In The News

Toronto native David A. Rosenberg, the chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates in Toronto, provided expert analysis for recent article in the New York Times. Speaking on the economic woes in Greece, Portugal and Spain, Rosenberg offers analysis on the current economic environment while also providing his predictions for the future.

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original source New York Times

University of Toronto's researchers seemed to have discovered a link between the loss of kidney function and increased loss of bone mineral density. As reported by Business Week, the researchers have been conducting their tests over a five-year period the results of which where published in in the February issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

"Our findings highlight the importance of estimating kidney function when evaluating patients for fracture risk," Dr. Sophie A. Jamal, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues reported in the February issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. "

"The Canadian researchers followed 191 men and 444 women, aged 50 and older, for five years. They assessed participants' kidney function and bone mineral density at the start and end of the study. "

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original source Business Week

Canada's relative stability in the face of the recent financial crises has Americans looking North of the border for some lessons in fiscal management. According to the Financial Times, global cities from New York to London have a lot to learn from Toronto's banking and business culture.

"Canada is the only G7 country to survive the financial crisis without a state bail-out for its financial sector. Two of the world's 15 most highly valued financial institutions � a list dominated by China � are Canadian and a recent World Economic Forum report rated the Canadian banking system the world's soundest. Even Barack Obama, on the eve of a visit last year to Ottawa, the Canadian capital, admitted: "In the midst of the enormous economic crisis, I think Canada has shown itself to be a pretty good manager of the financial system and the economy in ways that we haven't always been."

"It is a real-world, real-time example of a banking system in a medium-sized, advanced capitalist economy that worked. Understanding why the Canadian system survived could be a key to making the rest of the west equally robust."

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original source Financial Times

According to Business Week, researchers from Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital contributed to a major breakthrough in medicine's understanding of flesh eating bacteria. The Toronto scientists, in partnership with Houston Texas' Methodist Hospital Research Institute, have been able to shed new light on how the bacteria functions. The result of the impressive study is that the deadly bacteria will be easier to track and prevent in the future.

"The sequencing of nearly 100 full genomes from three successive epidemics of flesh-eating bacteria have given scientists the first clear picture of the biological events that contribute to deadly epidemics of severe infection.The approach can be used to track and help prevent major epidemics in the future, the American and Canadian researchers said"

"A study co-author, Dr. Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said in the news release that "until now it has been a mystery why sometimes we see two opposing types of infection in patients who appear to have the same strain of flesh-eating bacteria. In some cases, patients suffer from a devastating infection of tissue and muscle requiring extensive surgery, and other patients present with a skin infection readily treated with antibiotics," Low said. "Now, we understand in part why this happens."

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original source Business Week

The Toronto Star recently ran a feature on an impressive new Toronto restaurant -- Joey Don Mills Grill and Lounge. Part of the Joey Restaurant chain, the Toronto franchise is already generating better sales then the 19 other locations scattered across North America.

"You enter Joey Don Mills Grill and Lounge through revolving doors off a suburban shopping mall parking lot and are immediately transported into a glamourous world of fine dining and haute couture excellence."

"Fuller [ Joey's president and CEO] says Joey has had Toronto in its sights for a long time but the timing for the company's move east had to be right. So he picked a recession to enter the most competitive restaurant market north of New York. Obviously, Fuller knew what he was doing because since opening on Sept. 18, Joey Don Mills quickly topped all the company's other locations in sales. Maybe that's why Fuller is so quick to open another Toronto location � the next one will be housed in the Eaton Centre and is scheduled to open sometime in 2010."

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original source The Toronto Star

Queen's University Entrepreneurs' Competition "one of the longest-running and best-known undergraduate business plan competitions in the world"  according to the New York Times, announced this year's winners at private ceremony last weekend. Administered by students at Queen's School of Business in Kingston, Ontario, the competition received entries from all over the world. But it was Southern Ontario native  Christopher Carmichael from Waterloo's Wilfrid-Laurier University who walked away with the grand prize of $15,000 for his business BuildMyLanyard.

"Visitors to BuildMyLanyard.com can create a lanyard design, then apply it to a material of choice, like eco-friendly bamboo or plain polyester, adding accessories like U.S.B. memory sticks, name tags, card-key covers and key clips. BuildMyLanyard exceeded $50,000 in revenue in the year preceding the competition, with early customers including the Canadian mobile communications company Telus and the TEDx conferences in Vancouver and Toronto."

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original source the New York Times

As part of a series on influential Torontonians the National Post looks at the impressive tenure of Ryerson University president, Sheldon Levy. Thanks to Levy the school is expanding faster than ever and is transforming the surrounding neighbourhood.

" Under [Sheldon Levy's] leadership, the school (which formerly, in his words, "Turned its back to the community") is having its Big Bang moment, adding the Ted Rogers School of Management (atop a Best Buy and Canadian Tire at Dundas and Bay streets), buying the Sam the Record Man on Yonge for a new student centre, and convincing the City of Toronto to turn Gould Street into a pedestrian mall, from Yonge to Church Street through the heart of the campus. In perhaps the biggest coup of them all, Ryerson is getting a new sports complex in the former Maple Leaf Gardens, atop a future Loblaws store."

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original source the National Post

The most recent issue of Landscape Architecture ran a 10-page feature on the architectural and public space merits of one of Toronto's newest pieces of public infrastructure: the wavedecks. The wave-shaped paths constructed of wooden planks are the work of architectural firms West 8 of Rotterdam and du Toit Allsopp Hillier (DTAH) of Toronto.  The firms' design for the four wavedecks located along the edge of lake Ontario (at Spadina, Reese, Simcoe and Parliament) won the Toronto Central Waterfront Innovative Design Competition in 2007.

"When the landscape architecture firms from West 8 of Rotterdam and du Toit Allsopp Hillier (DTAH) of Toronto, as part of their winning competition entry for Toronto's central waterfront in 2007, rendered a series of crazily undulating wooden decks spanning harbour boat slips, it honestly seemed a bit unlikely they would ever get built. How would people walk on those plank roller coaster? Wouldn't the liability exposure be extraordinary? How do you make wood do that? Today, three so-called wavedecks are in place and open to the public. As fantastical as the wavedecks are, they provide public space that is both engaging and relaxing--not an easy combination to pull off�the story of the wavedecks--how they deal with accessibly and safety, how they create both public space and natural space is the story of how crazy ideas get built."

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original source Landscape Architecture

The Learning and Enrichment Foundation (LEF), A community center in York South-Weston is helping Toronto immigrants with the entrepreneurial spirit to start up their own businesses. As reported by Inside Toronto,  LEF offers education, training and support to community members hoping to become self-employed.

"Located in the York South-Weston community, the LEF is a community centre that offers a variety of educational programs free to the surrounding community. Last Friday, The LEF held a graduation party for 13 residents, including Rico, who took part in an intensive four-month entrepreneurship program."

"The goal of the program is to teach people everything they need to know to be self-employed. Students are taught the basics of business practices, but they also learn how to find financing, how to market their products, and maybe most importantly, they are given confidence in their ability to be successful."

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original source Inside Toronto

As reported on the Backup Review, Toronto's Asigra Inc., a cloud backup and recovery software company, has been recognized as one of the "100 Coolest Cloud Computing Products for 2010" by IT publication CRN.

"The list was based on nominations from Solution Providers rating technology, channel influence, effectiveness and visibility along with business and sales impact. The final selections were made by a panel of Everything Channel Editors. This recognition sets the pace for Asigra in 2010 as the company's Cloud BackupTM software becomes the standard for MSPs and VARs seeking to add backup services, switch from underperforming online backup or move from reselling backup services to building a secure, efficient and profitable cloud backup vault.? ?"

"Asigra is again honored by CRN with this recognition as having one of the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors for 2010," said Eran Farajun, Executive Vice President for Asigra. "The real winners, however, are our partners who have aligned with a software partner who does not compete against them and instead provides a platform and pro-rata partner program to compete effectively in the market."

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Source: The Backup Review

An innovative project from Toronto non-profit Artscape, could see a vacant Queen Street school transformed into a vibrant arts hub within the next two years. As reported by the Toronto Star, Artscape recently purchased the Shaw Street School from the Toronto District School Board with the goal of creating  "affordable non-residential condominiums and rental studios for arts groups".

"Our vision is to create a community arts hub, and we're hoping this has a strong educational focus," said Tim Jones, Artscape's president and CEO. To be called the Artscape Shaw Street Centre, the 70,000-square-foot building will be used to promote the arts and provide community programming with a focus on youth."

"I'm not in favour of selling off school lands, but this one is different," said Chris Bolton, Trustee for Ward 10. "In this one we're actually gaining by the sale, and it remains in the community. It's going to offer services to the community and will enhance (it)," said Bolton.

"It's expected the arts groups who buy condos or rent space will collaborate with neighbourhood schools.
The three-storey sandstone school on Shaw St., just north of Queen St., was closed years ago because of declining enrollment. "

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original source Toronto Star

As reported by Exchange Magazine, this summer will see the launch of the forefront initiative, the University of Waterloo's new boot camp for young entrepreneurs. The three-month  residency is designed to fast-tack the careers of the province's young emerging entrepreneurs. In addition to informative seminars and workshops each student will receive a minimum of $3,000 to develop their very own service or product.

"The forefront initiative, which runs from May to July, will be based in Waterloo's VeloCity, a trail-blazing hybrid student residence and high-tech incubator which in less than two years has spawned several strong startup companies in mobile communications and digital media through its teamwork approach."

"The VeloCity Entrepreneur BootCamp (VEB) will enable top student entrepreneurs to fast track the launch of their technology-based startups. Selected students will be mentored by some of Canada's most experienced and successful entrepreneurs. They will live rent-free at VeloCity and will work out of office space provided at no charge by the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo's research and technology park. The students will each receive $3,000 (up to a maximum $9,000 for each team) and own 100 per cent of their intellectual property. As well, they will attend seminars and workshops on important business-related topics. It is the first nation-wide, residence-based program of its kind in North America."

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original source Exchange Magazine

The Business Insider recently included Toronto on their list of "10 Emerging Financial Centers That Will Blindside New York and London." Toronto inclusion on the list was attributed to its role as a "hub" for the country's financial sector as well as its position as North America's fastest growing financial services center and its third largest stock exchange.

"The financial crisis slammed global banking hubs around the world. Were it not for government bailouts, Wall Street, The City and other banking hubs may never have recovered.The traditional financial powerhouses stand weakened, and others, long hungry to steal their business, are taking advantage. Around the world, regional banking centers like Toronto, Shanghai, Singapore and Zurich are poised for explosive growth and to become the new world financial leaders�"

"Toronto's financial sector has traditionally focused more on Canada than the world, but it's trying to change that. The city recently unveiled a plan to become "one of the two leading financial clusters in North America and one of the top five to seven global centres�.According to an October 2009 World Economic Forum global ranking, Canada "demonstrates consistent strength across all three financial intermediation pillars: banking financial services (8th), non-banking financial services (7th), and financial markets (12th)."

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original source Business Insider

As reported by the National Post the province of Ontario recently signed a multibillion-dollar energy deal with a South Korean consortium. The group of businesses the province is now with aligned includes Samsung and the Korea Electric Power Corp. The partnership, which will involve the manufacturing of green technology products and energy producing sites, is expected to be an enormous boost to green energy sector in the province.

"The group..will set up production facilities to manufacture wind turbines and other renewable energy equipment, and it will also develop large swaths of wind and solar farms.The consortium's investment in the project - which promoters say is the largest of its kind in the world - is estimated at between $5-billion and $7-billion."

"By executing this project, the Ontario government will be one step closer to taking the lead in the North American green energy industry by securing the industrial infrastructure for low-carbon growth, creating new jobs and establishing a renewable energy cluster," Brad Duguid, Ontario Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, said Thursday."

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original source National Post

Two Southern Ontario companies were present at IBM's annual Lotusphere conference -- an event which brings together the company's most important customers and partners.  As reported by IT World Canada Toronto-based Extracomm Inc. and Waterloo-based Research In Motion Ltd., both showcased their products at the Orlando conference last week.

 "Toronto-based Extracomm Inc. offers auditing and compliance tools for the Lotus Notes/Domino platform. IBM itself announced earlier this week several upcoming enhancements to Lotus Notes in the second half of 2010 including audit capabilities, social analytics and additional mobile support. Extracomm's director for Latin American distribution, Richard Freund, said the company's compliance offerings are in line with IBM vision for Lotus Notes. "It's good to see we are moving in the right direction with auditing," said Freund
 
"�Also at the product showcase was Waterloo-based Research In Motion Ltd., which that week announced a reseller agreement with IBM to sell its new BlackBerry client versions of Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections."

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original source IT World Canada