s government-induced slowdown.The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 199  Floor-Length Bridesmaid Dresses ,586 units in June, according to data from the Canadian government's housing agency.Analysts polled by Reuters had expected 187,000 starts in June.The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp also revised May starts higher, to 204,616 from the 200,178 originally reported.BloombergCouche-Tard s European adventure turns costlyShares in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.fell in morning trading Tuesday after the convenience store operator reported a lower-than-expected fourth quarter profit as costs to boost its business in Europe ripped into the bottom line.per share excluding special non-recurring items.billion as the company absorbed the sales of Scandinavian gas station chain Statoil Fuel Retail ASA.Couche-Tard founder and chief executive Alain Bouchard has been steering the integration of Statoil, the company's largest acquisition ever, which brings together two very different corporate cultures and systems.recovering, says fund managerGeorge Cheveley, Portfolio Manager at Investec Asset Management, discusses central bank action around the world and why Fed tapering is a positive sign for the U.Watch the full Bloomberg interview below.may do better in the second half of the year if history is any guide.in the second half from 1981 to 2000, when gold endured a two-decade bear market, data compiled by Bloomberg show.First-half losses averaged 3.metric tons from exchange-traded products backed by the metal in the second quarter as prices tumbled into a bear market in April.Gold is poised for the first annual drop in 13 years after some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value.The rout already strengthened demand for jewelry and coins around the world and the second half of the year usually sees gains in physical demand for wedding seasons and religious festivals in Asia, including India and China, the biggest buyers.said Bernard Sin, the head of currency and metal trading at MKS (Switzerland) SA, a bullion refiner in Geneva.Physical players are a different breed.They are always buying on the dip.Physical support will continue to be present and it will definitely trigger interest.Made in Canada: Jeans, menswear, womenswear, underwear from homeTo open Vancouver handbag designer Erin Templeton's fall lookbook, I first had to tear through a large red and white Made in Canada sticker.If only all fashion brands did the same!In the wake of the Bangladesh garment factory deaths following a building collapse in April, I offered my services to stymied readers who wanted help to source and identify reasonably priced, accessible Made in Canada apparel.You took me up on that offer  Tea-Length Bridesmaid Dresses , and six weeks later, I'm still at it, almost daily.The mail bag runneth over.RelatedCheap-and-not-so-cheerful: Fast fashion claims more victims in BangladeshOverall, my correspondents want to avoid even indirect support of the broken chain of supply and demand that contributed to the situation in Bangladesh.interest in actively seeking out and supporting Canadian brands, big and small, that are trying to make a go of producing apparel at home.Along the way, Jesse Mann reminded me about the documentary he made about Toronto designer Bruno Ireullo (materialsuccess.ca), and Canadian Kate Black wrote to introduce herself and Magnifeco.com, her digital source for eco-fashion and sustainable living, an international guide read in 120 countries on where to find and what to look for in ethical fashion, worldwide.But this isn't a piece about the whys of buying Made in Canada; I've written that one before, and readers likely have their own reasons.This is about the hows, the whats and the wheres.It turns out these are much harder questions to answer.no, the Internet doesn't help.It's a time-consuming, one-by-one process.which, admittedly, change from season to season.Other than on content tags sewn into the garment (by law, each must state country of manufacture), it's tricky.You have to ask companies specific, direct questions, case by case, or else go into the stores and check the content label firsthand.To be clear, our industrial textile industry is long gone.Made in Canada usually means produced with imported fabric  Knee Length Bridesmaid Dresses , although sewn by hands at sewing machines, or in the case of things like hosiery and shoelaces, knitted at top speed by mechanical looms, under supervision by Canadian humans.Here, some places to start the search.I read your article regarding clothing made in Canada and wanted to ask you where you would recommend that someone shop for business-wear or formal clothing in the Toronto area.I am a recent graduate who started working and am essentially creating my wardrobe from scratch.I am also looking for nicer casual wear as my wardrobe mostly consists of hooded sweaters and jeans, which also needs to be updated.I know Harry Rosen sells Tilley (tilley.com) clothing but that's about it.the one exception at the time was a particular style of fedora, which was made in the U.But Harry Rosen (harryrosen.com) carries much more domestically produced apparel than just Tilley.and has for decades.Consumers are becoming more educated and learning first-hand the true cost of buying more items of a lesser qualityFor details, I called Jeff Farbstein, Harry Rosen's vice-president and general merchandise manager, who has been with the retailer 34 years.He's certainly seen the manufacturing landscape change in that time, but some of the best garments in production today have been around since well before he started.There's Dion neckwear (dionneckwear.com), a family business based in Concord, Ont.silk ties and other menswear accessories (as does Braemore, since 1937, braemoreties.There's also Caulfeild Apparel (caulfield.com), who do bathrobes, loungewear and boxer underwear (Joe Boxer, joeboxer.com) and a few golf lines for department stores and retailers.He mentioned Jack Victor, another tailor-made, made in Canada menswear brand (from Montr.