Kingdom who choose to work or study in Nova Scotia, while ensuring road safety is protected,” said Mr. MacDonell.
Nova Scotia has similar arrangements with Germany and South Korea.
To qualify, Registry of Motor Vehicles staff must review a country’s driving regulations to ensure they are compatible with Nova Scotia’s.
FOR BROADCAST USE:
Residents of the United Kingdom who move to Nova Scotia will
now be able to exchange their valid driver’s licence for one in
Thanks Daily Business Buzz for highighting this topic
The Daily Business Buzz
- Topics :
- Relocation Nova Scotia , Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services , Nova Scotia Office of Immigration , Atlantic Canada , Nova Scotia , United Kingdom
[HALIFAX, NS] – When June Spindloe and her family immigrated to Nova Scotia from the United Kingdom in 1996, they had a lot to learn about Canada’s second smallest province. From employment to driver’s licenses, Spindloe said she had a hard time finding the services she needed.
Nearly 15 years later, Spindloe is the founder of Relocation Nova Scotia, a service for immigrants, particularly those from the U.K., to learn more about the province. Although there are more services available now than in the late ‘90s, Spindloe believes businesses are still not recognizing the value of new Nova Scotians as consumers.
“I still don’t think they really understand that if our growth in this province is by immigration, every one of those persons that is a newcomer is a consumer and they will need to buy everything,” she said, adding that when she arrived, her family “bought more than the average person” because of their clean slate.
Spindloe said in an effort to offer information about local businesses to immigrants and to gain advertising, she’s called the marketing division of many companies but has been consistently turned away. Spindloe citied one example of a company that said, “we’re well known in Atlantic Canada and I don’t see any reason why we would want to advertise with you’.”
“You’re well known in Atlantic Canada, but nobody knows what you are in the U.K.,” said Spindloe, who also owns a bed and breakfast. “There is a real disconnect between what the business community needs to do to address the needs of an immigrant.”
Spindloe said it’s all about retention.
“If they have an experience where they can’t find a lot of the things that they want easily, they actually make the assumption that it’s going to be harder to be here.”
Nabiha Atallah is the spokesperson for Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services, which offers intense orientation programs that introduce immigrants to life in Canada and covers aspects such as banking, driver’s licenses and schools. Atallah said businesses outside government and public services need to make their services more assessible to immigrants.
“There are a lot of assumptions made by businesses when advertising. Sometimes for a newcomer the language of the messages isn’t clear,” said Atallah, citing the use of jargon, abbreviations and expressions. “I certainly think immigrants would like to find clear messages that make sense to them.”
Atallah said immigrants also have a hard time finding business services they can trust.
“We all want, when we’re accessing a service, to have some idea about it. I think its human nature for someone to tell us that this is a good one.”
Spindloe said businesses need to start branding towards immigrants.
“They need to sit down and say ‘how do we get the newcomers to come in and shop there’.”
Atallah and Spindloe both agree that forming networking groups to discuss different experiences would be very helpful to immigrants new and old.
According to the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, the total number of immigrants to the province per year has risen from 1,608 in the year 2000 to 2,424 in 2009. Atallah said this should be viewed as an opportunity for companies to boost their business, mentioning the number of international students that travel to Nova Scotia each year on top of immigrants.
The immigration workbook and planner is a must have for anyone thinking of emigrating, taking you through the different stages of the journey with useful coaching tips and encouragement from June who has herself spent years working with her clients at relocation nova scotia.
If you are serious about emigrating and don’t know where to start this book is for you..
contact
june@ineedTLC.ca
www.relocationovascotia.com
From Newcomer to New Consumer
Imagine waking up every morning in your business and having a bright shiny new
customer eagerly waiting for you to sell your product or services to….
There were 1,363 immigrants who arrived in HRM in 2009 each and every one of them
was no doubt wondering where to purchase services and products they needed from
day one.
I know i was when i arrived over 15 years ago.
When was the last time your company sat down and developed a strategy to expand
and look for marketing opportunities that werenʼt previously on your radar?.
I own a relocation business and am in the position to suggest providers of services in
HRM to everyone who relocates here permanently, surprisingly though getting
advertising dollars from local businesses as a branding excercise alone has been a
hard sell and I donʼt have anyone beating down my door to become a provider for a
newcomer..This may be because the numbers are small and our growth is small and
steady.
At networking groups and at one on one meetings Iʼve been asking “Do you want your
branding to be the first one a newcomer connects with?”
Retention rates are up and more and more immigrants are staying put. with that comes
a loyalty to the brands and services that they have had a positive experience with from
day one..
Put yourself in your customers shoes, would you know where to buy just about
everything to start a new life?
We deal with newcomers everyday in our business and we can influence them in many
ways , we can explain that there are only two or three major players as grocery chains
here, that there is a limited amount of choice for tv and cable hook up, which one would
you choose A or B ..i know which one i would choose it would be the one that had made
themselves most accessible to me and provided a great service. i would also be looking
for a word of mouth referral from someone i was already doing business with..
From electrical items to household furniture, from fuel suppliers to where to buy snow
tires and lawn furniture the list is endless. we have fruit trees in our home we needed
an arborist followed by the following years , a plumber, electrician, carpenter, dry waller,
mechanic, vet, shall i continue? we had children we needed school supplies, clothing,
sports equipment, amenities the list goes on….
You see you may have the best reputation in Atlantic Canada or even the whole of
Canada, you may be advertising on TV and in Flyers, you have your canadian
consumer who has a fistful of credit cards at their disposal but the newcomer has a plan
to start small and choose carefully what brands they need to replace the ones they donʼt
have with them ( ask my husband who still blames me for making him leave all his tools
behind)
This year has seen a considerable shift in awareness of how we will attract and retain
newcomers to Nova Scotia lets start by thinking outside the box , the Nova Scotian Box!
How to move your money when you emigrate from UK
When transferring your money from your UK accounts (we bank with Barclays, HSBC
and RBS) please check with your UK bank before you leave the country – as you may
find them unhelpful here too. The below tips might be of help for organising your transfer
once in Canada;
1) Letter – Many of our clients courier a letter from overseas to their UK bank. For
example via DHL.
2) Online banking – Check your daily limit. We can accept payment over a number of
days, however if you are transferring over £100,000 your limit needs to be £10K and
above. If your limit is low, ask if it can be increased. We are flexible and can also book
later value dates with this delay in mind.
3) Bank Form – Complete and sign a transfer instruction form before you leave. Your
bank will likely ask you to specify in advance the date of transfer and the amount which
may not be known at this stage. Enquire as to whether the amount and date can be
completed over the phone at a future date.
4) Cheque – We can accept a sterling cheque up to £100,000 in the post. I would
recommend finding a secure method of posting. We cannot book a deal until we have
received your cheque. Cheques will take 8 working days to clear.
5) Types of transfer – Your banks will offer various methods of transfer for example
CHAPS, BACS and Faster Payment. Please check cost and time frames with your bank.
Our payments department are on hand to assist with any queries.
If you need to transfer your funds overseas please do not hesitate to contact me on +44
(0)20 7828 7000 or send an email to sarah.davie@moneycorp.com
THE GREAT RATE DEBATE CONTINUES
THE GREAT RATE DEBATE CONTINUES
Everyone has a view about where UK interest rates should go and when. Canadian inflation slows slightly.
The pound added a cent and three quarters over the seven days in a reversal of the previous week’s losses. The two and a half cent range shared almost the same highs and lows.
Sterling was not entirely driven by interest rate hopes and fears but it was that outlook that accounted for most of the action. Virtually every day brought some new revelation or rebuttal. Investors dutifully reacted to each one in turn, paying most attention to whatever happened or was said most recently. Britain’s business secretary set the ball rolling when he sided with the doves. Vince Cable told news agency Bloomberg that domestically-fuelled inflation is not an issue; “It’s virtually deflation.” As for a decision by the Bank of England to raise interest rates, he said it was “potentially very difficult”. It looked a lot less difficult the following day when consumer price index (CPI) inflation came in at 4.0% and retail price index (RPI) inflation – the one that really eats into people’s buying power and savings – hit 5.1%.
In his quarterly letter to the chancellor explaining what’s gone wrong and what he intends to do about it the governor appeared to hint that the Bank Rate would be up to 1.25% or even higher by the end of the year. Sterling went up. It went down the next day when the governor explained that the Bank’s projections of inflation have to be based on some interest rate or another. It might as well be the market’s expectations as anyone else’s. That did not mean rates were going up this year. They might; they might not. Sterling went down. The following day monetary policy committee (MPC) member Andrew Sentance, the committee’s arch-hawk, gave a speech explaining why higher rates are needed now. Gilding the lily, he also threw in a comment that a modest appreciation of sterling “…would mitigate the impact of global inflationary pressures in the short term and help to steer inflation back to the target over the medium term.” Yes, somebody at the Bank of England (admittedly a part-timer but an important one) was talking sterling higher. Friday’s contribution came from shadow chancellor Ed Balls, who told the Financial times that a 0.5% Bank Rate is appropriate. As Mr Balls will be in no position to do anything about it for a while his remark left sterling unmoved.
Beyond the rate debate, the only UK data of any consequence were those for January’s retail sales. Increases of a monthly 1.9% and an annual 5.3% were appreciably stronger than investors had anticipated and they responded by buying sterling. Estate agents’ website Rightmove announced early this morning that its house price index had gone up by 3.1% in the year to February. Investors giggled. Even Rightmove admitted it had received 1.3 million new listings last year while lenders made little more than half a million mortgage loans. Rightmove expects that imbalance to continue this year.
If the Loonie owes last week’s modest losses to anything it is to its close association with the US dollar and to a growing nervousness about how the spate of revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East might push up the already lofty prices of food and energy, global inflation and, in turn global interest rates. China is feeling the pinch, raising interest rates and increasing the reserves that banks must set aside for the loans they make. Whilst higher commodity and oil prices are in one way good for New Zealand’s exports, they also have a negative impact on demand and act as a brake on the global growth that drives that demand.
From Sarah Davie
Moneycorp UK
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