Get more out of your TFSA

Canadians love Tax-Free Savings Accounts, but are you getting the full benefit? We spoke to six savvy savers to find out how you can do better When Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) first appeared in January 2009, millions of Canadians embraced them with open arms—and open wallets. Even if we’re not a nation of diligent savers, […]

Bank of Canada to stay ‘flexible’ on interest rates

JEREMY TOROBIN The Bank of Canada will continue to take a loose approach to meeting its 2-per-cent inflation target because of the deteriorating global outlook and a European debt crisis that is “barely contained,” Governor Mark Carney says. In his first remarks on inflation-control since the federal government renewed the central bank’s mandate earlier this […]

Euro recession will depend on banks: Carney

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2011/11/08/Euro-recession-will-depend-on-banks-Carney.aspx The euro zone is headed for at least a brief recession, but the nature and length of the slump and the degree to which it affects other parts of the world depends on how the region’s lenders choose to repair their balance sheets, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney warns. Moves by the European […]

Crisis underscored risk from credit excesses: Bank of Canada

The 2008-09 crisis and its aftermath have underscored the unique risks that credit-fuelled excesses pose to economies, forcing the Bank of Canada to pay closer attention to financial stability and to be flexible as it pursues its No. 1 goal of keeping inflation tame and reliable, Mark Carney and his policy team said Wednesday. A […]

Mark Carney sees more than a year of soft growth

The deteriorating global picture is turning what had been a soft patch for Canada’s export-heavy economy into more than a year of sluggish growth, the Bank of Canada said Wednesday in a new quarterly forecast. A day after leaving their benchmark interest rate at 1 per cent for a ninth consecutive meeting, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and […]

Canadians’ household debt raises eyebrows at IMF

KEVIN CARMICHAEL The International Monetary Fund isn’t totally convinced that Canadian authorities have a handle on the risks building up in the housing market. “Developments on the housing front require increased vigilance, and consideration may need to be given to additional prudential measures to prevent a further buildup in household debt,” the Washington-based IMF says […]

Most Canadians feel their debt situation better than others’

OTTAWA — When Canadians see news about the country’s growing issue with personal debt, it seems most feel it’s other people — not them — causing the problem. At least that’s the suggestion of a survey done for Royal Bank of Canada, results for which were released Wednesday. The RBC poll had 75 per cent […]

A slower recovery, not a recession

Global turmoil will slow down Canada’s recovery, the country’s top economic policy makers warn, but they don’t expect another recession and say they’re well equipped to fight a slump if they’re wrong. At a rare summer session of the House of Commons finance committee, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney […]

Need motivation for cutting debt? Look stateside

The debt problems of the global financial system are your problems. So pay down your credit card, credit line and mortgage. Making your household balance sheet tidier has the fortunate spillover effect of saving our economy. From what? Just look at what’s happening in the United States: The housing market is a disaster, weak consumer […]

Why Canadian mortgage rates are on a roller coaster

If there’s one question being kicked around the barbecue more than any other this summer, it’s probably this: should I lock in my variable rate mortgage? But with interest rates bouncing around, to the point where they make a mortgage-rate chart look more like the diagram of a rollercoaster, homeowners can be forgiven if they […]

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