By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON – U.S. Federal Reserve officials have become more pessimistic in their economic outlook through next year and have lowered their forecast for growth. The economy will grow only 2.4 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year, Fed officials said Tuesday in an updated forecast. That’s down sharply from a […]

By Julian Beltrame OTTAWA – North American consumers are showing signs of emerging from hibernation in time for Christmas, pushing up inflation in Canada to a new two-year high and improving growth prospects for both economies. Canada’s inflation rate rose a surprising half-point to 2.5 per cent in October, a sign the economy is not […]

The Bank of Canada will keep its policy rate unchanged until the second quarter as economic growth slows, according to a Bloomberg News survey that also showed bond-yield forecasts were cut for a fourth month. The central bank didn’t raise rates Oct. 19 after three prior increases and won’t act again until the April-June period, […]

Fighting the new ‘normal’ Jonathan Chevreau, Financial Post ·  The topic of a “normal” retirement age is getting more than usual media attention lately because of the increasingly violent French protests about pushing theirs back to 62 from 60. Pity hard-working Germans, who retire at 65 but are being asked to wait until 67. In […]

Bank of Australia surprises with rate rise  Wayne Cole, Reuters  SYDNEY – Australia’s central bank surprised markets by raising its key cash rate to a two-year high of 4.75% on Tuesday, saying a modest tightening was needed as a pre-emptive strike against inflation. The local dollar shot a cent higher after the Reserve Bank of […]

Homebuyer Tradeoffs: What Will You Have To Sacrifice? When you’re buying a home, whether it’s your first home or your third, you want it to be perfect. Your home affects every aspect of your life, from your financial stability to things you do in your free time to the people you spend time with. It’s […]

An oft-cited 2001 study by York University finance professor Moshe Milevsky reveals that from 1950 to 2000, a variable-rate mortgage would have beaten out a fixed-rate mortgage almost 90 per cent of the time. But with interest rates at incredibly low levels, many commentators are expecting rising rates from here on in. Does that mean […]

Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent. The global economic recovery is […]

Courtesy of The Globe and Mail Mark Carney must feel like a parent trying to instill wise spending habits in a carefree kid heading off to university: all he can do is give his best advice and hope it sinks in. That’s a rough approximation of the tricky position the Bank of Canada governor finds […]

Mortgage Shopping?   HERE’S SOME IMPORTANT TIPS ON HOW TO DO IT RIGHT!   First: Ensure you’re working with an Accredited Mortgage Professional that understands the business of Mortgages. This is likely the largest financial transaction of your life and it’s too important to put into the hands of someone that cannot advise you properly […]