Escapology: another way to look at Findependence + MORE Oct 11th

Escapology is a quite different way of looking at financial independence (aka “Findependence”) than we normally cover in this blog and the magazine. If you’ve not heard the term before, welcome to the club. A tip of the hat to fee-for-service planner Fred Kirby for alerting me to the existence of a recently launched print magazine called the New Escapologist.
As far as I can tell from a quick read of the ninth installment, titled Take the Money and Run, Escapology is a kind of very extreme early retirement worldview that puts the focus on freedom rather than material possessions and the myriad of costly services most of us regard as a necessity in this gadget-crazy 21st century (i.e. wireless access, cable TV, smartphones and social media, subscriptions to movie services and magazines and all those other services provided by businesses such as my employer, Rogers).
A definition:
But let’s let the magazine speak for itself:
What is Escapology? It’s about deftly avoiding the potential traps of modern life: debt, stress, unrewarding work, bureaucracy, marketing, noise and over-government…

A Bank of Canada survey suggests weak domestic demand and global economic uncertainty are weighing on Canadian companies, forcing them to rethink investment and hiring plans.

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Rising legal costs push JPMorgan to rare loss
NEW YORK (AP) — Mounting legal costs pushed JPMorgan Chase to a rare loss in the third quarter, the first under the leadership of Jamie Dimon.
The largest U.S. bank by assets set aside $9.2 billion in the quarter to cover a string of litigation stemming from the housing crisis and the bank’s “London Whale” trading debacle.
JPMorgan said it has placed a total of $23 billion in reserve to cover potential legal costs, including the $9.2 billion.
In a conference call with reporters, CEO Dimon called the costs “painful,” but said they reflected “the reality we have to deal with.”
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New GOP shutdown/debt plan, but no agreement yet
WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts accelerated in Congress on Friday to keep the U.S. Treasury from defaulting as early as next week and to end the partial government shutdown that stretched through an 11th day. At the White House and Capitol, President Barack Obama and top aides consulted repeatedly with both House and Senate Republicans…

Saskatchewan’s Potash Corp. says it will earn less than expected in the third quarter because of lower potash sales.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is teaming with one of Australia’s leading real estate groups to acquire a $3.5-billion US portfolio of office properties.