I recently spoke with a friend whose brother is a home appraiser in Southern California. He had twenty one appointments last week at $275 a call. The home owners were trying to refinance their mortgages that were sitting between $65,000 and $120,000. It wasn’t easy...

Prices for generic prescription drugs in Canada are more than twice as high as those in the United States according to a new study from independent research organization, the Fraser Institute.

The study, found that Canadian prices for generic prescription drugs in 2007 were on average 112 per cent higher than U.S. prices for identical drugs in 2007. In 2003, Canadian generic prescription drugs were 78 per cent higher than identical U.S. generics. At the same time, Canadian prices for brand name prescription drugs in 2007 were on average 53 per cent lower than American prices. In 2003, prices for brand-name (or “patented”) drugs were 43 per cent lower on average in Canada compared to the U.S...

When it comes to publicity Osoyoos is there, ready to tell their story and it is a good one. The population is now 6,200 and that is expected to grow by at least twenty per cent by 2011. There was $70 million worth of construction in the town last year with condos making up the majority of the new developments.

You see the ads everywhere for the opportunity to live there, full or part time. Like everywhere else in the valley, the skyline will be dotted with buildings that go higher than four floors. The first seven story structure is a $110 million resort condominium project. The world knows about the hotspot in the valley and there is a shortage of land that isn’t in the land reserve. They won’t grow up like Penticton or Kelowna because they can’t nor do they want to. Property for development is in short supply. There are 22 wineries in the area and 56 per cent of B.C.’s grape production happens right there. The tourism business has never been better, producing very close to 500,000 visits a year. They are just doing everything right...

I was reading an article about popcorn because of the price of corn and what that could do to our favorite movie snack in the future. In the article it was stated the five-dollar bucket of buttered corn we now buy takes about three cents worth of popcorn to fill it to the brim. So with the price of the corn about to jump who knows where the price is headed with the storms hitting the cornfields in the U.S.. That will not have much to do with the costs of making the bucket corn. That’s not what it's all about when you're at the event with the bucket of corn and the two large Pepsi’s. The profit is in the snacks and if it wasn’t there the price of the tickets to a movie could be $20 a ticket. Guess who gets most of the money when you have a hit movie in your theatre? Right, the distributor who is paying big bucks to the producers. Theatres don’t want the money up front in ticket prices, the profit is in the bucket of corn or other confections where there is far more profit. I am just reading a book – Why Popcorn Cost So Much at the Movies and Other Pricing Puzzles. What the heck - give me another shot of real butter...

It is not that far away as the new Wal-Mart SuperCentre heads towards its completion date of September on the Westside. Staburn Property Group are building a 270,000 square foot centre, The Hub Centre North will be anchored by Wal-Mart and London Drugs. HSBC bank, Reitmans, Chatters and the Shoe Warehouse are also in the mix for the centre. Norson Construction, who seem to be everywhere these days, are building the project. There certainly is going to be a big change in the shopping habits of the people on the Westside in the near future. You will immediately see new colours both inside and outside the building for a new appearance for Wal-Mart. Representing a massive departure from the gray box stores we have seen. New wider aisles, price check stations and multiple cash registers like the Kelowna store has installed...

Tim Hortons are good at what they do. They produce a new item for the menu and TV ads begin to roll. Right now it's an addition to their breakfast menu, Homestyle Hashbrowns. They are oven toasted not deep fried. They look good. Walk up to the counter on Saturday, get a breakfast sandwich and try to order the new item. You'll probably get, “Sorry, we are out of stock".

The sandwich is 510 calories but I don’t eat the cheese so that’s a 100 calories to the better. The hash browns are 100 calories so we’re back up to 510 calories for breakfast. Not bad. I do like that sausage sandwich...

The Okanagan fruit crop is running about ten days behind because of the unseasonable weather. I can’t remember when the fruit stands have been so late in opening. Because of the weather things could have been much worse. Cherries, pears, apricots all took a hit. Peaches, nectarines and plums were all okay. Certainly customers are going to see some changes in pricing this time out.