Business Loans In Canada: Financing Solutions Via Alternative Finance & Traditional Funding

Business loans and finance for a business just may have gotten good again? The pursuit of credit and funding of cash flow solutions for your business often seems like an eternal challenge, even in the best of times, let alone any industry or economic crisis. Let’s dig in.

Since the 2008 financial crisis there’s been a lot of change in finance options from lenders for corporate loans. Canadian business owners and financial managers have excess from everything from peer-to-peer company loans, varied alternative finance solutions, as well of course as the traditional financing offered by Canadian chartered banks.

Those online business loans referenced above are popular and arose out of the merchant cash advance programs in the United States. Loans are based on a percentage of your annual sales, typically in the 15-20% range. The loans are certainly expensive but are viewed as easy to obtain by many small businesses, including retailers who sell on a cash or credit card basis.

Depending on your firm’s circumstances and your ability to truly understand the different choices available to firms searching for SME COMMERCIAL FINANCE options. Those small to medium sized companies ( the definition of ‘ small business ‘ certainly varies as to what is small – often defined as businesses with less than 500 employees! )

How then do we create our road map for external financing techniques and solutions? A simpler way to look at it is to categorize these different financing options under:

Debt / Loans

Asset Based Financing

Alternative Hybrid type solutions

Many top experts maintain that the alternative financing solutions currently available to your firm, in fact are on par with Canadian chartered bank financing when it comes to a full spectrum of funding. The alternative lender is typically a private commercial finance company with a niche in one of the various asset finance areas

If there is one significant trend that’s ‘ sticking ‘it’s Asset Based Finance. The ability of firms to obtain funding via assets such as accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets with no major emphasis on balance sheet structure and profits and cash flow ( those three elements drive bank financing approval in no small measure ) is the key to success in ABL ( Asset Based Lending ).

Factoring, aka ‘ Receivable Finance ‘ is the other huge driver in trade finance in Canada. In some cases, it’s the only way for firms to be able to sell and finance clients in other geographies/countries.

The rise of ‘ online finance ‘ also can’t be diminished. Whether it’s accessing ‘ crowdfunding’ or sourcing working capital term loans, the technological pace continues at what seems a feverish pace. One only has to read a business daily such as the Globe & Mail or Financial Post to understand the challenge of small business accessing business capital.

Business owners/financial mgrs often find their company at a ‘ turning point ‘ in their history – that time when financing is needed or opportunities and risks can’t be taken. While putting or getting new equity in the business is often impossible, the reality is that the majority of businesses with SME commercial finance needs aren’t, shall we say, ‘ suited’ to this type of funding and capital raising. Business loan interest rates vary with non-traditional financing but offer more flexibility and ease of access to capital.

We’re also the first to remind clients that they should not forget govt solutions in business capital. Two of the best programs are the GovernmentSmall Business Loan Canada (maximum availability = $ 1,000,000.00) as well as the SR&ED program which allows business owners to recapture R&D capital costs. Sred credits can also be financed once they are filed.

Those latter two finance alternatives are often very well suited to business start up loans. We should not forget that asset finance, often called ‘ ABL ‘ by those Bay Street guys, can even be used as a loan to buy a business.

If you’re looking to get the right balance of liquidity and risk coupled with the flexibility to grow your business seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of business finance success who can assist you with your funding needs.

Nutritional Supplements – A Growing Industry

The nutritional supplement industry has achieved phenomenal growth in the last two decades. In 1994, the DSHEA law was passed. This new framework for the regulation of dietary supplements is better suited for nutraceuticals because it facilitates increased product accessibility for Americans. Since then, the nutritional supplement industry has effectively grown due in a way mutually beneficial to manufacturers and consumers. This phenomenal growth is not only seen in the USA, but all around the world, particularly in Europe.What’s driving the nutritional supplement industry? Let’s take a look at why nutritional supplements are in such popular demand.Worldwide Shift in Focus from Symptom-Relief to Proactive HealthcareNutritional supplements are meeting the health concerns of today forcing a shift in focus. The focus is now on proactive healthcare rather than symptom relief. People want to stay healthy.More people want to take proactive measures for maintaining good health. Most people who take nutritional supplements believe that nutritional supplements will help them to achieve optimal health over longer periods of time.Lifestyle and Environment IssuesBusy lifestyles, a lack of good dietary habits, the strains of daily life and high pollution levels can cause stress to the body. In order to relieve the pressures of life, many people prefer nutritional assistance to improve their situation.Nutritional aids are formulated to help relieve anxiety, antioxidants to help stress at the cellular level, even sleep aids. This type of assistance is preferred since it carries less harmful side effects, is non-addictive, and gently works with the body’s natural functions.Educated PublicEighty percent of illnesses are nutrition-related. Consumer awareness is leading people to make nutritional supplementation their first choice. Nutritional assistance is available to support heart health, eye health, digestive health, and many other health concerns. It is also used in proactive health measures to help prevent some types of health conditions.All of these health benefits have been validated by scientific research which gives them more credibility. A wide amount of research is available to the public through the Internet – credible sources like PubMed and Medline and no doubt such research has given nutritional supplements a dynamic impetus.Inadequacies of Conventional TreatmentsSome conventional treatments have fallen short of consumer expectations. Users of have communicated their preference for less harmful methods of treatment, unless pharmaceuticals are absolutely deemed necessary.The Freedom to Control Your Own HealthcareConsumers are happy to exercise their own healthcare by means of nutritional supplementation. More people are taking responsibility for their own health as seen by the rise in the number of nutritional supplements now available in the market. Using education and their own discretion, consumers are able to administer their own self-care regimen.. There is almost 100% consumer satisfaction leading to a growing insatiable consumer demand for more nutritional supplements!Advancing Research and Variety of ProductsThe demand for more strategic nutritional supplements, targeted for specific demographics and health concerns are driving nutritional supplement manufacturers back to the laboratory for innovative products that can meet consumer demands. Research on nutrition and herbs keeps advancing giving rise to more products. There are now special products for adolescents, working women, men and children. Nutritional supplementation has become a specialized industry and products that cater to specific health needs, in the right packaging, can make the right impression amongst consumers. Products for anti-aging, skin health, cardiovascular health, antioxidants, hair care, continue to be remain popular.Wider Acceptance amongst the Medical ProfessionThere is a wider acceptance of nutritional supplementation amongst the medical profession. More doctors are recommending nutritional supplements to their patients and many of them have begun to endorse products they believe in. More products are developed in collaboration with condition specific experts and nutritional researchers and some are formulated by well-known doctors. Famous athletes and celebrities are endorsing nutritional products and this too has added to the salability and credibility of the nutritional product.The nutritional supplement industry will continue to grow as breakthroughs in research, new manufacturing technologies and innovative products increasingly meet the health needs of today’s consumers.

S&P 500 Rallies As U.S. Dollar Pulls Back Towards Weekly Lows

Key Insights
The strong pullback in the U.S. dollar provided significant support to stocks.
Treasury yields have pulled back after touching new highs, which served as an additional positive catalyst for S&P 500.
A move above 3730 will push S&P 500 towards the resistance level at 3760.
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Pfizer Rallies After Announcing A Huge Price Hike For Its COVID-19 Vaccines
S&P 500 is currently trying to settle above 3730 as traders’ appetite for risk is growing. The U.S. dollar has recently gained strong downside momentum as the BoJ intervened to stop the rally in USD/JPY. Weaker U.S. dollar is bullish for stocks as it increases profits of multinational companies and makes U.S. equities cheaper for foreign investors.

The leading oil services company Schlumberger is up by 9% after beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Schlumberger’s peers Baker Hughes and Halliburton have also enjoyed strong support today.

Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna gained strong upside momentum after Pfizer announced that it will raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine to $110 – $130 per shot.

Biggest losers today include Verizon and Twitter. Verizon is down by 5% despite beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Subscriber numbers missed estimates, and traders pushed the stock to multi-year lows.

Twitter stock moved towards the $50 level as the U.S. may conduct a security review of Musk’s purchase of the company.

From a big picture point of view, today’s rebound is broad, and most market segments are moving higher. Treasury yields have started to move lower after testing new highs, providing additional support to S&P 500. It looks that some traders are ready to bet that Fed will be less hawkish than previously expected.

S&P 500 Tests Resistance At 3730

S&P 500 has recently managed to get above the 20 EMA and is trying to settle above the resistance at 3730. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.

If S&P 500 manages to settle above 3730, it will head towards the next resistance level at 3760. A successful test of this level will push S&P 500 towards the next resistance at October highs at 3805. The 50 EMA is located in the nearby, so S&P 500 will likely face strong resistance above the 3800 level.

On the support side, the previous resistance at 3700 will likely serve as the first support level for S&P 500. In case S&P 500 declines below this level, it will move towards the next support level at 3675. A move below 3675 will push S&P 500 towards the support at 3640.