Fairfax’s Watsa doubles down on Trump bet, cuts stock shorts + MORE Feb 17th

Unilever rejected a surprise $143 billion US takeover bid from U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co. on Friday, saying it saw no reason to discuss a deal which it said had no financial or strategic merit.

CP24 Toronto’s Breaking NewsMarried couple facing charges in multi-million dollar fraud investigationCP24 Toronto’s Breaking NewsA married couple, one of whom had worked as a fraud detection agent at a financial institution, are facing charges in connection with a multi-million-dollar fraud investigation. Police say they began an investigation into an alleged fraud on June 28 …and more »

Q: In the case of a blended family should the mother of the children pass first, what is the obligation of the husband to his step-children?  If the mother’s wishes have been satisfied as to jewellery and personal belongings being passed on to the kids, what is the obligation of the step father to these children with the remaining assets upon his death and during estate planning? The kids are in their late teens.
—Patrick S.
A: Blended families have confusing rights and obligations. Some are moral and some are legal rights so it’s difficult to give simple answers to your question because people frequently have more than one marriage and one partner. Blended couples may also have children from previous relationships or marriages and this can create potential conflict for those expecting a family inheritance. As well, there’s the time element—children and relatives may lose their inheritance or wait years to receive it.
But no question, blended families have special estate planning issues…

(dedMazay/iStock)
To say that Al and Mark Rosen have a dim view of securities regulators and investor protection law in Canada is putting it mildly. The father-and-son forensic accounting duo, who co-founded Accountability Research Corp. in Toronto, lay out an alarming picture of the Canadian investing landscape in a new book, Easy Prey Investors: Why Broken Safety Nets Threaten Your Wealth. In short, the book explains how companies can present misleading financial statements that are approved by auditors, and then used by equity analysts to talk up shares in those companies. Under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), a set of accounting guidelines adopted in Canada and in other countries, figures are especially prone to manipulation. Regulators and lawmakers, meanwhile, have shirked off their duties to protect investors. Ultimately, the Rosens argue, investors have to watch their own backs. In this excerpt, they outline the most common traps investors fall into.

We are often asked to identify the most troublesome situations that we encounter in our forensic investigations…

Investor believes U.S. president will spur growth