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According to a study conducted by the Federal Reserve, there is more than a 50 percent chance that the United States will have another recession. The cause is connected to international developments, domestic factors and the debit crisis in Europe.

The study states that the U.S. is simply not stable enough to handle the sovereign debt coming from Europe.

It is estimated that the recession will happen again at the beginning of the New Year.  However, the study also states that the U.S. has a chance of getting through this recession quite quickly during the second half of the year.

The U.S. currently has a 30 percent chance of falling into a recession without any external factors. 

First of all, let me start off by saying that The Sounds are one of my favorite bands and after I saw this show, they're also in my list of top 5 live performances. This Swedish band really rocked it. I had never been to Club Soda for a show before, but I knew they had balconies and I knew that is where I wanted to write my piece. It was the perfect vantage point.

The Sounds opened strong with a track from their new album, "Dance with the Devil." The crowd was surprisingly loud and responsive to the lead singer Maja Ivarsson’s actions and her performance. As we sang her own lyrics back to her, it was obvious that she was surprised at how loud we were and she became very humbled by it.

They played all their hits from all four of their albums. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen, partly because I knew all the lyrics and was singing my head off, but also because the band’s sound was tight, clean and sounded just like their albums, which I take as a sign that they are very good entertainers and are good at what they do.The explosive crowd reaction continued as they played one of my favorite songs, "Something To Die For"  and another fun song called "Queen of Apology."

Maje was a stunning, and very physical performer; she was dancing and jumping around the stage in 3 inch stilettos all night, she flashed her panties at the crowd more than once, and she smoked cigarettes in between songs and even during her ballad. During the song "Painted by Numbers," she organized a male vs. female sing off because she wanted to know who was the loudest. She also said to us “from the bottom of my Swedish heart, you guys have been much louder then Toronto where we played before.” The crowd went crazy after that.

The band members are also phenomenal at what they do; the bassist is badass and loves to move around and the drummer really created some nostalgic moment for me. The keyboardist/electronic drummer stood out a little less, but he and the drummer had an amazing electric drum battle.

The bands energy never fell; it only got more and more pumped up because the audience was giving them a lot of wonderful feedback. We were cheering, yelling, dancing, smiling, laughing and listening. In all honesty, it was one of the best concerts I have ever attended. I saw The Sounds back in 2005 at Warped Tour in Montreal, and I was very excited when I heard they were coming back. They have so much new brilliant material from their newest albums to give the show fresh appeal. They didn’t seem like the smallish band from Sweden I saw so many years ago. They have matured and can put on one hell of a show!

-Andrea Boulet

The Montreal Alouettes were eliminated 52 to 44 by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the East Division semifinal Sunday afternoon. 

More than 33,000 spectators had gathered in the Olympic Stadium for the playoff game. 

They were hoping to see the Alouettes get closer to a third consecutive Grey Cup.

It didn’t look too promising, as the Als had lost their three final regular season games. They now lost for the first time in six semifinal games at the Olympic Stadium.

It is the first time in three seasons under head coach Marcel Bellefeuille that Hamilton wins a playoff game.

The Alouettes launched a furious comeback most of the game, especially in the forth quarter.

Als starter Kevin Glenn left the game with what appeared to be an injury to the back of his neck.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats advance to the East Division final next Sunday in Winnipeg.

Depanneurs are worried sales will drop if Loto-Quebec starts selling tickets online.

Sports betting tickets may be available online as early as January 2012. A Loto-Quebec spokesperson says there is no specific date set.

The vice-president of the Canadian Convenience Stores Association says this would affect depanneurs’ profits. He says stores depend on alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets to stay in business. He says six hundred deps in Quebec closed in the last three years.

He says the association will do a study of what losses might be and send it to the finance minister.