Ottawa’s spotlight has Manulife rethinking its bank

TARA PERKINS — FINANCIAL SERVICES REPORTER Ottawa’s efforts to rein in the mortgage market are forcing Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC-T11.23-0.14-1.23%) to re-evaluate its fast-growing bank, making it the first financial institution to say that it intends to move toward tighter lending to consumers in response. Manulife Bank, which allows consumers to run all of their banking, such as savings, […]

Mark Carney repeats that the Bank of Canada may have to raise rates

OTTAWA — Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has said again that the bank may have to raise interest rates to keep inflation in check as Canada’s economic recovery advances. “Given the smaller output gap, given the slightly firmer underlying inflation, the possibility of withdrawal of some degree of the considerable monetary stimulus that is […]

Canadians getting the message on debt load, Carney says

JEREMY TOROBIN OTTAWA— From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail Canadian house prices are now almost five times higher than incomes, the latest illustration of why policy makers are worried about parts of the housing market. The average price is roughly 4.75 times the average income, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said Tuesday, noting that the historical […]

Once again: Pay down your debts before rates rise

ROB CARRICK | Columnist profile | E-mail From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail The decade’s most ignorable piece of financial advice: Pay down your debts before interest rates rise. You’ve heard this warning a hundred times, you ignored it and rates held steady at historic lows. Now, the Bank of Canada is signalling that borrowing costs could rise if economic […]

Speedy economic recovery has Carney hinting of a rate rise

JEREMY TOROBIN OTTAWA— From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail Canada’s recovery is picking up faster than expected, forcing Mark Carney to set the stage for higher interest rates sooner than many overstretched consumers were bargaining for. The Bank of Canada Governor hinted at an earlier-than-anticipated rate increase as he boosted his outlook for the economy Tuesday and, […]

Fixed mortgages win over variable, says BMO economist Federal government may tighten mortgage rules

As the federal government warned it may again tighten mortgage rules, a Bank of Montreal economist says fixed mortgages “clearly trump” variable mortgages in today’s economy. There are two reasons for the change of heart by Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO: the intense competition among lenders and the economic recovery in the U.S. […]

Why you need to pay off your debt NOW

For debtors, today’s historically low interest rates have constituted somewhat of a fool’s paradise. Central banks around the world, including Canada’s, have kept interest rates as close to zero as possible. But if we thought we could keep our boat forever afloat on this sea of low rates, there are many lining up to convince […]

Bank of Canada not seen hiking rates until Q2 2013: Reuters poll

By Jon Cook TORONTO (Reuters) – Sluggish domestic growth and uncertainty about the global economy will likely keep the Bank of Canada from raising rates until the second quarter of 2013, according to a Reuters survey. The Reuters poll of 42 economists and strategists released on Wednesday showed the median forecast for the next interest rate […]

TD, RBC end 2.99% mortgage deals early

After briefly offering record-low rates of less than 3% on some of its mortgages in response to its rivals, Canada’s two biggest banks have pulled back their offers prematurely. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second-largest bank, raised its special four-year closed fixed rate mortgage 40 basis points to 3.39%, effective Wednesday, while also introducing a special five-year […]

Mark Carney: The man who speaks the truth

In this age of spin, rare are the voices that speak with candour. Certainly, the federal government’s vast apparatus can’t be counted on to speak the truth, not with the Harper party’s partisan manipulation of every utterance. Nor can anyone count on the opposition parties, whose game it is to embarrass the government. In the […]

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