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Thailand is prepared to impose additional measures to stem speculation should the baht appreciate more quickly than the currencies of its Asian trading partners, central bank Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said.

“The best way for us is to have a variety of policy tools, and then be able to use the mixture of them in a good proportion, hopefully at a good time too, and retain some flexibility to adapt the combination and degree,” Prasarn said in a media briefing in Bangkok today.

Emerging countries from Asia to Latin America have taken steps to stem gains in their currencies that may make their goods more expensive relative to their competitors’. The baht has surged more than 10 percent against the dollar this year, the biggest gainer in Asia outside Japan, threatening exports by companies including General Motors Co. and Siam Cement Pcl.

The Bank of Thailand has additional tools it could use, and these could include a tax on financial transactions, sometimes termed a Tobin tax after James Tobin, the Nobel Prize-winning U.S. economist who first suggested the idea in 1971.

“We liberalized the outflow, we reintroduced withholding tax on capital gains for foreign investment, but not yet to the degree of imposing the so-called Tobin tax,” Prasarn said. “Logically you have to keep these policy tools in your pocket, but whether to use it is another matter low fee cash advance.”

Investors are pouring funds into Asia, where growth and interest rates are higher than those of major economies such as the U.S. and Japan. Stock markets in India, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have attracted more than $53 billion from foreign institutional investors this year.

Interest Rate

Asia’s developing economies will expand 9.4 percent in 2010, compared with 2.7 percent in advanced countries, the International Monetary Fund forecast in October.

Thailand’s benchmark interest rate is 1.75 percent, compared with near-zero rates in Japan and the U.S., contributing to an inflow of net $7.8 billion into the local bonds in the first 10 months of this year, according to data from the Thai Bond Market Association.

To curb appreciation pressure on the baht from the capital inflows, the government last month removed a 15 percent tax exemption for foreigners on income from domestic bonds.

“One important criteria we use is to look at the trade- weighted exchange rate movement compared with our trading competitors and trade partners,” Prasarn said. That rate “would be the indicator we use as a reference and, at the moment, the rate is still in a way manageable.”

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U.S. banks posted their smallest profit since the fourth quarter of last year after one of the nation’s biggest lenders took a $10.4 billion writedown, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

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The Toronto stock market dipped into the red Monday as major deals in the commodities and financial sectors failed to lift those influential indexes into positive territory.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 64 points to 12892.4 in morning trading, while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 8.3 points to 2,004.21.

Financial were down 1.57 per cent after Scotiabank (TSX: BNS) said it is paying $2.3 billion to buy up the shares it doesn’t already own in investment firm DundeeWealth (TSX: DW). The acquisition will add a major wealth-management business to the Toronto-based bank’s stable of financial services operations. Shares in Scotiabank lost 24 cents to $54.41.

A five per cent drop in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO) also weighed on financials after Citigroup downgraded the insurance giant’s rating to “sell,” due to a weak outlook for its U.S. operations and the risk of dilution in any further equity raising required to pay down its debt.

Manulife shares fell 71 cents to 14.64 in morning trading.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 of a cent to 98.19 cents U.S., as the U.S. dollar edged higher against European currencies and oil prices fell slightly.

The metals and mining sector lost 1.2 per cent as prices moved slightly lower after an announcement Friday that China would tighten its monetary policy, sparking fears that could slow economic growth and thus demand for commodities.

The January crude contract was down 97 cents to US$81 cheap payday loans online.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Shares in Imperial Oil (TSX: IMO) lost 25 cents to C$37.51.

The December copper contract on the Nymex fell eight cents to US$3.75. Shares in Lundin Mining Corp. (TSX: LUN) were down 14 cents to C$6.61 on the TSX

The December gold contract lost 50 cents to $1,351.80 an ounce. Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: ABX) fell 12 cents to $50.59.

Meanwhile, shares of junior potash miner Potash One (TSX: KCL) jumped 25 per cent after it announced it has agreed to be taken over by Germany’s K+S Aktiengesellschaft in a friendly deal for $434 million.

BHP Billiton launched a hostile takeover bid earlier this year for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX: POT), the world’s largest potash producer, but the proposed deal was turned down by the federal government which ruled it would not be of net benefit to Canada.

It was unclear whether the Potash One deal would face the same scrutiny from Industry Canada but the much smaller company’s acceptance of the offer will likely help smooth the consummation of the deal.

Potash One shares gained 88 cents to $4.62 apiece. Potash Corp shares gained 55 cents to $143.38.

U.S. markets were also slightly lower as investors remained jittery over whether an Irish bailout package would help contain Europe’s financial crisis or whether more was needed.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 79.1 points at 11,124.5. The Nasdaq composite index lost 1.83 points to 2,516.29, while the S&P 500 index fell 7.65 points to 1,192.10.

Developments in Ireland will likely dominate global market sentiment during what could be an otherwise quiet week as U.S. markets effectively shut down mid-week when traders begin Thanksgiving break.

Details were scarce on Ireland’s application for financial aid from its European neighbours, but the package is expected to be worth anywhere from euro80 billion to euro100 billion.

Investor uncertainty still lurks due to questions over whether the Irish austerity program will work and as eyes turn to whether other highly indebted euro countries — particularly Portugal — will be next.

“While the news calmed the markets initially, more and more observers are arguing that Ireland, Greece and even Portugal may still face default,” said Bob Tebbutt of Peregrine Financial Group.

“Their small economies can not handle the massive debt and other countries are getting more and more reluctant to provide the funds needed.”

The Irish government confirmed Sunday it is formally requesting a financial aid package to shore up its debt-laden banking sector. Details are expected to be released later in the week following talks between the Irish government and officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The country could be forced to make further massive spending cuts and raise its very low rate of corporate tax cash till payday loans.

In other corporate developments, technology licensing company Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX: WIN) says it has initiated a lawsuit against Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., and Charter Communications, claiming that each violates one of its patents in its cable systems and cable modem products. Shares in the company lost 10 cents to $4.58.

Spectral Diagnostics Inc. (TSX: SDI) has signed a long-term, exclusive agreement with Toray Industries Inc. to market and sell Toraymyxin, a treatment for sepsis, in Canada. Financial details were not disclosed. Spectral shares gained five cents to trade at 35 cents.

Meanwhile, a report from the Conference Board of Canada released Monday forecasts that profits in three of six main Canadian industry sectors are expected to rebound strongly this year before a general weakening of economy activity again in 2011.

Profits in the food services, retail and accommodation sectors are expected to see profits rebound by more than 20 per cent this year, according to the report published by the Conference Board of Canada in collaboration with Business Development Bank of Canada.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.93 per cent while France’s CAC-40 fell 0.94 per cent. Germany’s DAX fell 0.40 per cent.

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Billionaire Warren Buffett said that rich people should pay more in taxes and that Bush-era tax cuts for top earners should be allowed to expire at the end of December.

“If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should even probably be cut further,” Buffett said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week With Christiane Amanpour” that is scheduled to air on Nov. 28. “But I think that people at the high end — people like myself — should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we’ve ever had it.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to take up President Barack Obama’s plan to extend some of the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush when the House returns after Thanksgiving. The legislation would retain lower tax rates and increased credits that apply only to the first $250,000 of a married couple’s gross income or $200,000 of a single person’s.

Unless Congress acts, marginal income tax rates will rise across the board, tax credits that benefit families will be slashed, and tax rates on capital gains and dividends will increase. In addition, a federal tax on estates worth more than $1 million will be resurrected after expiring for 2010.

“The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we’ll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you,” Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said in the interview. “But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.”

House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer yesterday didn’t rule out backing a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 a year. He said he plans to discuss the matter with Obama.

“I’m certainly going to talk to him about how we move the ball forward,” Hoyer said on the CBS “Face the Nation” program.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday defended the central bank’s plans to spur U.S. economic growth, saying they could help reduce unemployment, and — in a message aimed at China — urged developing nations to let their currencies gain in value.

Nations need to work together to correct global imbalances as the world economy recovers at an uneven pace, the Fed chairman said at a banking conference in Frankfurt, Germany.

While praising the global coordination that helped pull the world’s economies back from the brink of collapse, Bernanke said the sense of common purpose that resulted has "waned" and that tensions among nations have "intensified."

Bernanke’s principal complaint is that officials in emerging markets have prevented the appreciation of their currencies to the detriment of developed economies — the same argument employed by Obama administration officials in recent weeks in criticisms of China.

"The strategy of currency undervaluation has demonstrated important drawbacks, both for the world system and for the countries using that strategy," Bernanke said.

Bernanke also defended the Fed’s decision earlier this month to pump $600 billion into the financial system by purchasing U.S. Treasuries. Central bank officials from many U.S. trading partners, including Germany, have criticized the plan for potentially dangerous side effects.

Bernanke acknowledged the rancor, but argued that additional stimulus is necessary given persistently high levels of unemployment in the United States, particularly among those who have been out of work for long periods of time.

"In taking that action, the Committee seeks to support the economic recovery, promote a faster pace of job creation, and reduce the risk of a further decline in inflation that would prove damaging to the recovery," he said.

Bernanke stressed that the Fed has the tools to drain money from the economy if necessary. He also noted that the Fed purchased Treasuries and other assets "on a large scale" during the financial crisis, which he said "appears to have been quite successful in helping to stabilize the economy and support the recovery during that period."

Bernanke argued that the Fed’s action is rooted in conventional monetary policy.

"Even the asset purchases, the quantitative easing, done by the British, the Americans, the Japanese has some pretty classic roots to it," he said during the question and answer portion of the conference.

Some developing nations have blasted the United States for labeling China a currency manipulator, while also pursuing a policy that effectively undermines the value of the dollar. In response, Bernanke said the dollar’s recent decline was a reflection of its safe-haven appeal in the currency markets, adding that fostering economic growth will eventually restore the currency’s strength.

Bernanke also acknowledged criticism from officials in developing countries such as Brazil, who worry that the extra liquidity being pumped into the system will inflate asset bubbles in emerging markets.

He noted that there has been a recent increase in capital inflows to such nations but suggested that it was due more to differences in currency exchange rates, particularly among nations that devalue their currencies.

To that end, Bernanke also discussed the challenges created by the "two-speed nature" of the global economic recovery, in which emerging markets are growing much faster than established ones.

The "bifurcated" recovery is making it difficult to coordinate economic policies, he said, and is fueling tensions between nations that have large deficits and those that are running surpluses.

While world leaders were united by a common cause during the global financial crisis, Bernanke warned "that sense of common purpose has waned" as the world economy has recovered at an uneven pace.

"Tensions among nations over economic policies have emerged and intensified, potentially threatening our ability to find global solutions to global problems," he noted. 

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—A $6.2-billion deal has been reached to develop power from the proposed Lower Churchill hydroelectric project in Labrador, Emera Inc. announced Thursday.

Emera (TSX: EMA) says under the agreement, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown utility, Nalcor Energy, would spend $2.9 billion to build a power generating facility at Muskrat Falls.

A transmission link from Labrador to Newfoundland would cost $2.1 billion, $600 million of which would be provided by Emera.

A link between Newfoundland to Nova Scotia would cost $1.2 billion, all funded by Emera, which owns Nova Scotia Power.

In a statement issued by Emera, Premiers Danny Williams and Darrell Dexter touted the agreement as one that would provide cleaner, affordable electricity and boost Atlantic Canada’s economy.

“This is an extremely exciting and proud day for our province as we move forward with plans to develop the Lower Churchill project — the most attractive clean, renewable energy project in North America,” Williams said in a statement.

“This is an historic day for Nova Scotia and all of Atlantic Canada,” added Dexter. “It lifts the idea of Atlantic co-operation off the page and turns it into fundamental action, building a more prosperous nation.”

The agreement is subject to approval by regulators in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Under the agreement, Nova Scotia would receive 20 per cent of the power generated at Muskrat Falls for 35 years.

Emera has been in negotiations to develop Lower Churchill power since a memorandum of understanding was signed in January 2008 no credit check payday loans.

Nalcor officials have said it would take about five years to get energy flowing to Nova Scotia once a deal is signed.

Last month, Williams announced he was pursuing the Lower Churchill project in two phases. He said his plan was to build a generating station at Muskrat Falls, followed by a larger facility upriver at Gull Island.

The multibillion-dollar project has been on the drawing board in one form or another for decades. In 1980, it passed an environmental assessment but was set aside due to concerns over market access and financing.

Concerns over the loss of habitat that would result from the development of the project have also stalled its progress. But Nalcor has promised to develop a compensation plan to make up for that.

The desire to build more power plants on the Churchill River in central Labrador can be traced back to 1972, when the Churchill Falls hydroelectric dam was finished with Quebec’s help.

Under that deal, which doesn’t expire until 2041 and is often criticized by Williams, Quebec has reaped more than $19 billion in profits while Newfoundland has pocketed only $1 billion, according to the Newfoundland and Labrador government.

As a result of that deal, Newfoundland and Labrador has sought an alternate route for Lower Churchill power that bypasses Quebec.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is seeking to defuse rising criticism of the Fed’s $600 billion bond-purchase plan by arguing that it’s needed to bolster the economy and reduce unemployment. But he warns the Fed’s program can’t succeed on its own.

In his first speech since the Fed announced the bond-buying program on Nov. 3, the Fed chief made his most forceful case to date that Congress also must provide more stimulus aid.

Without more stimulus, high unemployment could persist for years, he said. But in making that argument, Bernanke risks heightening complaints that he’s plunging the Fed into partisan politics.

He also said the global economy could falter if struggling countries abroad don’t receive sufficient support.

Bernanke made the remarks in a speech prepared for delivery to a banking conference Friday in Frankfurt, Germany. A copy of his speech was made available Thursday night.

The goal of the Fed’s program is to invigorate the economy in part by lifting stock prices and encouraging Americans to spend more. Lower interest rates on loans would prompt companies to borrow and expand. Cheaper mortgages would let more people buy or refinance homes. Higher stock prices would boost the wealth and confidence of individuals and businesses, Bernanke has suggested. And the additional spending would lift incomes, profits and economic growth.

But the Fed’s program has triggered a barrage of criticism both within the United States and abroad.

Critics at home, including Republican leaders in Congress and some Fed officials, question how much help the program will give the economy. They also worry that it could do harm _ unleashing inflation and leading to speculative buying on Wall Street.

And, at a summit of world leaders in South Korea last week, China, Germany and other countries complained that the Fed’s plan would give U.S. exporters a competitive price edge by flooding world markets with dollars. A weaker dollar makes U.S. goods more attractive to foreign buyers.

Emerging economies like Thailand and Indonesia also fear that falling Treasury yields will send money flooding their way in search of higher returns. Such emerging markets could be left vulnerable to a crash if investors later decide to pull out and move their money elsewhere.

Because countries are recovering from the severe global recession at different speeds, tensions among nations have risen, making it more difficult to find global solutions to global problems, Bernanke said. So-called emerging countries like China, Brazil and India are growing at much faster rates than “advanced” economies like the United States, Japan and Britain.

“Insufficiently support policies” in the United States and other advanced economies could “undermine the recovery not only in those economies but for the world as a whole,” Bernanke warned. In contrast, China and other emerging economies face the challenge of keeping growth robust, without igniting inflation, cases that may involve withdrawing stimulative measures, he said.

Bernanke made the case that the Fed’s action was needed to support the economy, promote a faster pace of job creation and reduce the risk that very low inflation could turn into deflation, a prolonged and destabilizing drop in prices of goods and services, in wages and in the values of stocks and homes.

Even so, the Fed’s program by itself can’t fix all the economy’s problems, Bernanke said.

“There are limits to what can be achived by the central bank alone,” he said, tamping down expectations.

“A fiscal program that combines near-term measures to enhance growth with strong confidence-inducing steps to reduce longer-term structural (budget) deficits would be an important complement to the policies of the Federal Reserve,” he said.

Bernanke has previously warned that the economy is too fragile for the Congress to slash spending or boost taxes, even as he has made the case that lawmakers and the White House must craft a credible plan to reduce trillion-dollar plus budget deficits over the long term.

But the Fed chief amplified that warning. He is doing so as Republicans in Congress _ coming off big wins from the midterm elections _ are using their clout to push for less government spending and more fiscal discipline.

Republicans are upset with Bernanke because they think the Fed is overstepping its bounds with the bond-buying program. They argue that the Fed is printing money to pay for the government’s massive debt.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., want the Fed’s mission to be revamped.

They want the Fed to focus solely on keeping inflation in check. It now has a “dual mandate” from Congress: to keep both inflation and unemployment low.

On the defensive, Bernanke was forced earlier this week to meet privately with lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee to defend the Fed’s program. A stream of Bernanke’s colleagues have also been out making public appearances backing the Fed’s action in recent days. Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Sandra Pianalto, president of the Cleveland Fed, were on the circuit Thursday.

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BJ’s Wholesale Club says its third-quarter profit rose on higher revenue of gas and merchandise. The earnings beat expectations and the company is raising its guidance for the year.

The warehouse club operator says net income rose to $23 million, or 43 cents per share. That’s up from $17.4 million, or 32 cents per share. Analysts expected 36 cents per share.

Revenue is up 5 percent to $2.63 billion from $2.51 billion last year. That came up just shy of the $2.64 billion expected by analysts.

There have been rumors that BJ’s might put itself up for a potential auction or seek other business alternatives.

The company is raising its revenue and earnings guidance for the year.

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U.S. Representative Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said he plans to introduce a bill tomorrow that would end the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate, forcing the central bank to focus on inflation.

“The Fed’s dual mandate has failed,” Pence, of Indiana, said in a statement. The central bank is currently required by a 1977 amendment to the Federal Reserve Act to promote stable prices and full employment. Matt Lloyd, communications director for the conference, said in an e-mail that Pence intends the bill to be considered in the current lame-duck session of Congress.

The Fed’s Nov. 3 decision to buy $600 billion of Treasuries in a bid to reduce unemployment is being criticized by officials in China, Germany, and Brazil, as well as U.S. economists John Taylor and Michael Boskin. Pence joined the critics today, saying the Fed’s second round of quantitative easing will monetize the U.S. government’s debt and ignite inflation.

“It’s time for the Fed to be solely focused on price stability and not the recently announced QE2,” said the 51- year-old lawmaker.

Democrats still control both houses during the lame-duck session that began today. Republicans gained at least 60 House seats in the Nov. 2 election, enabling the party to seize a majority in the chamber in January. Republicans gained six seats in the Senate, trimming the Democrats’ control to 53-47.

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Part of Toronto will look a lot more like New York, Chicago and London, according to plans to create residences around the city’s waterfront film studio district.

That’s because Pinewood Toronto Studios, the largest movie complex in the city, wants to build homes that mimic the streetscapes of iconic North American neighbourhoods, the Star has learned.

That could include locations such as Soho in New York, Chicago’s Loop area, and Charing Cross in London.

“The internal streets between these buildings are designed to be used as shooting streets that could represent different cities,” says a master plan report prepared for Pinewood Studios and obtained by the Star.

The master plan is the long-awaited blueprint for how developers of the area – including the city of Toronto, which owns about 20 per cent of the site – envision the neighbourhood when it is fully built.

“One of the challenges for film crews in a congested city like Toronto is doing location shooting, where it’s difficult to impose yourself on neighbourhoods,” Edith Myers, the president of Pinewood Studios Toronto, said in an interview.

“These will be real residences, right by the studios that will be used for shooting.”

Building a living studio is just one of the ideas of the ambitious plan, developed with HOK Planning Group, which envisions a mixed-use neighborhood with retail stores, a hotel, condominiums and office space co-existing with eight sound stages.

The 13.5-hectare land parcel is bounded by the Don Roadway, Commissioners St., Bouchette St. and the existing shipping channel.

“Right now you can plunk soundstages in the middle of nowhere and build a studio. But to make this really work you have to have a sense of place – a true community,” said Alfredo Romano of Castlepoint Realty Partners, one of the owners.

The studio already has soundstages and offices totalling 250,000 square feet, but developers want to go much bigger, and have plans to put 2.5 million square feet on the site.

This includes:

• Condominiums that will include four towers and two mid-rise buildings overlooking the shipping channel with an unobstructed view of the water.

(Developers have not set prices, but expect that condominiums will sell for under $500 a square foot. The development will have room for at least 1,000 condos.)

• A 180-room hotel and public plaza planned for the corner of Commissioners St. and Don Roadway to create a gateway to the studio. Visiting stars could move back and forth to the studios much more quickly in a secure environment.

• Retail stores will be in the same area as the hotel, including cafes and restaurants leading to the waterfront promenade.

“This is ultimately intended to be a go-ahead plan, it’s not a dream plan,” said Derek Ballantyne, the chief operating officer of Build Toronto, one of the city-owned developers. “We feel it has a lot of merit.”

Pinewood Studios was originally known as FilmPort before it was purchased last year by Toronto Waterfront Studios Development Inc., a group of investors that included Castlepoint, Conweb Corp., ROI Capital, and BUILD Toronto, which is owned by the city.

Castlepoint is also involved in a purchase of the 5.54-hectare Home Depot site that was first reported in the Star last week.

Ballantyne said the master plan was drawn to conform to planning requirements for the development of the port lands which is to reconnect the area to the rest of the city.

Some parts of the master plan will require rezoning, but developers say they can start the project relatively quickly faxless cash advances.

Romano says he would like to see a 60,000-80,000 square foot office building built first to house businesses that supply the film industry. Retail and condos would likely follow.

The shooting street concept is not new. Pinewood Studios in the U.K. has grand plans to create an entire mini-city of shooting streets on a 105-acre site near the M25 highway. But it has run into opposition from residents who don’t want development near their village.

Myers said she does not expect the same kind of problems here.

“We conform to the city’s waterfront vision and this will definitely add a sense of vibrancy to the area,” said Myers.

Residents of the new film district won’t be able to complain either. They will know up-front they will be living in a community that is to be used as a set. The streets are private and can be closed at any time for shooting.

“They will have to sign convenants, so that even if they sell their home the new owners will be subject to the same requirements. It won’t be for everyone,” said Myers.

“But when there is no shooting going on, it will be fun to walk around Chicago one day, and New York the next.”

During shooting the buildings will have access from surrounding public streets so residents will be able to access their units, while looking out their windows on the activity outside.

Toronto has played a variety of roles, from New York, to Boston to London. Most recently in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, it played itself in a rare role. But most of the time, the city gets requests for locations that look like other North American cities.

City of Toronto film commissioner Peter Finestone says one request he gets all the time is for a location that resembles New York’s Central Park.

“You wouldn’t believe how many times we get asked for that one,” said Finestone.

The long-neglected waterfront area has now appeared to reach a critical mass of development with the unveiling of the master plan and the recent development proposals.

“I think we are definitely getting to a point where you start to see things happening,” said Ballantyne.

This year Corus Entertainment opened a new headquarters with 1,100 jobs coming to the waterfront. Work is underway for a new George Brown campus near the water, and Sugar Beach, a tiny strip of beach opened near the Corus building.

In the West Don Lands, work has already started on an athlete’s village for the future Pan Am Games.

Pinewood was among the first to build on the water, however, and developers have bigger plans to involve the community with the district.

The selling feature of the studio is the large 46,000 mega stage which was supposed to attract blockbuster movies. The historic Pinewood UK studio has shot most of the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises.

But a high Canadian dollar has meant Hollywood blockbusters have been scarce. The mega stage has been used for the drama Chloe, starring Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore, and most recently as a stand-in for Maple Leaf Gardens for the CBC’s popular Battle Of The Blades.

Romano’s Castlepoint Realty has been on a roll lately with the purchase of the Home Depot site and the building out of Pinewood Studios. But it did not happen overnight.

The company bought their first piece of land more than 19 years ago.

“It’s been a long and arduous process, but I’ve never felt more confident,” said Romano. We’ve reached the tipping point.”

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