Fixed-rate mortgages are at historic lows but if you are locked in to a contract with your bank, those benefits may be yet elusive. First you have to do the math to see if breaking your contract is worth the penalties you may face. “There is no grey area,” says Cindy David, a certified […]

OTTAWA • The federal government and some of the country’s leading economists remain worried about Canada’s housing market and rising household debt, and are cautioning Canadians against borrowing too much. However, they are more optimistic about the overall state of the Canadian economy than they were just last fall, and now project stronger-than-expected economic growth […]

Three annoying things that banks do to customers are about to become history. Following up on commitments made in the past two budgets, the federal government has announced measures that will stop banks from mailing unsolicited credit card convenience cheques to customers, and that will reduce the holding period on newly deposited cheques. The banks […]

Canadians will have to wait another month before finding out how the Conservatives will change Old Age Security and cut federal spending, as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty confirmed his 2012 budget will be released March 29. Even then, after months of hints and suggestions about what may be on the chopping block as Ottawa moves […]

TORONTO – Expectations are muted as Canadian banks get set to report first quarter earnings starting Tuesday, with results likely to come under pressure on a number of fronts, from slowing consumer loan growth and choppy capital markets to stricter regulations. But the main concern is the banks’ exposure to ballooning consumer debt and the […]

OTTAWA — Years of rising consumer debt are coming home to roost, forcing Canadians to rethink traditional plans to retire by age 65. Most Canadians now expect to work past 66, as only 30% think they will be able to fully retire by that age, according to a poll conducted for Sun Life Financial Inc. […]

A one-month pop in gasoline prices propelled Canada’s annual inflation rate up two notches to 2.5 per cent in January, reversing a recent trend toward moderating consumer price increases. Pump prices climbed 2.8 per cent last month, partly due to political instability in the Middle East, contributing to upward pressure on both the monthly and […]

The hot housing market that powered the country’s post-recession recovery is slowing to a crawl. The Canadian Real Estate Association said sales dropped and prices moderated in January, with the weakness spread among more than half of the country’s cities. Sales in Vancouver and Toronto slowed to a crawl, with few houses available to would-be […]

Give people enough line of credit and they’ll hang themselves with debt. The bad boy of borrowing products – that’s the line of credit. Recently, the federal government asked the banks to stop blithely handing out home-equity credit lines to people. In his new book The Wealthy Barber Returns, David Chilton writes that credit lines […]

Canada’s housing market has two good years ahead of it yet, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday, with low interest rates and a “moderately” expanding economy keeping price corrections at bay. The Crown corporation – which insures Canadian mortgages – has had a consistently rosier view of the market than many private sector forecasters. […]