Carlos Amat
Each week, Report on Business editors choose five stories that shouldn't be missed. Here are the 'must reads' for the week of July 27, 2009.
A publisher tacks to winds of change
David Black believes that a local newspaper still has a unique role for advertisers, especially the likes of furniture stores and auto dealerships. Mr. Black, seen here on his boat Esperanza, recently joined Platinum Equity in buying The San Diego Union-Tribune, a 141-year-old paper where ad revenue had fallen 40 per cent in the past three years. Read the story
Passionate riders, few buyers
Harley-Davidson fans will tell you it would take an economic catastrophe far beyond the current slump for them to part ways with their hogs. Still, the manufacturer is facing a fight to stave off massive losses, having posted a 91-per-cent drop in second-quarter profit in July and announced the layoffs of 1,000 workers. Seen here is Spence Gilbart, with a photo of himself shot in Calgary in 1958. Read the story
'Heart of the New West' beats much slower
Claims for jobless benefits are rising across the country, surging 9.2 per cent in May from April to the highest level since Statistics Canada began gathering such data in 1997. In Alberta, particularly, claims have spiked over the course of the recession, and Calgary now leads the country's big cities for the pace of increase. Read the story
Bernanke bids adieu to Canadian holdings
Ever wonder how Ben Bernanke invests? Here's some insight: As the recession was playing out, the Federal Reserve chairman was cashing out of Canada. Disclosure documents show Mr. Bernanke, seen here, right, with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, left, and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney at a 2006 meeting of G7 finance officials, unloaded all his holdings of Canadian government bonds last year, valued at somewhere between $30,000 and $100,000. The first sale came in July and he sold the rest at the end of November. The two sales were the only transaction he made in 2008 with his personal holdings. Read the story
An acquired taste, smooth returns
Scotland's William Grant & Sons Distillers Ltd. is releasing a 50-year-old Glenfiddich that will sell for $16,000 a bottle. The sale of the single malt whisky comes as investing in aged whisky grows in popularity. Seen here is collector Ed Patrick, who owns 1,000 pricey bottles of single malt Scotch. Read the story