BRASILIA – Don’t panic. That was Stephen Harper’s message today as the Toronto stock market plunged to its lowest point in almost a year on the first day of trading after the United States had its credit rating bumped down a tier. “To date, this doesn’t change our overall assessment,” the prime minister said during […]

Garry Marr, Financial Post You better buy a house in this market before it’s too late. How many times have you heard those words? The panic thinking is driven partially by prices continuing to rise to record levels but also by the sense that near-record-low interest rates could rise at any moment. The sense of […]

David Pett  Investors are losing faith in the global economy and the policymakers in charge of keeping it afloat, putting the two and a half-year bull market in serious jeopardy. Stock markets around the world plummeted their most since the financial crisis on Thursday, as escalating U.S. recession fears and Europe’s ballooning sovereign debt crisis […]

House prices pulled back for the first time this year in Canada’s hottest housing market in the clearest sign yet the buying frenzy is slowing after blistering price gains over the past two years. Since the global recession clobbered real estate values in many cities around the world a few years ago, the amounts that […]

By Mitch Potter WASHINGTON—America’s dismal debt crisis ended Monday night with an astounding twist — the show-stealing return of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, back on the House floor to cast a heroic vote to save the country from default. Giffords stunning appearance, her first since being gunned down by a would-be assassin on the streets […]

By The Canadian Press TORONTO – Moody’s Investor Services is renewing Canada’s debt rating at triple-A, the highest possible. The firm said the AAA rating was warranted due to the country’s high degree of economic resiliency, efforts by Ottawa and the provinces to deal with their debt ratios over the coming years and other factors. […]

John Morrissy  Jul 27, 2011 – 3:04 PM ET OTTAWA— Home prices measured by a major national index surged for a sixth straight month to new highs in May but are expected to ease in the months ahead. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes in […]

By Glen Hodgson and Kip Beckman For drama, it might seem difficult to top the past couple of weeks on Capitol Hill, but the debt ceiling debate in the United States is really only the opening act of a long-running production. The Obama administration and Congress will eventually have to agree to some watered-down measures […]

Al Kula wants to sell his home. Not now, mind you, but in another two years. He’s hoping to sell privately and would rather not pay real estate commission fees. So he listed his north Toronto home with forfuturesale.com, a website launched in May that allows vendors to place their properties up for future sale. […]

Helen Morris, National Post Inheriting the family home is a privilege, but unless you are an only child, estate planning is required to avoid misunderstandings during this already stressful time. “Before this even becomes a discussion amongst siblings, now is the time to have that talk with the whole family [when the parents are still […]