Blues band at Campbellton, N.B., playing in the rain during the salmon festival on July 5, 2009. 

If it's good news, you'll find it here: from economic recovery to healthy living to personal stories of challenge and accomplishment. Happy reading!

The latest stories:

New

- US GDP comes in better than expected: The U.S. economy contracted just 0.7 per cent during the three months ending in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The department had earlier estimated that the American gross domestic product Spthe most widely-watched measure of U.S. economic health — was shrinking at a rate of one per cent so this new data suggested the recession is easing and that by now the economy might actually be growing again. Read more

- EI rolls shrink in July: The number of people receiving regular employment insurance benefits dropped in July for the first time in 11 months. In July, 787,700 people received regular employment insurance benefits, down by 31,500, or 3.8 per cent, Statistics Canada said Monday. Read more

- RBC predicts rebound soon: The Canadian economy will return to growth this fall, economists at the Royal Bank predicted Wednesday. A report released by the bank's research and forecasting branch, RBC Economics, forecasts that when Ottawa's GDP numbers for the quarter are released, they will show that aggressive government stimulus programs have been effective. Read more

- Car sales increase in July: New vehicle sales climbed 5.3 per cent, to 126,665 units, in July compared to the same month in 2008, Statistics Canada revealed Tuesday. Led by increases in Ontario, sales of both passenger cars and trucks were up. Read more

- Canadian net worth rises in Q2: For the first time in four financial quarters, Canadians' household net worth has increased — by $141 billion to $5.6 trillion in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Monday. The agency credited a recovery in the stock market with padding the value of Canadians' household assets minus their liabilities. The S&P/TSX composite index increased about 20 per cent during the period, the federal agency noted. Read more

- Bike courier finds and returns almost $20,000: A Winnipeg bike courier who found nearly $20,000 on top of an automated teller machine in a downtown Winnipeg office building got a $50 gift certificate for his honesty. On Sept. 8 at about 11 a.m, Matt Magura stopped at the bank machine in the lobby of the Medical Arts Building on Kennedy Street to cash a GST cheque when he found the money. Read more

Economy

- New home prices creep higher: New home prices in Canada crept up in July for the first time in almost a year. Statistics Canada said Friday the prices contractors could get rose 0.3 per cent from the previous month. It was the first countrywide increase since last September. Read more-

- OECD sees signs of 'broad economic recovery': The world economy is showing definite signs of recovery, according to data released Friday by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development. The Paris-based OECD said its composite leading indicator of 29 economies rose to 97.8 in July from 96.3 in June. Read more

– Recession prophet sees recovery: An economist credited with predicting the global financial crisis says he expects a slow recovery for advanced economies, with quicker, robust growth in the developing world. New York University Prof. Nouriel Roubini said he doesn't expect a "V-shaped" recovery, where the recovery phase is just as dramatic as the descent. Instead, he predicts a slower, "U-shaped" economic recovery with the risk of a relapse recession if governments don't time the end of stimulus packages correctly. Read more

– Canadian bank earnings reflect improving economy: For those who view Canada's banks as proxies for the economy as a whole, this week's bank earnings reports are all but shouting that recovery is, indeed, at hand. Bank after bank said third-quarter profits came in better than analysts had been expecting. Three banks — National Bank, Royal Bank, BMO — actually reported record earnings in the quarter ending July 31. Read more

– Consumer confidence up 6th straight month: Canadian consumers are increasingly confident about their financial future and employment conditions, says the Conference Board of Canada. The board said Thursday its consumer confidence index rose for the sixth consecutive month in August to 88.4. That's an 18.2-point jump since the beginning of the year, when the recession was at its worst. Read more

Health

– Caffeine may ease or reverse Alzheimer's: study: Increased consumption of caffeine may mitigate or even reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. They came to that conclusion after completing a study that tested the effects of caffeine on mice that had Alzheimer's disease. The study tested 55 mice that had been genetically programmed to develop Alzheimer's disease. Those that were given caffeine performed much better on memory and thinking tests than the control group. Read more

– Glowing monkeys promise to further medical research: scientists: Scientists recently gave marmosets a gene that made their feet glow green, and one of the animals passed it along to its offspring — the first time that an added gene has been inherited by a monkey. It is a milestone, experts say, that should make it easier to produce animals with versions of human disease for medical research. Read more

Heroes

-Stanley Cup birthday bash for Crosby: Sidney Crosby is celebrating his 22nd birthday by bringing the Stanley Cup home to Nova Scotia. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain arrived in high style aboard a military helicopter Friday morning, landing on the deck of HMCS Preserver in Halifax harbour. Fans applauded and chanted his name as he held the NHL's top prize above his head. Read more

– Canada's Afghan 'model village' praised by U.S. general: A four-star U.S. general in charge of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan praised Canada's model village approach this week as key to winning the eight-year-old war. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who took command of roughly 88,000 soldiers earlier this month, visited the Afghan village of Deh-e Bagh, where Canada has been providing security and overseeing small-scale community reconstruction. Some of the 2,800 Canadians serving in Afghanistan unveiled the model village, south of the city of Kandahar, on Tuesday. McChrystal said he'd like to see more model villages around the country. Read more

– Brave Canadians honoured at Rideau Hall ceremony: Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean has honoured 47 Canadians who defied their own instinct for survival to try to save the life of another. Seven Stars of Courage and 40 Medals of Bravery were presented at a ceremony in Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday morning. The three levels of bravery decorations — the Cross of Valour, the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery — reflect the degree to which the recipients put themselves at risk. Read more

Dreams

– Kijiji reunites adopted woman with birth mom: An online classifieds website usually used for selling and buying second-hand goods has reunited a Calgary woman with the Saskatchewan birth mother she never knew. Jaelyn Marchildon said she has always known she was adopted and she never stopped wondering about her birth mother. "I've cried every birthday since I've known," she said. "You always feel that something is missing because you know there are people out there who are your family." Read more

– Citizen Bytes: My Barefoot Challenge: For the past few years, I have participated in the five-kilometre World Partnership Walk in Toronto, which raises funds to fight global poverty. It always makes me think of what children in developing countries, many of whom cannot afford shoes, must experience. Read more

– Citizen Bytes: My magic hockey helmet: What a fun time I am having! I can't believe there are over 136,000 views of my video! When I wrote it, I was very happy to have the parents from my community see it when I performed it in our school gym and Legion. Read more

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