The history of the New York Stock Exchange is littered with colourful stories that feature soaring stocks and bonds, horrible crashes, as well as ceremonies to mark significant moments in history and even simple holidays.

When World War I broke out in 1914, the governing body of the New York Stock Exchange decided to suspend trading. In retrospect, an initial closing was probably a good idea since holdings in Europe of American securities were more than likely going to be extremely unstable. The shut down was considered to be an emergency measure, but a necessary one to keep the market from crashing altogether.

The market closed on August 1, 1914, but what shocked so many was that the market didn’t just close for a day or two, it closed for four months. While by today’s standards, the idea of no trading for four months seems outrageous and basically impossible, traders in that time felt exactly the same way. The only other time up to that point in the history of the NYSE that there was a closure was during the Panic of 1873, which featured over 30 firms on Wall Street to go out of business. But even then, the exchange only closed for 10 days, not months. So, what was the cause of this extended closure?

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For many Americans, Canada has been a refuge from instability for generations. Canada was the final destination for thousands of runaway slaves before the American Civil war, and then later during Viet Nam, for draftees that felt the war was unjust. The slow and steady migration to Canada continues to this day, although it’s mostly to get away from gun violence and George W. Bush. For those looking to buy real estate in Canada, the third quarter numbers had both good and bad news.

The good news? Canadian real estate is on a record pace in 2006.

The bad news? The third quarter numbers are down sharply from the second quarter of this year, and even down from the third quarter of last year. What does all this mean?

It basically means that Canada’s sizzling real estate market is still hotter than ever, but that it can’t keep up the incredible pace that it’s been on.

Breaking down the numbers, Canadian real estate is down 6 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and down 2.5 percent from the second quarter of this year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Overall, sales during the first nine months of this year are still up over the same nine months from last year, but things do appear to be slowing down.

The hardest hit cities during the third quarter slow down were Vancouver, home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, red-hot Calgary, which is still booming thanks to the local oil industry, and Toronto. Sales in Edmonton, Alberta and Hamilton, Ontario are actually up for the third quarter, helping to offset the losses in other cities.

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