The Bank of Canada held the overnight rate target at 0.25%, but surprised markets by removing the conditional commitment to keep rates there until the end of the second quarter of 2010. This increases the likelihood of a rate increase in June. The Bank of Canada has recognized stronger-than-expected near term growth in both the […]

Taxes take up greatest part of household income By The Canadian Press VANCOUVER, B.C. – A prominent think-tank that’s often critical of government spending policies says Canadian families spend more than two-fifths of their total income on taxes. The Fraser Institute says its annual Canadian Consumer Tax Index calculated that taxes ate up 41.7 per […]

By Derek Scott, The Canadian Press VANCOUVER, B.C. – Buying a house in the hot housing markets of Vancouver, Toronto and other major cities in recent years has been a possible dream for some first-time homebuyers only because many of those houses had suites they could rent out. But new rules coming into effect April […]

Anticipation of Bank of Canada rate hikes are fuelling mortgage increases, high dollar By Julian Beltrame, The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada has yet to officially start hiking interests rates, but already Canadians are feeling the impact of higher borrowing costs. Analysts say expectations the central bank will boost rates June 1 […]

Published on Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2010 The Globe and Mail Report on Business   berman@globeandmail.com For a glimpse of what the future may feel like in the Great White North, look Down Under. Faced with a jumping housing market, a steadily improving job market and a commodity boom, all of which sound familiar to Canadians, […]

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Central bank puts benchmark rate at 4.25%, says economy no longer needs the stimulus of low rates Adelaide, Australia — the Globe and Mail-The Associated Press Australia’s central bank raised its key interest rate Tuesday for a fifth time in six months and said the economy no longer needs the stimulus of low rates with […]

Posted to FP: April 12, 2010, Jonathan Ratner With most agreeing that a rate hike from the Bank of Canada is imminent, the talk now turns to the exact timing and extent of the central bank’s policy changes. Governor Mark Carney made a “conditional” promise to keep the benchmark interest rate at 0.25% through the […]

‘Orphan mortgages’ begin to surface  John Greenwood, Financial Post     Rod and Joyce Marentette bought their house in Chatham, Ont., a month before getting married in 2005. The economy was booming and credit was plentiful, so even though they didn’t have a down payment and Rod had recently gone through a bankruptcy, there were plenty […]

Julie Fortier, Financial Post  OTTAWA – With the Canadian economy doing surprisingly well over the past six months, many see higher interest rates from the Bank of Canada in the not so distant future, but according to a report released Thursday from CIBC’s chief economist Avery Shenfeld, rates are likely to remain at a very […]