Para Roberto Ramírez de Costa Rica, servir a Dios en misiones ha sido un paso de fe tras otro. Perdió su trabajo, su estabilidad financiera e incluso a su prometida, pero ganó mucho más.

When Elizabeth May, parliamentary leader of the federal Green Party, proclaimed on Tuesday that "oil is dead," she was correct in a philosophical sense. But not in a practical, real world sense.

People and businesses are rallying to support the Muslim community in Fort McMurray recover after widespread flooding that damaged many neighbourhoods.

Take a listen to Episode 9 of CBC Edmonton's new podcast, The Loop.

Police are investigating a report of a suspicious package in north Edmonton.

Three residents at a long-term care facility in Sault Ste. Marie have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting officials to declare an outbreak at Extendicare Maple View.

A new study facilitated by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario states miners who were forced to inhale an aluminum powder were found to have a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The Porcupine Health Unit is declaring a COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care home in Iroquois Falls.

Provincial surveillance testing has returned a positive case of COVID-19 in a resident of Wikwemikong Nursing Home on Manitoulin Island. Ogimaa Duke Peltier says every staff member and resident underwent tests Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and the results are starting to come in.

Before probing blots for the presence of an antigen, the total composition of the transferred proteins can be determined by staining the nitrocellulose or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane. Staining for proteins is useful to determine the position of the non-prestained molecular weight markers or individual lanes on the gel and to ensure that efficient transfer has occurred. It can be also used to verify equal loading of the samples in the gel when a comparison of the protein of interest between the different samples is important. The conventional procedures such as Coomassie Blue and silver staining methods used for staining polyacrylamide gels are incompatible with immunoblotting. Ponceau S is the more common staining method in immunoblotting protocols because it is compatible with antibody–antigen binding, is cost efficient, and provides a good contrast between the stained bands and background. In this protocol, nitrocellulose or PVDF membrane is rinsed with ultrapure H₂O after the transfer of proteins. Ponceau S dye is applied as an acidic aqueous solution, and the proteins on the membrane are stained with red color. The membrane is briefly destained with water and can be photographed or scanned to obtain the image of the total protein staining. Individual lane positions or the molecular weight standards can be marked with a pencil, if required.

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones are rendered electrocompetent and transformed with the recombinant shuttle vector, pLD53SCAB/AB-box. Cointegrates are selected by growth on chloramphenicol and ampicillin to ensure recombination of the shuttle vector into the BAC.

Amid widespread sell-offs in risky asset classes, corporate bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) traded at steep discounts to underlying asset values in March. Contributing factors were high market volatility, reduced risk-taking by dealers and investors' reaction to policy decisions. Policy interventions that improve market functioning in a given sector can have temporary yet important spillovers to other segments through portfolio rebalancing by investors.

FSI Briefs No 1, April 2020. Regulatory policy responses should seek to support economic activity while preserving the financial system's soundness and ensuring transparency. The recommendation for banks to make full use of capital and liquidity buffers should go hand in hand with restrictions on dividends and bonuses and clarity concerning the process for rebuilding them. Flexibility in loan classification criteria for prudential and accounting purposes should be complemented with sufficient disclosure on the criteria banks use to assess creditworthiness. The publication of detailed guidance on the application of expected loss provisioning rules, combined with sensible transitional arrangements, may constitute a balanced approach to mitigating the unintended effects of the new accounting standards.

Using a cross-country sample of bank-dependent public fi rms we study the international spillovers of a change in banking regulation on corporate borrowing. For identi cation we examine how US rms' liabilities vis-a-vis banks, non-bank lenders and bond markets evolve after an increase in capital requirements implemented by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in 2011. We find that US firms experience a reduction in credit lines but not in term loans from EU banks.

FSI Briefs No 4, April 2020. Currently, insurers are more likely to experience losses from financial market volatility than from higher insurance claims arising from Covid-19. Few insurance supervisors have seen a need to strengthen or adjust prudential requirements to insulate insurers from current financial market uncertainties. So far, authorities have responded mainly by taking measures to provide operational relief to insurers from regulatory and supervisory requirements so that they can continue providing insurance services. These measures will also help insurers to enhance risk monitoring of their Covid-19 financial exposures. Some authorities have set out expectations for insurers to conserve capital through prudent exercise of dividend and variable remuneration policies. The aim is to enhance their resilience against huge uncertainties from potential Covid-19 fallout. Other capital-related measures should relieve supervisory pressures and reduce the tendency of insurers to manage their investments in a procyclical manner. These measures include: extending the supervisory intervention ladder, triggering the countercyclical lever and recalibrating capital requirements. The far-reaching impact of Covid-19 calls for sustained vigilance by both supervisors and insurers. In the post-pandemic phase, the extraordinary measures currently warranted will need to be unwound through a carefully crafted exit strategy that preserves sound risk management practices and protects policyholders' interests.

This paper reviews post-crisis financial regulatory reforms, examines how they fit together and identifies open issues. Specifically, it takes stock of the salient new features of bank and CCP international standards within a unified analytical framework.

BIS Bulletin No 9, April 2020. By allowing banks to run down some of their buffers, policymakers are sending a strong signal about their resolve to lessen the economic fallout from the pandemic. Such prudential measures complement the main policy levers: monetary and fiscal instruments. To avoid a reduction in credit to the real economy, authorities need to ensure that banks have the capacity and willingness to make use of the flexibility afforded by the buffer release. Payout restrictions on banks and risk-sharing between banks and the public sector will be key. For banks to continue playing a positive role in the supply of funding during the recovery, they should maintain usable buffers for a long period, as losses from a severe recession will take time to materialise.

The Covid-19 shock is placing enormous strains on corporates cash buffers. Corporate financial statements from 2019 suggest that 50% of firms do not have sufficient cash to cover total debt servicing costs over the coming year. Credit lines could provide firms with additional liquidity. On average undrawn credit stood around 120% of debt servicing costs at end 2019. However, access is uneven and banks may be reluctant to renew or extend them in the current environment. Sticky operating expenses result in many firms running operating losses, placing an additional burden on cash buffers. Estimates indicate that following a 10% drop in revenues, operating expenses only fall by 6% on average. Simulations suggest that if revenues fall by 25% in 2020, then closing the entire funding gap with debt would raise firm leverage by around 10 percentage points.

Architects and planners from the Netherlands are advising coastal cities worldwide on how to live with water

From gas stations to public libraries, these celebrity architect-designed buildings are worth a road trip

Application deadline: 17 May 2020 | Banking Settlements Centre | Location: Basel, Switzerland

Press release: CPMI report sets out considerations for developers of wholesale digital tokens, 12 December 2019

The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank, together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), have created a group to share experiences as they assess the potential case for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in their home jurisdictions. (Press release, 21 January 2020)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today announced two key appointments to the BIS Innovation Hub, a new initiative designed to support central bank collaboration on new financial technology. (Press release, 19 February 2020)

Press release about Basel Committee assesses members' implementation of the Net Stable Funding Ratio and large exposures framework, 19 March 2020

Press release "Basel Committee coordinates policy and supervisory response to Covid-19", 20 March 2020

Press release "Governors and Heads of Supervision announce deferral of Basel III implementation to increase operational capacity of banks and supervisors to respond to Covid-19", 27 March 2020

CPMI Press release "How fintech can promote financial inclusion - a new report on the opportunities and challenges", 14 April 2020

BCBS Press release "Basel Committee issues progress report on banks' implementation of the 'Principles for effective risk data aggregation and reporting'", 29 April 2020

Tissue engineering has a unique set of tools and technologies for developing preventive strategies, diagnostics, and treatments that can play an important role during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive cancer of the blood-forming system. It affects the hematopoietic stem cells, or blood stem cells, of various white blood cells and of the red blood cells and platelets.

Holland America and Princess cruise lines issued notices this week cancelling the remainder of the season in Atlantic Canada, citing global health concerns, and that's taking a huge bite out of the Port of Sydney's budget.

What would have been Cape Breton University's largest convocation to date is being replaced by an online offering this year because of COVID-19. Some graduating students say it just won't be the same as a traditional ceremony.

Police say efforts to find the driver of an abandoned car in Kings County last week likely saved his life.

Over the 13 hours the mass shooting took place across Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19, the RCMP called in resources from New Brunswick to help. However, the two municipal police forces closest to Portapique were not asked to respond directly at any point, CBC News has learned.

The provincially appointed trustee of the English Montreal School Board says the Quebec government made the “right decision” when it postponed the reopening of Montreal-area elementary schools to May 25.

Live professional baseball games could be televised in the United States as early next week, with South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reporting Monday that ESPN and the Korea Baseball Organization are nearing an agreement.

Major League Baseball could hold a rescheduled opening day between mid-June and July 4 and play at least 80 games this season, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday.

Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson spoke to CBC's John Northcott about the realities of running a funeral home during the pandemic.

Major League Baseball owners will discuss a length for the amateur draft next week and are likely to start the selections on the original date of June 10, a person familiar with the deliberations told The Associated Press.

A former groundskeeper for the Expos recently told the Montreal Gazette that Pete Rose, who played less than a full season with the team, routinely had an Olympic Stadium staffer cork his bats in 1984.

The Cleveland Indians held a video conference with players and other team officials to lay out the provisional plan for returning to organized workouts with designs on being ready for a potential 2020 opening day of July 1, according to The Athletic.

Winnipeg police officers who arrested a man who then went into medical distress and later died were not at fault, an investigation by Manitoba's police watchdog has found.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority delayed a vote at Winnipeg's city council after it sent a request to move a dispute on development at Polo Park to the provincial municipal board, saying it was doing so "in the name of the government of Canada." But the government of Canada say the WAA can't speak on its behalf.

Winnipeg will soon test "small cell" technology to improve cellular reception in parts of Winnipeg, ahead of a possible future transition to 5G service. 

They're not necessarily treating sick patients in hospitals, but a number of Manitoba-based scientists are working long hours and facing incredible pressure to battle the novel coronavirus from their labs and research facilities.

Solar Opposites (date: 5/9/2020 - Rank: 4)

A look at support and regenerative policy initiatives by the Federal Reserve and the Government as more than 20 million jobs were lost in April 2020.