Ah, parity! A struggle, spanning three decades – and one which no-one south of the border was probably even aware of, finally sees the Canadian loonie on an equal footing with the US greenback. Up north, however, it feels like Canada has finally won a round of Monopoly, and there’d be a big street party to celebrate – if it wasn’t for the rain. But hey, we can all nip over the border and buy cheap stuff even more cheaply. We’d have to, as retailers here (and who can blame them?) aren’t budging on the cover prices for items such as books and magazines, which display a much lower US$ price than is – today – realistic. Is that why there are so many more “for sale” bins at Starbucks these days, for all those mugs and candies and cuddly toys with last season’s ticket prices?