To no one’s surprise, the Bank of Canada left its target overnight rate unchanged at 1/2 percent. The Bank, however, reduced its forecast for the global economy and for the U.S. economy as well, suggesting that the outlook for Canadian exports is less favorable than earlier forecast. (Table 1 below shows the Bank’s current global […]

1. Have you explored all your options. Once you receive your mortgage renewal statement, there is nothing easier than signing on for another term, heck 70% of everybody that received them from their current lender just signs over thousands of dollars. This may make sense in some cases, but your family and financial situation may […]

The trend measure for housing starts fell to 196,783 in March compared to 201,618 in February. “Overall, starts were trending lower in March due to a slowdown in multi-unit construction,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC Chief Economist. “This was the case across the country, except in British Columbia where declining inventories of new and unsold units […]

Following three months of little job growth, economists expected to see a modest 5,000 increase in employment in March. The jobless rate was forecast to hold steady at 7.3%, matching the highest level in over 3 years. Surprise! March came in like a lion, with employment up 41,000 (+0.2%)–the strongest reading in five months. This […]

Student debt, lackluster job prospects and skyrocketing prices do not appear to have diminished the dream of home ownership for that group of potential first-time buyers known as millennials. A new survey conducted by Angus Reid for one of the big banks suggests 86% of 18 to 34 year-olds believe home ownership is important. Fifty-nine […]

As anticipated, the federal government announced that budget deficits of about $30bn (1.5% of GDP) are in store. This is about $11bn higher than revealed in the February Update.   •       The larger deficits relative to the Update largely reflect the implementation of commitments outlined in last year’s election campaign. Chief among these promises are […]

The February home resale numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association were good enough for the organization to up its forecast for the year. CREA has gone from projecting a slight, 1.1% decrease in sales to a slight, 1.0% increase. But the figures are still a tale of two markets: the red hot big cities […]

To no one’s surprise, the Bank of Canada announced today that it would leave its overnight rate target at 1/2%, just as it did on January 20 when it last met. The Bank noted that financial market volatility has slowed since the last meeting and oil prices and the Canadian dollar have strengthened. Consumer spending […]

Welcome to the second month of 2016! We have all had a few weeks to settle in now and get back to reality and, as always, getting our finances in order is at the top of mind for many of us. Today we are going to look at a few tricks to help you navigate […]

Any time you apply for credit in the form of a credit card, personal loan, auto loan, or cell phone, the company lending you money will want to access your credit report first. Your credit report is a snapshot of how you have repaid your financial obligations in your past. Lenders will use this information […]