Angel >> Pork futures, and lots of them! In the financial world, everyone knows the Montreal Stock Exchange (ME) has been dead for years. So the ME did a reality check and engineered a trade: the Toronto Stock Exchange will now handle all the stock trading, while the ME gets a national monopoly on futures. The Chicago exchange invented the futures concept back when it was losing all its business to the New York exchange, and revived itself as a result. It's too complicated to explain here, but suffice it to say that Montreal will soon be overrun with rural-egghead traders making highly educated guesses about what the price of pork will be next year. Sound like pretty colourful characters to have around, don't you think?

Insect >> Egomaniacal mayoral has-been Jean Doré Last spring, Doré held no less than three press conferences to say he was "thinking of running" for mayor. Then he ran, and ate a big can of whoop-ass in the final tally. This week, he held another press conference to announce that he would not run for mayor next time around. We're glad to hear it, but why even bother with a press conference? Does anyone care? Were Montrealers chomping at the bit, waiting to find out what his plans were? Why not just disappear quietly like all the other big-time losers?