Elke Van Hout: Elke Van Hout figured she'd thought of everything when immigrating to Canada from her native Belgium with her husband and teenage son in 2010, according to Times Colonist. But there were two challenges she didn't foresee: How difficult it would be to establish a credit history and how high the cost of university would be for her son and TORONTO - For many immigrants setting up a new life in Canada, the biggest challenge isn't coming face-to-face with a mountain of snow or dealing with unfamiliar customs, but the sticker shock that comes with such a move. She'd done her research, accumulated savings, rented an apartment and even opened a Canadian bank account ahead of the move in August, 2010. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Justin Trudeau: Critics, including a couple of federal cabinet ministers, are portraying the $250-a-ticket event as patronizing to women, according to The Star. Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said the invitation raises questions about Trudeaus respect for women and Justin Trudeau was taking some heat for being the guest of honour at a ladies night event in Toronto on Thursday, but the Liberal leader says the fuss was being overblown by Conservatives. Whats the biggest issue facing women? This kind of crap, Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, wrote on her Twitter feed Wednesday evening. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ECB: LONDON - The euro held firm as investors questioned how far the ECB would go on Thursday in hinting at policy easing, though world shares weakened before U.S. data which could set the course for the Federal Reserve's policy. , according to Reuters. "The general view is there a very small chance of a rate cut at today's meeting although our own view is a move in December is likely," said Nick Kounis, head of macro research at ABN By Richard Hubbard A sharp fall in euro zone inflation last week had increased uncertainty over the ECB's policy decision today but a run of robust data in the last few days, pointing to a gradual if still weak recovery, has cut the likelihood of a move. ID:L5N0IS1I2 (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Twitter: The S P/TSX composite index declined 86.21 points to 13,294.2, dragged lower by mining and energy stocks, according to CTV. But despite Twitter's strong early performance, analysts observed that there will likely be other opportunities to own the stock and TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market closed lower Thursday as traders waded through a flood of Canadian earnings news and watched Twitter stock skyrocket as the year's most anticipated IPO got underway. Twitter stock started trading late-morning Thursday and quickly soared about 90 per cent to $50.09 from the initial public offering price of US$26, which had been set Wednesday night. The stock later closed at $44.90. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Mohamed Siad: Witness Number 1 is known: Mohamed Siad , a gang member, now behind bars awaiting trial. Siad, 27, made the video at 15 Windsor Rd ., between February and March of this year and then, with an associate, tried to sell it to , Gawker.com and even CNN, according to The Star. Heres what we heard when we saw the video in a nighttime meeting with an alleged drug dealer in early May and Its a loud, jocky voice and it belongs to Witness Number 2, the other man in the room when the Mayor Rob Ford crack video was filmed. But who is Witness Number 2? Its one of the unanswered questions in the video mystery. Sources in the Etobicoke community have speculated that a person close to Ford , perhaps a male resident of 15 Windsor, is the mysterious voice. has tried numerous times to get resident Fabio Basso to comment, but all attempts have been rebuffed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

David Tulk: The seasonally adjusted index rose to 62.8 from 51.9 in September, far exceeding analysts' expectations for a 51.0. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in the pace of activity. , according to Reuters. The accompanying details, however, were not as optimistic as the headline number would suggest, David Tulk, chief Canada Macro Strategist at TD Securities, wrote in a research note. TORONTO - The pace of purchasing activity in Canada jumped in October, with supplier deliveries returning to growth, according to Ivey Purchasing Managers Index data released on Wednesday. The unadjusted index rose to 64.2 from 59.4. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

European Central Bank: The S P/TSX composite index was up 18.7 points to 13,380.41, with added strength from the mining components, according to The Star. U.S. indexes were mainly higher as the Dow Jones industrials ran up 128.66 points to an all-time high of 15,746.88. The Nasdaq fell 7.92 points to 3,931.95 while the S P 500 index gained 7.52 points to 1,770.49 and The Toronto stock market closed slightly higher Wednesday amid positive earnings news and hopes that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates to help a weak economy recover. The Canadian dollar was up 0.37 of a cent to 95.99 cents U.S. amid strong housing data. Contractors took out $6.5 billion worth of building permits in September, up 1.7 per cent from August and much higher than the 0.7 per cent rise that had been expected. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

food banks: Despite a small dip in the past year, the use of food banks in Manitoba remains sky high, and the percentage of children relying on them is the highest in Canada. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. ALL FIGURES ARE FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH : Joey-Jayne Hyltun volunteers at Winnipeg Harvest, and for the last eight years has had to use the food bank. Photo Store Some 60,229 Manitobans used food banks last March, down 5.1 per cent from the previous year. NUMBER OF MANITOBANS RELYING ON FOOD BANKS (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

house prices: BEIJING - In defying four years of official cooling efforts, China's soaring house prices reveal an uncomfortable truth: government is one of the biggest obstacles to the success of taming the market. , according to Reuters. With one hand on a patchwork of controls aimed at taming record house prices, governments with their other hand are at the same time selling land to developers at rising prices. By Xiaoyi Shao and Koh Gui Qing State income is so entwined in the need for rising land prices that policy efforts to try to curb the house market create an inherent conflict of interest. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

real estate market: More one-percenters per capita call Calgary home than any other city in Canada, high-end retail stores are throwing open their doors for business and the real estate market saw more luxury homes go up for sale this year than any other year in the past, according to Huffington Post. More than 100,000 in-migrants came from other provinces in the past year to seek employment in one of the most desirable job markets in the world numbers even higher than the province's last oil boom of 2005-06 and Alberta, the land of plenty, is acquiring a taste for the high life. And it shouldn't really come as a surprise. Alberta currently leads the nation in salary increases and hourly pay . The province weathered the recent economic downturn well and consumer spending was the highest in the country last quarter. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.