Cross Border Pro

Recreation Money is Flying South

According to a Leger Marketing survey done for the Bank of Montreal 31% of Albertans and 28% of British Columbians said they are interested in buying real estate in the United States. 

Canadians Top International Spending in the U.S.

Canadian Visa cardholders contributed $9.2 billion to the U.S. tourism economy, according to a Visa Inc. 2011 Tourism Outlook: USA report.  That`s an 18% increase from 2009, when Canadians spent $7.8 billion in the U.S.  Canadians were the top spender for the third year in a row, with the U.K. a distant second in 2010 ($2.5 billion) and Mexico ($2 billion).

Jurock Land Rush Focuses on U.S. Sunbelt

The annual Jurock Land Rush conference in Vancouver typically focuses on Western Canada real estate.  However, this year the focus was on the U.S. Sunbelt.  Ozzie Jurock said he is confident that the U.S. housing market will recover, bud added the bargain prices will be seen for some time. Two speakers at the conference were Janet LePage of Element Estate Investments, which specializes in Arizona properties and Mike Kent of Windermere Real Estate in Birch Bay, Washington who specializes in Canadians buying vacation properties just across the border from Vancouver.

The Center for Canadian-American Studies turns 40

The Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham turns 40 years old.  Don Alper, the center's director, states that the center started because there was a perceived problem that Americans knew so little about Canada. Now there is no shortage of cross-border issues to examine, from the tar sands to currency exchange rates.

Distressed U.S. Real Estate Lures Canadians

Canadian real estate investors have been lured to the U.S. distressed residential market for several years.  Now larger Canadian investors like RioCan REIT and Second City Capital Partners are being lured to the U.S. looking for distressed commercial real estate deals.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/streetwise/distressed-us-real-estate-lures-canadians/article1861647/

 

Canadian Money Manager Advises 50% US and Global Holdings

Thane Stenner of Stenner Investment Partners http://www.stennerinvestmentpartners.com/partners/ in a recent Business in Vancouver article stated that he is advising his Canadian clients to sell Canadian dollars and hold 50% of their assets in U.S. and global investments.

Canadian/U.S. Cross-Border M&A Action

Cascadia Capital, a Seattle based boutique investment bank says they have experienced a 94% increase in Canadian acquisitions of U.S. companies over the past two years.  According to Cascadia Capital there were several key drivers.  The cash position of many Canadian companies has increased.  However, so has their stock value, which drives these companies to stop buying back their own stock and start buying other companies for growth. Even though the U.S. outlook is for limited growth in the near term, it remains one of the largest consumer economies in the world and a good place to invest for companies looking to diversify their exposure to a single economy. http://www.cascadiacapital.com/

 

Dorsey - U.S. Lawyers in Vancouver

Just ran across Dorsey & Whitney LLP law firm.  Their Vancouver office focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other cross-border transactions as well as international corporate structures, NAFTA business immigration, and cross-border financial and commercial matters. The Vancouver office is particularly familiar with U.S. laws and regulations.  Dorsey & Whitney claims to be the only full service U.S. law firm with an office in Western Canada. 

Rules Change For Investors Seeking To Live In Canada

The Canadian Federal government is proposing changes to the immigrant investor program and since June 2010 has stopped accepting new applications for the program.  Future immigrants in the investor program will have to invest $800,000 under the new rules, which is double the previous requirements.  They will also have to prove a personal net worth of $1,600,000, also twice the previous requirement. Many believe that when the change is finalized there will be a rush of millionaire immigrants to Canada, especially from China. The dollar requirements haven't been changed since 1999.

Canadian Dollar Giant acquired by American Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree Inc., the third-largest U.S. discount store operator bought the assets of Canada's Dollar Giant Store (B.C.) Ltd for about $52 million cash, expanding internationally for the first time. The acquisition of Vancouver-based Dollar Giant will add 85 stores in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan to Dollar Tree's more than 3,900 stores in 48 U.S. States.