Homes sales hit record high; outlook upgraded John Morrissy, Financial Post  OTTAWA — Home sales hit a new record high in October, leading the Canadian Real Estate Association to boost its outlook for 2009 and 2010. Resale home activity was up 41.5% in the month, reaching a total of 42,288 units. On a seasonally adjusted […]

Variable-Rate Mortgages: 3- or 5-Year? November 16, 2009  We’ve seen a noticeable increase in the number of people making variable-rate mortgage inquires.  Perhaps it’s because the media keeps reiterating how the Bank of Canada won’t be upping rates until at least Q3 of next year. Whatever the case, the popular options for closed variable-rate mortgages […]

Canadians interested in investing, but who lack a big lump sum to get started, should consider using an automatic savings plan, experts say. Various financial institutions allow customers to make regularly scheduled investments into a wide variety of products, including mutual funds, registered retirement savings plans, registered education savings plans, tax-free savings accounts and high-interest […]

Canadian home builders scramble to meet demand Garry Marr, Financial Post  The Canadian housing market’s surprising turnaround is spreading to new home construction as developers scramble to respond to a supply shortage that has sent pricing soaring for existing homes. But any increase in construction on the new home side will likely not surface fast […]

Optimism returns to Canadian businesses, confidence highest since 2007   By Julian Beltrame        OTTAWA — Canada’s business leaders are turning bullish about the economy after a year of doom and gloom, a new survey suggests. The Conference Board of Canada’s fall business confidence survey finds corporate leaders believe the recession is finally over and that the […]

Full Post Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:06 PM Newsweek Canada’s Quiet Economic Strength In the past year, distance from the U.S. has proved a great insulator from economic pain. China and Australia, literally on the other side of the globe, are humming along, while Mexico is suffering from a decline in U.S. imports. But […]

CMHC forecasts continued new housing rebound The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The national housing agency is reporting that housing starts have started to recover and it expects the recovery to continue. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicts starts will reach 141,900 this year and increase to 164,900 in 2010. The CMHC’s fourth-quarter market outlook forecasts […]

October 30, 2009 Q. What can the Bank of Canada do about the value of the dollar? A. Usually the Bank can use monetary policy to impact the value of the dollar. But given that the bank rate is already as low as it can go; the Bank cannot use monetary policy to weaken the […]

Canada’s economy still sputtering October 30, 2009 OTTAWA —Canada’s economy unexpectedly went into reverse again in August, adding new uncertainty about the strength and sustainability of the recovery. The country’s real gross domestic product slipped 0.1 per cent in August — the first outright decline in three months — in a broad set-back led by […]

Globe and Mail Update Published on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 While it’s tempting to think of a “housing correction” as a continent-wide phenomenon, National Bank Financial says the Canadian and U.S. markets couldn’t be more different. “The two have absolutely nothing in common,” senior economist Marc Pinsonneault wrote in an economic update Monday. “In Canada, […]