By Julilan Beltrame, The Canadian Press OTTAWA – North American consumers are starting to feel better abouttheir personal finances and the economy, a hopeful sign for the stillfragile recovery.Two fresh surveys, one by the Conference Board in Canada and anotherfrom the International Monetary Fund in the U.S., detected an identicalpattern of rising confidence in January, […]

Fact sheet First-time home buyers’ tax credit What is the first-time home buyers’ tax credit (HBTC)? The HBTC is a non-refundable tax credit for certain homebuyers who acquire a qualifying home after January 27, 2009, that is – closing after this date. How is the HBTC calculated? The HBTC is calculated by multiplying the lowest […]

What’s affecting your credit score? Garry Marr, Financial Post · Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011 I still have an Eaton’s department store credit card even though there is no where to shop with it. That hasn’t stopped the long-forgotten card from making its way on to my credit report and ultimately affecting my credit score. When […]

One of the most common questions is how someone can begin building financial security, especially when they’re still paying off loans or other types of debt. After interviewing dozens of successful savers over the years, …they tend to have the following five traits in common. With the exception of the last one, they are all […]

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release2010FIN0076-001622 Jan. 3, 2011 Ministry of Finance   VICTORIA – More than one million B.C. homeowners with homes valued up to $1.15 million may be eligible for the full homeowner grant amount as the Province raises the threshold by 10 per cent for the 2011 tax year.   “Raising the homeowner […]

The changes coming into place in March are: 1. Amortizations are reduced to 30 years instead of 35 years 2. Refinancing only up to 85% instead of 90% 3. No longer insuring lines of credit The impact on a 350,000.00 mortgage 1. On amortizations approx $35 per month per 100k in mortgage in the example above […]

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 proceeding […]

Flaherty tightens mortgage rules Paul Vieira, Financial Post · Monday, Jan. 17, 2011 OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled changes Monday morning to mortgage lending rules that would see Ottawa stop backing home loans greater than 30 years and make it more difficult for households to use their property to access financing. The changes, […]

Sources say rules now being discussed would add 100% of condominium fees to the list of expenses that is measured against income to decide whether a buyer can afford a mortgage. – Brett Gundlock/National Post The federal government’s efforts to get tough on borrowing are now focused on the condominium sector, with new rules in […]

  Flaherty: loonie will stay at par with U.S. thanks to “sound” fiscal situation   By Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press   WASHINGTON – The Canadian loonie will hover at parity with the U.S. dollar for some time to come, and deservedly so thanks to Canada’s economic strength, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday.   […]