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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowman ville, Wednesday, January 11,1995 9 GM Vehicle Sales Jump More Than 8% Over '93 If you're looking for a new job, be wary of employment offers that sound too good to be true. Marketplace Marketplace experts at the Ontario consumer ministfy say many of these offers are scams that will only cost you money. Dishonest promoters approach their prey in a variety of ways. Offers might include: • jobs in other countries, through newspaper or magazine ads; • get-rich-quick plans, promoted on business cards handed out near transit stations; • a full-time income for part-time work - often at home - promised in ads faxed to workplaces and in classified classified ads; • high-income sales positions available with no experience necessary, necessary, promoted over the telephone; or • great-paying acting or modelling jobs, promised by people who simply stop victims on the street to make their pitch. Regardless of the job offered or how it's presented, all these schemes have one thing in common. The promoter promoter asks for money up front. "You should be suspicious of any potential employer who asks for money," says Marilyn Gurevsky, a manager with the Consumer Affairs Branch. "The job may sound like a great opportunity, especially for someone who has been out of work for awhile. But so many are scams that we're advising consumers to ask a lot of questions and get good answers answers before signing anything or handing over any cash." In those few occupations that do involve a cash outlay, the employee should ask for and get a full outline, in writing, stating precisely what will be provided for that fee. If the promoter promoter can't provide those details, the job seeker should look for work elsewhere. elsewhere. Ads offering jobs in Russia, Alaska Alaska and the Persian Gulf are often good examples of a common job scam. Consumers who answer these ads say they are promised positions earning earning up to $75,000 U.S. per year. But, they may be asked to pay between $200 and $1,000 to cover travel costs, information lists, foreign work papers and visas, or deposits on accommodations. accommodations. People who answer the ads receive receive nothing for their money and the fake employment agents disappear. The consumer ministry has also heard from people who applied for positions in Australia. They paid hundreds hundreds of dollars, but received only outdated lists of company names. "Unfortunately, there's little we can do to help many of these people," says Gurevsky. The ministry strongly advises anyone anyone who is interested in obtaining an overseas job to contact the embassy, consulate or high commission of the country involved, for information on required visas and permits. Anyone who has information- about any job scam is asked to contact contact their local police department. Consumers wishing to receive information information on a variety of consumer issues can request a list of free brochures brochures called A consumer goldmine. It's available by writing to the following following address: Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Commercial Relations, General Inquiry Unit, 250 Yonge Street, Toronto, On, M5B 2N5. Regulatory Plans Released by Feds Treasury Board President Art £g- gleton has released the 1995 Federal Regulatory Plan and invited comments comments from interested Canadians on proposed regulatory changes. "Governments in Canada are closely examining the way they regulate," regulate," Mr. Eggleton said. "Our government government is counting on Canadians to tell us what regulations we need as a country to protect our safety, our health and our environment. Just as important, however, government needs to know which regulations can be eliminated or revised because they are barriers to economic growth and job creation." The president of the Treasury Board recently tabled in the House of Commons the Regulatory Efficiency Act. The purpose of the legislation is to reduce barriers to jobs and growth caused by the present, outdated regulatory regulatory system, while at the same time ensuring health, safety and the environment environment are fully protected. Sustainable Sustainable development is a key goal of the Act. The Federal Regulatory Plan describes describes proposed amendments and regulations the government expects to introduce this year. For each amendment and regulation, the Plan lists the name, address and phone number of a contact person. Long Distance Dialing The long distance dialing deadline is fast approaching. That's right - starting January 8th*, remember to dial 1 or 0 + Area Code + telephone number, for all long distance calls, even those made to destinations within the same area code. Otherwise you'll reach a recording recording instructing you to redial using using the correct dialing method. In order to give customers time to adjust to the dialing change and to make any required modifications to their telecommunications equipment, Bell provided a five-month transition period. However, this transition period period will end on January 8th, 1995. So, Starting January 8th ... Dial Right To Get Through! For complete dialing instructions, please see the Information Pages of your Bell Canada telephone directory. directory. If you require more information or assistance, call our information line toll-free at 1 800 363-2633 (for service in English) or 1 800 668 1868 (pour service en français), Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time). *Cutoff date may be later in some areas subject to completion of Bell Canada's technical modifications. It's best to start dialing correctly now. Note: Customers in the 905 area, already use 11-digit dialing for long distance calls made within the 905 area code. General Motors of Canada sold 409,708 vehicles in the 1994 calendar calendar year, an increase of 8.4% over the 1993 calendar year. Truck sales were very strong in 1994, with total unit sales of 164,473, an. increase of 17.8% over the previous calendar year. Car sales also increased, with sales of 245,235 units, an increase of 2.8% over last year. For the month of December, GM's truck sales of 12,253 units reflected reflected an 8.6% increase over December December 1993, while car sales for the month slipped 6.5% from the same period last year, with sales of 13,880 units. Combined new vehicle sales for December were almost identical to December 1993 numbers. One of the highlights of the year was the Chevrolet Cavalier which captured the best selling car in Canada Canada honours, the fifth straight year it has done so. The all new Cavalier has begun arriving at dealer showrooms across Canada, and it's expected to have the same impact on the marketplace marketplace that its predecessor had. Tom Mason, GM of Canada's vice president of marketing said "We are very pleased with our-results in 1994, sales have rebounded, and we view the 8.4% increase over last year as a significant improvement, and a reflection of the improving economy. We are also excited about the feedback feedback we are receiving about many of our new products, such as the Chevrolet Chevrolet Lumina and Monte Carlo, our new Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy Jimmy compact sport utilities, and the redesigned redesigned Geo Metro and Pontiac Firefly. We believe people have recognized recognized the inherent value GM vehicles vehicles offer, with the combination of safety features, like air bags and antilock antilock brakes, high quality and competitive competitive prices." Effective January 8,1995, the firm of Madgett, Roberts, Marlowe, Hurren and Partners will carry on their practice as follows: Madgett, Roberts, Marlowe, Laing, Jackson and Chappell, Chartered Accountants 187 King Street East Oshawa, Ontario L1H 1C2 Telephone: (905) 579-5531 (905) 686-6415 Fax: (905) 579-4624 Partners: Bruce K. Madgett, C. A.; Christopher J. Roberts, C.A.; Charles W. Marlowe, C.A.; Michael D. Laing, C.A.; Wayne Jackson, B.A., C.A.; Richard A. Chappell, B.A., C.A. © FREE SEMINAR The Who, What, Where, When and How of Investing in Mutual Funds Take control of your financial future by attending this informative seminar on Mutual Funds. Date Thursday, January 12"' Time 7:00pm-9:00pm Place Flying Dutchman Hotel Highway 401 and Liberty St., Bowmanville R.S.V.P. Call Stan Martin at 623-2504 before Tuesday, January 10"'. All seminar attendees will receive a free 'Ben Wicks on Mutual Funds' book. Space is limited so call and reserve your seat today. National Trust Mutual Funds Veltri Complex, 6S King Street East, Bowmanville 1995-THE YEAR TO THRIVE 1995 -- THE YEAR TO THRIVE. That's what we'll call it when we look back a few years down the road. After a tough 1994 for investors, 1995 offers hope that we can make up for lost time (and money?). Actually, 1994 should have been a better year. The economy roared back to health as people started to get their jobs and confidence back. If we can thank one group of people though it's probably the athletes and team owners who shut down operations and freed up billions of dollars of seat buyers' and advertisers' dollars that could be channeled into other retail purchases. Those hurt by the shutdowns would naturally disagree (with our understanding) but when you look at it in relative terms a lot of money that would have been spent on sporting events was directed into the Christmas shopping binge. The surge in buying brought on fears of higher inflation. The old school says "increase interest rates and people will hoard their money -- prices will fall, inflation won't be a problem". It isn't working folks. So watch for another hit on interest rates in the New Year. However, there's only so much the system can handle. The rate increases have been so much greater than anticipated that the carnage in the bond and stock markets has been overdone. The profits that will be generated when this is reversed will be substantial. Before we go on to other rationales, let me remind you that investors always watch the January effect and the first week of January as the way the year starts often indicates the way it will end. Then we have the General Motors theory and one tied to the length of skirts and of course, the Super Bowl theory. Then we have probably the most successful of all, the one that says years ending in the number 5 will always do well. Based simply on that theory this should be a heck of a year. Think about what's going to happen as we start the year. Millions of Canadians will contribute billions of dollars into their RRSPs. Some of that flood of cash will head into the lending institutions. They will have to get that money out somehow and into something. Much of it historically goes into the mortgage markets. It may not stop any increases in rates generated in the United States but it will have an overwhelming impact on the direction of interest rates here in Canada. When rates start to fall in the spring, the banks, trust companies, credit unions and life insurance companies will be looking for ways to move the money. That will create a substantial surge in the bond markets in anticipation of the inevitable decline in interest rates. While the bond markets offer the greatest potential for spice in the marketplace, don't forget the equity side. With the cancellation of the $100,000 in tax free capital gains a lot of investors used the week before Christmas to unload their duds. This "capital loss selling" created losses they could use to offset other capital gains. But now that's out of the way January and February should create a bout of buying. It's a timing thing. Timing will be the order for 1995 as well. So, here's how it looks on the calender. The easiest and safest route in the early part of the year will be to head for the bond markets and bond mutual funds. We can earn 9% in long bonds today. With no inflation, this is a real nine percent, the highest in the industrialized world, the highest real rate of return in a decade or so. Snap up all the bonds and bond funds you can get. When interest rates rise, you will be in for a major capital gain to go along with today's high real yields. When rates fall though, the equity markets will surge. Low interest rates mean higher corporate profits. That means higher stock and mutual fund profits. Few investors can ever time it perfectly. So, the best strategy is to look long term but to diversify as the times change. The winners I think, will use the following strategy. They will load up on the bond funds today. They face little risk. They will take the yield and their other cash flow and systematically buy equity funds. You get the safety of bonds plus the future growth of equities. Next summer, when you have a handsome windfall from the bond markets you can redirect the money into equities and enjoy long term appreciation. ■ It's simply a matter of timing. ■ ■ I