Last night was the perfect night for dining out in Canada. A number of restaurants and food chains were offering up great deals in an effort to battle the global recession that is affecting nearly every industry. No matter how tough times are, people still need to eat, right?

Well, taking that ball and running with it was the classy Milestones Grill & Bar who had its restaurants throughout Canada hold “Milestones Date Night” from 4pm to closing time last night. Restaurant patrons had the opportunity to dine at Milestones with a date but only pay for one of the two meals! A couple could order any two appetizers and/or entrees from the menu and one out of every two was free!

According to the restaurant’s website, the free offer worked this way: “The lower priced item of each pair of appetizers and each pair of entr

The struggling economy has hit Canadians hard. It has been especially difficult, of course, for those who have been let go from their places of employment over the past several months.

Not surprisingly, today Statistics Canada reported that unemployment rates in Canada are climbing at an alarming rate. In fact, according to their report, more Canadians applied for Employment Insurance in February than any other month since 1997. A total of 325,700 new claims were made which is up by 51,000 or 18.6% from January.

The agency reports that applications for EI have increased all over the country with the biggest numbers coming from Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The unemployment rate began to climb in October 2008. In February, there were 610,200 people receiving EI benefits – a 21% jump from October.

Sadly, it would appear as if this trend will continue as the unemployment rate increased to 8% in March from 7.7% in February. Evidently, the already record-setting rate at which Canadians are seeking assistance from Employment Insurance will also continue to rise.

For the past three years, Synergy Merchant Services Inc. has worked diligently to become “Canada’s Merchant Funding Company”. Today, Synergy proudly boasts nearly 27,000 client relationships as their energetic and hard-working staff make it a daily mission to introduce themselves to small to medium sized business owners all across Canada.

Their secret? Well, it’s not much of a secret at all. Persistence. Perseverance. Patience. (Hmm, something about those P’s…perhaps we should look further into that). A positive attitude and a steadfast dedication to the excellent service that Synergy Merchant Services provides both help to make Synergy the leaders in the merchant cash advance industry.

Merchant cash advances are alternative sources of financing that have been helping business owners in Canada to expand, renovate, buy new inventory and advertise over the past few years. This has allowed for great growth and success for these businesses that may never have been realized without the additional working capital.

Especially during the current economic crisis, banks are, and for the most part always have been, difficult to work with when trying to secure extra capital. With Synergy’s merchant cash advance program, a business owner requires no collateral, no interest accrues on the balance and no liens against the business are necessary.

Funding generally takes place within five business days and repayment is as simple as continuing to process Visa, MasterCard and Interac transactions at the point of sale terminals. A small percentage of one’s future sales pays back the cash advance at the pace that is dictated by the transactions generated by that business. Synergy’s merchant cash advance program, unlike traditional small business loans, is truly a business friendly working capital tool.

Our website www.SynergyMerchants.com has also proved to be an excellent source of fostering new relationships with small and medium sized business owners in Canada. In addition to the wealth of information provided on this great site, it also allows for interested entrepreneurs to apply for a free, no obligation quote directly online. Efficiency and convenience are major factors in helping Synergy to be a customer friendly leader in the merchant financing industry.

Synergy excitedly looks forward to building even greater relationships with business owners all over Canada in the years to come!

As reported last week, tour operator Conquest Vacations went out of business forcing many would-be travelers to make alternate plans for their upcoming vacations. The biggest victims, however, were Conquest Vacations customers who were already on their trips.

Many travelers, such as those staying at the Oasis Resort in Cancun, Mexico were met with hostile threats from hotel staff insisting that they pay upwards of $1,000 in order to remain at the resort or risk being kicked out. While this turned many vacationers’ dream vacations into nightmares, The Travel Industry Council of Ontario insisted that it would assist travelers by wiring money to resorts in order to pay for their already booked rooms.

According to 680News.com, TICO was only able to send through the funds as of this morning since the banks were closed over the weekend. The report notes that travelers who already managed to pay the additional charges forced upon them can apply for reimbursement once they return home.

TICO president Michael Pepper believes that customers could have had their vacations gone uninterrupted had they received just a few days notice of Conquest’s collapse in order to notify the hotels of the money wiring.

Last week, Naeem Thaver, owner of Gala Travels in Scarborough, spoke to The Toronto Star and warned that TICO’s compensation fund would be taking a big hit “because of Conquest’s actions”. Gala Travels had been doing approximately $1 million worth of business with Conquest every year.

This past February, the Synergy Merchant Funding Blog reported that Canada’s inflation rate had dipped to 1.1 percent in January. By the end of February, however, the rate had increased to 1.4 percent.

Earlier today, The Canadian Press reported that Statistics Canada has revealed the country’s annual inflation rate had decreased once again to 1.2 percent in the month of March. Again, food and shelter costs continued to rise. The report notes that the cost of food increased by 7.9% in March citing fruits and vegetables as items that have become up to 26.5% more expensive than they were one year ago.

According to the report, food costs are rising at its highest rate since 1986. Gas prices, on the other hand, have decreased by 21% helping for transportation costs to be reduced overall.

“Statistics Canada says growth in consumer prices slowed in all provinces in March except the two most populous, Ontario and Quebec” says the report from The Canadian Press.

Yesterday, vacationers and would-be travelers suffered through the revelation that tour operator Conquest Vacations had ceased operations. While those looking to go on vacation may have felt the inconvenience of having to make alternative plans, the immediate victims of this unfortunate occurrence were those who were already on the trip that they booked through the now-defunct organization.

According to Toronto’s 680News today, as many as 100 customers of Conquest Vacations in Mexico were forced to either pay an additional $1,000 to stay at their resorts or simply leave. Some vacationers have literally had their dream vacations turned into nightmares.

24-year-old Sarah Saysfi of Brampton had plans to stay in Cancun until this Sunday and now she and her friends find themselves without a place to stay until then. Although Conquest Vacations has ensured its customers that they would not be stranded without a flight home, it is clear that no plans have been made to ensure that the accommodations of their customers are secure for the duration of their vacations.

Saysfi spoke to 680News about her dilemma: “My whole family is just calling, trying to find out if we are okay. They are all worried, especially with the stuff going on in Mexico right now, they don't want us out on the street…Everyone is mad, they are all yelling at the staff at the hotel, saying they are not going to leave, that they can't just kick them out like that, what are they supposed to do, and the hotel staff is basically just saying we have no choice, we're not getting paid, so someone has to pay us”.

Fellow vacationers at the Oasis resort in Cancun have actually been threatened with jail time by hotel managers for not paying up. The Toronto Star's website spoke to Toronto resident Bissoongai Seepersaud, who revealed that hotel staff insisted that they would be reporting her to the police for not paying for her vacation even though she had paid for it before leaving Canada. She is visiting Mexico along with her sister and four children.

According to TheStar.com, “Unconfirmed reports have suggested that vacationers at other hotels were facing similar threats from management”.

In the seemingly never-ending stream of breaking news from the world of business, earlier today Conquest Vacations announced that it has ceased operations effective immediately. After 37 years in business, this popular tour operator is evidently the latest victim of the global recession.

According to their website, customers who have booked trips with Conquest Vacations may contact directcustomers@conquestvacations.com although they are expected to receive communication from the now-defunct company. Those who booked travel through an agency and paid using cash or cheque should contact the same travel agency directly.

However, those who used credit cards to book their vacations are requested to contact their credit card companies to have a refund issued to them.

The following statement was released by Conquest Vacations on their website:

“Conquest Vacations regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to cessation of its operations. Unfortunately this has been a result of overcapacity and price war among the major tour operators, unrealistic and unreasonable demands by the credit card processing companies, credit squeeze and economic turmoil in recent months making it impossible for companies like Conquest to continue in business even after weathering many storms over the past 37 years”.

It is often said that “life is full of ups and downs”. And when considering the nation’s view of the state of the economy, this saying has never been more accurate. Apparently, the roller coaster ride continues. Thankfully, it would appear is if this week, Canada is on an “up” as reported by Julian Beltrame of The Canadian Press.

While Beltrame asserts that the global recession continues to negatively impact Canadian businesses, the Bank of Canada is indicating that most companies appear to be more optimistic than they were three months ago. While not overly ecstatic news, the bank’s most recent quarterly survey of 100 selected firms found that feelings were moderately improving. Beltrame reminds that three months ago, the results of the winter survey fell to its lowest level since its 1997 inception. The most recent survey took place in February and March.

The news, of course, is not all rosy. Beltrame notes that Canadian businesses still maintain unenthusiastic sentiments towards such issues as credit conditions, investment intentions, product pricing and sales volumes. Most firms are still anticipating a continued decline in sales over the next year. As a result, the tightening of lending conditions will also continue according to the Bank of Canada’s survey of senior loan officers.

Such a situation is naturally consistent with a global recession, however. BMO Capital Markets Economist, Douglas Porter notes that during the first quarter of 2009, Canada probably experienced its worst economic contraction in more than 50 years.

Job losses remain a major dilemma in Canada. Beltrame writes that over 270,000 jobs were lost in the first three months of 2009. If it can be considered positive news, surveys are reporting that firms believe that employment levels will, at least, plateau over the course of the coming year. Sadly, this makes evident that hiring intentions are weaker than what was indicated in previous reports.

No matter what, the nation remains resilient. The roller coaster ride that is the national economy is far from over. Hopefully, future surveys will continue to show more optimism. In the meantime, the country braces for more ups and downs. If only this roller coaster ride was actually as fun as the real thing.

With the problematic current state of the economy, it can be understood if business owners look to take advantage of as many ways to generate income as possible. In the case of numerous businesses in Toronto, this included remaining open on Easter Sunday. Risking fines of up to $50,000, many businesses along Queen St. East remained open to ring up sales during the Beaches Easter Parade yesterday.

As reported by Jenny Yuen in the April 13th, 2009 edition of The Toronto Sun in “Stores Defy Holiday Rule”, Ontario amended the Retail Business Holidays Act in 2006 allowing Toronto to decide what businesses could remain open on holidays. Interestingly, as Yuen mentions, Easter Sunday is not even listed as a statutory holiday. Meanwhile, the RBHA still lists it as a holiday where fines may be handed down to businesses that are open on that day.

Thankfully for all business owners who decided to open their doors on Easter Sunday, no fines were delivered and no complaints were made. Yuen notes that this may have been a result of so many bylaw enforcement officers taking the day off to enjoy the holiday.

According to Yuen’s article, the City of Toronto has voted to have businesses remain open on all holidays except Christmas as a means to both boost tourism and combat the recession. Considering this, it seems unimaginable that a business owner would be fined for simply adhering to what appears to be a logical course of action to battle the struggling economy.

Clearly, consumers are still out and about during holidays. Bars, restaurants and gas stations always remain open and are likely busier as a result of the celebrated day. Perhaps a step in the right direction to turn the economy around is to allow for more holiday shopping.

Visitors of the Beaches Easter Parade were treated to open stores on Sunday making a wide variety of goods available to join the traditional eggs in this year’s Easter “hunt”. If the tradition continues, and there seems to be no reason to assume otherwise, perhaps the recession will be shorter lived than expected. Now, that would make for happy holidays!

The roller coaster ride that is Canada’s view of the state of its national economy continues to go through more ups and downs. The Synergy Merchant Blog continues to stay on top of this issue.

It was reported in “Brighter Economic Days On The Horizon” at the end of March, that Canadians were beginning to gain a sense of optimism when thinking about the future of the country’s financial climate.

Perhaps due in part to the fact that new job opportunities are opening up in Toronto, some surveys were indicating that companies were thinking more about hiring over the next few months than they were in months previous. This is not to say that companies were going to begin hiring any time soon. However, the idea that things were not as bad as what was once thought was becoming more popularity.

This week, however, The Canadian Press has reported that the director of The Conference Board of Canada, Pedro Antunes believes that unemployment rates will continue to increase throughout 2009 peaking at 9.5% by the middle of 2010. Referring to the monthly unemployment numbers as “dire”, Antunes estimates that the national economy suffered a 7% dip in the first three months of the year.

To incur the greatest amount of job losses, says Antunes, will be the manufacturing and construction sectors, predominantly in Alberta and Ontario.

Unfortunately, the outlook for Canada’s economic crisis isn’t as bright as what was previously perceived. Nevertheless, Synergy Merchant Services continues to work side by side with Canadian businesses in an effort to help for growth and prosperity.

Hope, of course, is not lost. The economy will begin to grow again. At this time, working hard and thinking positively is likely the best advice for all Canadians.

Who really knows what’s around the next corner on this roller coaster ride of ours?