Sometimes a parent decides to buy a place for their children while they hit the books in university or college. It can be a good alternative to paying thousands of dollars toward residence fees or rent. Just look at the math: Student rent of $500 a month = $6,000 a year = $24,000 over 4 […]

By Vernon Clement Jones Brokers are finally seeing a change in consumer appetite for risk after the second chop to fixed rates in two weeks. “Up until a couple of weeks ago, we were still seeing 50 per cent of our clients coming in looking for fixed and the other 50 per cent looking for […]

Ray Turchansky, Postmedia News Some 22 years after writing The Wealthy Barber, which became easily the bestselling personal finance book in Canadian history, David Chilton has a dire warning in The Wealthy Barber Returns, to be released this fall. “The worst thing that’s happening to Canadians in the last 20 years has been lines of […]

By Julian Beltrame Canada’s economy expanded an impressive 3.9 per cent in the first three months of this year, but there was little cheering in markets with the performance. Not only was the number slightly below the four per cent consensus expectation, but the elements of growth clearly signalled a sharp braking in the economy […]

By Mark Weisleder Buying a house in the city or suburbs can be complicated enough, but buying a cottage or vacation property outside of town requires even more due diligence. In town, you probably wouldn’t ask if the water coming out of the tap is drinkable. Nor would you wonder if the plumbing was hooked […]

Eric Lam, Financial Post With the Bank of Canada now widely expected to hold off on a rate hike at least until autumn, house prices in Canada are likely going to stay hot for a few months longer. The central bank will again leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 1% at its regular policy […]

John Greenwood, Financial Post Economic uncertainty and rising concern about consumer debt levels are shaking up the cozy world of Canadian banking, forcing players to compete ever more fiercely on rates just to preserve market share. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and TorontoDominion Bank, which reported lower-than-expected second-quarter results Thursday, both acknowledged that intense competition […]

Golden Girl Finance, On Tuesday May 24, 2011 If you’re a newcomer to Canada, self-employed, work on commission or have a poor credit history, you may think your chances of qualifying for a mortgage or refinancing are slim to none. Think again. It is often possible to find a way – the trick is seeing yourself through the […]

Eric Lam  May 24, 2011 The Bank of Canada’s plan to raise interest rates and exit its stimulus program has been delayed to September due to renewed uncertainty about the fiscal crunch in Europe and its potential spillover effects into Canada, the team at RBC Economics said Tuesday. Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist with RBC, expects […]

MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail Interest rates have recently being going somewhere unexpected: down. At their trough last week, the yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries, the benchmark North American rate, touched 3.11 per cent, the lowest level in six months and more than half a percentage point below their February peak. Yields on […]