Regular reviews of your mortgage ensure your loan is still right for your financial situation by Malcolm Morrison, THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – Buying a home is probably the most expensive purchase you will ever make and if you’re like the vast majority of Canadians, you used a lot of borrowed money to experience the joys […]

Budget 2010: A second year of stimulus spending Paul Vieira, Financial Post  OTTAWA — The Conservative government sketched out on Thursday its initial plans to return to budget balance, by targeting cuts in the public service, a freeze on foreign aid, limited growth in military spending and higher EI premiums. The spending restraint, outlined in […]

Economy improving, but interest rates to stay at historic lows for now By Julian Beltrame, The Canadian Press   OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada is keeping interest rates at historic lows for a few more months, while sending out signals that the economy is rebounding strongly and could trigger inflationary pressures.   The central […]

Paul Vieira, Financial Post      OTTAWA — Pressure on the Bank of Canada to move early on raising interest rates mounted Monday after data on fourth-quarter gross domestic product suggested the economy is roaring its way out of recession after recording the fastest pace of growth in nearly a decade.   The central bank […]

By Jeffrey Hodgson  TORONTO (Reuters) – Global investors ravaged by rising sovereign risk will find welcome respite in Canada’s March 4 federal budget, with controlled leaks and relatively healthy finances making it a refreshingly low-key event for markets. In stark contrast to the Greek budget tragedy unfolding in Europe, Canada is expected to forecast a […]

February 16, 2010 Housing markets in the United States and Canada are similar in many respects, but each has fared quite differently since the onset of the financial crisis.Unlike the U.S., Canada has not experienced a dramatic increase in mortgage defaults, nor has any Canadian bank required a government bailout. As a result, observers such […]

By David Olive Business Columnist Toronto Star Frenzied developers with access to cheap money are creating a glut of premium office space and luxury apartments, priced at about 80 times the average income of the city’s residents. Prospective middle-class homeowners, in panic-buying mode, are snapping up two properties at once, hoping to flip the second […]

Paul Vieira, Financial Post  OTTAWA — Canada will officially oppose international efforts to get the world’s major economies to impose a global bank tax, government sources tell the Financial Post. This could potentially ignite a major divide among Group of 20 leaders at their summit meeting in Toronto this summer, and further thwart efforts to […]

The Canadian Press OTTAWA — House price increases will moderate as the resale market becomes more balanced, says the president of the Canadian Real Estate Association. “The resale housing market is becoming more balanced in a number of provinces,” Dale Ripplinger said Wednesday after the association released January sales statistics that revealed another big year-over-year […]

New Rules to Come into Force April 19th, 2010   Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced changes to mortgage insurance rules this morning, which are set to come into force on April 19th, 2010.   This means the government will adjust the rules for government-backed insured mortgages as follows: Require that all borrowers meet the standards for a five-year […]