See Into The Future + MORE May 10th

Our eyesight is something we all treasure. It’s hard to imagine life without being able to see the world around us. Like so many other health issues, the majority of vision problems rise exponentially as we age. By age 75, a surprising one in four Canadians has developed irreversible vision loss, and the majority of blindness is caused by age-related conditions like macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma.
“The majority of the most common causes of serious vision loss occur later in life, yet 75 per cent of vision loss can be prevented or treated.” – Nathan Stolch, Doctor of Optometry, Ottawa, ON
The financial toll of visual impairment is staggering: a 2009 study by CNIB (the Canadian National Institute for the Blind) found that the annual cost of vision loss in Canada is $15.9 billion, and the projected annual cost by 2032 is $30.3 billion. The human cost – the impact on quality of life – is also significant: those with visual impairment experience high unemployment, social isolation, poverty and emotional distress, and require greater use of health and social services…

TORONTO – Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (14,534.06 down 11.97 points):
Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSX:WCP). Oil and gas. Down 54 cents, or 3.70 per cent, to $14.04 on 7.5 million shares.
Twin Butte Energy Ltd. (TSX:TBE). Oil and gas. Down five cents, or 2.19 per cent, to $2.23 on 4.9 million shares.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ). Oil and gas. Down 10 cents, or 0.23 per cent, to $42.90 on 3.6 million shares. The company announced an increase in its capital spending program after reporting quarterly net income of $622 million or 57 cents per share compared with $213 million or 19 cents in the prior-year period. Revenue for the three months ended March 31 rose to almost $4.4 billion from $3.76 billion in the prior-year period.
Crew Energy Inc. (TSX:CR). Oil and gas. Down 92 cents, or 8.13 per cent, to $10.40 on 3.6 million shares.
Surge Energy Inc. (TSX:SGY). Oil and gas. Down six cents, or 0…

▲ Winner: Alibaba
Don’t forget: you read it in CB’s 2014 Outlook issue first

The massive China-based online retailer announced on May 6 that it had filed an IPO, and before you could say “open sesame” financial experts were predicting it would out-raise previous record-breaking offerings set by Facebook ($16 billion) and Visa ($20 billion). Founder Jack Ma, already China’s fifth richest person, with a net worth of $8.4 billion, is set to become even richer, thanks to his 8.9% ownership. The sale is also a potential boon to Yahoo, which owns 22.6% of Alibaba, and could see a payday of up to $10 billion as a result. Yahoo’s success or failure will depend on how it handles that windfall—not to mention how it handles becoming overshadowed by what many believe will be the next global tech powerhouse.
▼ Loser: Target
Zellers, all is forgiven!

The retailing giant’s aim has been more than a little off-target of late. On May 5 CEO Gregg Steinhafel resigned after the board suggested that it was time for new leadership…

His departure follows sale of company’s conventional oil and gas assets

In the hot GTA housing market, do you really need a full-service real estate broker? We explore some options.