Initial public offerings scheduled to debut next week + MORE Jun 26th

(Getty Images / Nathan Bergeron Photography)
Admit it. Every time there’s a global ranking you instinctively run down the list looking for something to brag about. Lately, if you live in Toronto, there’s been plenty to brag about.
You can add a new one to the list: the world’s hottest luxury real estate market. According to Christie’s International Real Estate, the luxury real estate arm of the global art auction house, the market for luxury properties (especially ultra-tony Muskoka cottages accessible by float plane) grew by 37% last year (registration required), eclipsing London, England for the top spot.
Christie’s report is chock-a-block with brag-worthy facts.
A luxury home in Toronto starts at $3 million, versus $5 million in New York. Both of which make Durban, South Africa look like a bargain at $750K:

Sales of Luxury properties grew by 37% in 2014, whereas sales shrank by almost 20% in Dubai:

It takes an average of 31 days to sell a luxury home in Toronto, versus 165 in London (and 262 in Chicago!):

It’s that last fact that put Toronto ahead of other markets, where homes regularly sell for much larger sums…

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, left, and German chancellor Angela Merkel. What we have here is a failure to communicate. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty)
During the depths of the financial crisis, Sunday became Monday.
Finance ministers and central bankers were inept at saving the global economy during normal working hours. They inevitably toiled through the weekend, unable to make decisions without the pressure of the opening of markets in Asia to focus their minds.
Here we go again.

Europe’s leaders can’t risk letting Greece become a failed state

The standoff between Greece and its creditors—the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—will extend into the weekend. Athens needs a lifeline to cover the almost US$2 billion that it owes the IMF on June 30. The creditors are taking a hardline on the conditions that will come attached to the money. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was elected five months ago on a promise to end austerity, is finding it ideologically and politically difficult to meet their demands…

EDMONTON – The head of Alberta’s Crown-owned bank will lead the review into how much money companies must pay the provincial government to extract oil and natural gas.
Dave Mowat, president and CEO of ATB Financial, has been appointed as the chairman of the review advisory panel.
Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd says the review panel will be responsible for listening to Albertans on what type of royalty structure the province should have.
She says Albertans have asked the government to have a look at the royalty system to ensure that it is fair and balanced.
The royalty review advisory panel is to conclude its work by the end of this year.
Some energy companies have warned that changing the royalty structure will add more uncertainty to an industry that is suffering due to low oil prices.
The post CEO of ATB to lead panel that is to review Alberta’s energy royalty system appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The following is a list of initial public offerings planned for the coming week. Sources include IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital, and SEC filings.
Week of June 29:
ConfirMIS Inc. – Bedford, Mass., 9 million shares, priced $14 to $16, managed by J.P. Morgan, and Deutsche Bank. Proposed Nasdaq symbol CFMS. Business: Sells fully customized knee replacement implants.
LoanCore Realty Trust Inc. – Greenwich, Conn., 15 million shares, priced at $20 each, managed by Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley. Proposed NYSE symbol LCRT. Business: Commercial mortgage REIT backed by Jefferies and GIC.
Natera Inc. – San Carlos, Calif., 6.25 million shares, priced $15 to $17, managed by Morgan Stanley, Cowen & Co., and Piper Jaffray. Proposed Nasdaq symbol NTRA. Business: Sells non-invasive prenatal DNA tests.
Principal Solar Inc. – Dallas, 1.5 million shares, priced $7 to $9, managed by Northland Securities. Proposed Nasdaq Capital Market symbol PSWW…

I’ve always enjoyed interviewing the managers of the Templeton Growth Fund (TGF), one of the most famous global mutual funds in the world and the basis for the famous “Mountain Chart.”
TGF also happens to be one of a handful of mutual funds our family still owns, along with numerous ETFs and individual stocks, so when Franklin Templeton brings in its fund managers for its annual media lunch in June or July, I’m always happy to take advantage of the access.
On Wednesday, I taped an interview with the new portfolio manager of Templeton Growth, British-born James Harper normally based in Nassau and a veteran of 22 years in the business, the last eight with Franklin Templeton. He took over the fund on April 21 of this year. Like his predecessors, Lisa Myers and George Morgan, he has a refreshing take on the valuations of stocks around the world.
Fund underweight U.S. stocks

He started by saying the fund is 18% overweight in European stocks, 15% underweight in the U.S., and later in the interview revealed the fund no longer has any exposure to Canada, even though as a global equity fund, you might expect it to own perhaps a 3% index weighting…