I re-listened to JP's (and who was the guest?) rant on Canadian banks. I think, actually, that he is on to something when it comes to financing existing companies. Unfortunately, however, I see the American investment banks as being every bit as cut-throat as the Canadian. One of my large cap holdings is American, trading on the NYSE, and their recent financing was American. The banks there shorted the h*** out of the stock for no good reason.