‘If ever there was a time to buy, it is now,’ John Greenwood, Financial Post · Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 Bank of Montreal has chopped its benchmark five-year mortgage rate, aggressively throwing its weight behind what many are calling an increasingly wobbly housing market. “It’s a great time to buy a home,” Martin Nel, a senior […]

Marketing for small business is different Mary Teresa Bitti, Financial Post · Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is to view sales and marketing as the same thing, says Steve Gedeon, director of Ryerson University’s Entrepreneur Institute. “The typical narrow view of marketing is that it’s the stuff […]

Top 6 most indebted countries (and why) by Michael Sanibel, Investopedia.com The recent financial  crisis and recession have been a worldwide occurrence. The events in the United States since 2008 have garnered most of the headlines because the U. S. has the world’s largest economy and national debt, but the reality is that many countries […]

Top 6 ways to ruin your retirement by Mark P. Cussen, Investopedia.com  provided by Despite the plethora of websites, books, magazines, advisors and other financial information and services available for retirees, there will always be a contingent of people who fail to make their retirement savings last for the rest of their lives. There are […]

Mark Evans  Globe and Mail Update One of the realities in the consulting business is that projects eventually come to an end. The work gets done, the client is hopefully happy, and then everyone goes their separate ways. But just because the project has been completed doesn’t mean the relationship should come to an end. […]

Mortgage scam prompts warnings Latest mortgage scam prompts warnings from real estate board By MYKE THOMAS, SUNMEDIA-Calgary Sun The uncovering of the latest mortgage scam and that mortgage fraudsters are active in Calgary is not a surprise, says Diane Scott, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board. “I started in (the real estate business) 1983 […]

China’s economy now world’s second largest By Tomoko A. Hosaka TOKYO — China has eclipsed Japan as the world’s second-biggest economy after three decades of blistering growth that put overtaking the U.S. in reach within 10 years. Japan is still far richer per person after confirming Monday that economic output fell behind its giant neighbour […]

     “…the percentage spread between discounted 5-year fixed and variable rates has tumbled over 110 basis points in the last few months.  That’s reduced the variable-rate advantage markedly.”*       ”Highly discounted 5-year fixed rates are now in the 3.89% range, less than 1/2 point from the lowest we can remember. They’ll probably go even lower […]

Home sweet home: What to do about falling real estate values  By Harvey Enchin 9 Aug 2010 COMMENTS(1) Everybody’s Business  Filed under: real estate, housing I penned this editorial to calm fears that the real estate market in Vancouver was collapsing and I’ve  added some brief comments at the end. Living in Canada’s most expensive […]

 10 things to check before you buy a new home The process of buying a new home—especially if it’s your first time—is incredibly intimidating. And while there are certain things you may know you’re going to want to change upon moving in (like paint colors or retiling), if you’ve never gone through this before you […]