This latest bout of concern is being fuelled, among other things, by: 1) Record consumer debt 2) Mark Carney’s debt warning 3) Concern by TD & BMO’s CEOs over 35-year amortizations  It’s clear that debt-to-income ratios cannot be left unchecked forever. Eventually consumers will have to reign in credit or the government will do it […]

“D” stands for debt, and Canada Monday reached a high-water mark: For the first time, household debt hit 148% of disposable income and, for the first time since the late 1990s, topped the US equivalent.  Carney, the Bank of Canada Governor, warned of the rising debt burden among Canadian families, and the risks they face […]

Canadian economic growth will pick up the pace next year after a recent lull, to push the annual growth rate higher in 2011, according to the latest economic outlook from RBC Economics. Economic growth slowed in the third quarter of this year, largely due to softness in the housing market and U.S. economy, the report […]

Many first-time homebuyers hope to purchase a single detached home but end up in a townhouse or condominium, according to a recent RBC survey, which polled 1,050 Canadians.   The difference between dream and reality likely comes down to proper financial considerations, suggests Marcia Moffat, RBC’s VP of home equity financing.   “Affordability isn’t just […]

The fixed-income market, considered among the best of forward-looking indicators, suggests the economic recovery is picking up steam in Canada and the central bank may deliver another rate hike as early as March of next year. Yields across the curve have reached levels last seen in June and July when the Bank of Canada commenced […]

North American consumers are showing signs of emerging from hibernation in time for Christmas, pushing up inflation in Canada to a new two-year high and improving growth prospects for both economies. Canada’s inflation rate rose a surprising half-point to 2.5 per cent in October, a sign the economy is not facing the imminent risk of […]

My husband and I are pretty competitive, always trying to one-up each other. It was to my chagrin, therefore, when I learned that although my credit score is excellent, his is better. I have never missed a bill payment, never carried a balance, so what could be holding me back? According to author and former […]

 Consumer confidence in Canada is on the upswing, but it may not be enough to benefit retailers for this Christmas shopping season. The Conference Board of Canada’s latest survey of households shows overall confidence rose 3.9 points to 83.6, the second monthly uptick and sufficient to wipe out declines during the summer. But on the […]

You have to be a real clown not to have a financial plan and be saving for your retirement. Right? Not really, you would just be among the approximately 80% of Canadians who don’t have any sort of comprehensive financial plan, according to the Financial Planning Standards Council. Who are these people? They are people […]

VANCOUVER — Nobody likes homework, but when the assignment is getting the best possible mortgage in Canada’s most expensive market, completing it pays off in so many ways.   A good objective initial stop, especially for first-time homebuyers, is moneytools.ca. The site is a creation of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (a government organization) […]