By the time you read this issue of CRA Magazine the blues of winter would be over and you would be looking forward to blooming flowers and greener grass as new life sprouts in the season of renewal.

However, just as winter gives way to spring, we can only hope that the recent gloom in the financial markets dissipates soon, bringing fresh relief for battered investors. Such relief – as always - remains on the horizon. At least the stock markets have so far shown signs of recovery but it is still too early to tell whether the recovery is sustainable.

Evidently, uncertainty about the markets stems from the fact that the fallout from the global credit crisis which triggered massive government bailouts and a dramatic slump in the financial markets continue to weigh heavily on investor confidence.

Arguably, measures to stabilize the global financial system have taken longer than expected. Growth in all major economies, including Canada, contracted during the first quarter. The Bank of Canada anticipates that the recession in Canada will be deeper than anticipated, with the economy projected to decline by 3.0 per cent in 2009. It expects the economy’s recovery to be delayed until the fourth quarter and to be more gradual, keeping in line with forecasts by the International Monetary Fund which revised its global growth targets downwards.

Whether you are an expatriate or are living in Canada, you are therefore left with tough choices in this uncertain environment. That’s why in this issue Dwarka Lakhan suggests that you should stick to your plan and not let emotions drive your financial decisions.

If you are an expatriate who face the possibility of losing your job, Pervez Patel and John Wright offer timely advice on practical issues relating to health care, taxation, asset structuring and repatriation of goods that should be considered before returning home or choosing another domicile. In similar vein, Mohammad Ahmad provides tax advice to those who are moving to Canada for the first time and to repatriating Canadians.

On a more positive front, Mason Granger and Laura Lau, portfolio managers with Sentry Select Capital Inc. share their optimism about the natural resources sector, while Roger Kenyon examines how carbon credits fit into an investment framework.

Dax Sukhraj
Publisher