Watch out for rising debt levels, bank warns By Michael Lewis | Thu Dec 9 2010 As shoppers cram the malls this holiday season, the Bank of Canada has a Scrooge-like warning for consumers: Step away from the credit card and think about your ability to pay if borrowing costs rise or you lose your […]

Interest rate held in check   By Julian Beltrame  OTTAWA — Canada’s economy is taking a battering from the high dollar combined with low productivity and still needs the stimulus of low interest rates, the Bank of Canada says. In a previously telegraphed move, the central bank announced Tuesday it will keep its trendsetting interest […]

Bank of Canada seen hiking rates in first half of 2011 Claire Sibonney, Reuters ·   TORONTO – The Bank of Canada is unanimously expected to keep interest rates on hold next week, but the uneven economic recovery has primary dealers and global forecasters divided on the timing of the next hike in 2011. The […]

News Release: December 2, 2010 CONSISTENT HOME SALES IN THE FRASER VALLEY SPEAK TO CONSUMER CONFIDENCE        (Surrey, BC) – For the fifth consecutive month, sales processed on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) have remained stable with November’s figures showing a modest increase over October.   “Consumers are responding to how […]

Economy growth slows during summer months By Julian Beltrame OTTAWA — Canada’s economic recovery all but flatlined during the summer, as the high dollar sabotaged the ability of manufacturers to sell their goods to foreign markets. Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that the July to September period saw the economy slow to a crawl, eking out […]

Bonds tell tale of sound recovery Paul Vieira, Financial Post · OTTAWA — 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 […]

Too many clowns with no financial plan Garry Marr, Financial Post · Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010 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 […]

I wanted to give everyone a bit of an update on where the market is at present……Since November 1st 2010, we have seen 5 year bond yields go from a low of 1.98% to yesterday’s high of 2.37%, a 0.39% increase in a very short period of time. Based on published rates (3.59%) spreads have […]

Is retirement chained to your home? Garry Marr, Financial Post · Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010 Canadians plan to take longer to pay off their mortgages, maybe even 35 years, but they don’t expect it to affect their retirement plans. Something in that plan just doesn’t add up. A new study from the Canadian Association of […]

REALTORS CARE® BLANKET DRIVE GEARS UP FOR COLD, WET WINTER   VANCOUVER, BC –  With predictions for this winter to be the coldest and wettest in 50 years, and the number of homeless people on the rise in the Lower Mainland, the need for the annual REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive could be at its highest in […]