Short Takes: Trading Gift Cards, Men’s Health, and more

1. Do you have any gift cards you don’t intend to use, or would you like to buy a gift card at a discount? CardSwap calls itself the eBay of gift cards. I don’t know much about them other than what I learned from a press release and looking at their web site, but the idea sounds good. Are there any readers who have tried buying or selling gift cards at this web site? My biggest concern would be that some cards would come with unexpected restrictions making them less valuable than they appeared at first. The card seller may not even be aware of any restrictions.

2. It doesn’t have much to do with money, but the Big Cajun Man thinks that ED medications have improved men’s health because they are sending more men to their doctors for physicals. It’s an interesting theory, but it’s the jokes in italics that will keep you reading.

3. Larry MacDonald has put together a timeline of the huge alleged Canadian Ponzi scheme. It’s troubling that the scheme seems to have been uncovered in 2004, but couldn’t be shut down until this year.

4. Preet says that new cell phone competitors are coming to Canada to drive down prices. It’s about time.

5. Tax Guy reports that Americans can take income tax deductions for car damage due to drunk driving. Don’t expect to see this in Canada anytime soon.

6. Canadian Investor has done a comparison of Emerging Market ETFs trading in the U.S. and Canada.