InterestRates posts

The Bank of Canada Rate Announcement: What You Should Know

By RateSupermarket.ca

This past Wednesday, headlines touted the latest update on interest rates from the Bank of Canada; the Overnight Interest Rate remains static they stated, in addition to warnings that Canadians should buckle down in the face of slower-than expected economic growth. It all sounds very dire - but how do these national interest rates affect the everyday Canadian consumer? Here's a crash course on understanding a Bank of Canada Rate Announcement.

Tags: Bank of Canada, BankOfCanada, borrowing costs, BorrowingCosts, interest rates, InterestRates

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The Winds of Financial Change: What to Expect in 2013

by Martha Worboy

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Employment & Careers, Debt, Family Finances, Real Estate, Back to School, Mortgages

The coming year will bring some pretty important changes to the Canadian financial ecosystem. Every Canadian should be aware of the following five shifts that will impact both the national and household economies.

House Prices
So the bubble may not be popping but the housing market is definitely slowing down. The Canadian Real Estate Association recently released its latest sales numbers that show a 1.4 per cent decline in home sales for late 2012. One factor may be recent tinkering in the mortgage market such as shortening amortization periods. This trend is particularly important because many people -- particularly young families and young professionals -- have tied their financial ships to their houses. If homes aren't moving, this impacts their value and creates a buyer's market. For families hoping to cash in on a hot market -- whether by selling or tapping into their equity -- 2013 may not be the time.

Tags: 2013, bank of canada governor, BankOfCanadaGovernor, canada 2013, Canada2013, economic forecast, EconomicForecast, EI, employment in canada, employment insurance, EmploymentInCanada, EmploymentInsurance, house prices, HousePrices, housing market, HousingMarket, interest rates, interest rates low, InterestRates, InterestRatesLow, mark carney, MarkCarney, tuition fees, tuition hikes, tuition increase, TuitionFees, TuitionHikes, TuitionIncrease

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Mortgage Rates: How Low Should You Go?

by Martha Worboy

Filed under: Buyer Beware, Budgeting & Planning, Debt, Family Finances, House & Home, Investing, Real Estate, Store Flyers, Mortgages, Your Home

If you're in the market for a new house or simply looking to
renew your existing

mortgage, I'm sure you've noticed the "Mortgage War" being waged by most of Canada's big banks. RBC, TD, Scotiabank and BMO have been offering long term, fixed rate mortgages for 2.99 per cent. This is among the lowest fixed rate mortgages you're likely ever to see.

On the one hand, this has been a bit of a strange move from an industry that has expressed worries in the past about mortgage debt in Canada. On the other hand, now might be a terrific opportunity for first-time buyers to get into the market. So, what should you be conscious of if you're thinking about a rock-bottom mortgage rate?

Source | Source | Source

Tags: amortization, bmo, BNS, first time home buyers, FirstTimeHomeBuyers, home buyers, home buying, home prices, HomeBuyers, HomeBuying, HomePrices, house prices, HousePrices, housing market, HousingMarket, http:www.walletpop.cacompare-personal-finance-ratesproductmortga, interest rates, InterestRates, mortgage rates, mortgage rates rising, Mortgage Rates Stay Low, MortgageRates, MortgageRatesRising, MortgageRatesStayLow, mortgages, rbc, RY, TD

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Interest Rates Hit a New All Time Low - Why You Should Care

by Kelley Keehn

Filed under: Family Finances, Mortgages

We Canadians have been pretty spoiled with relatively low rates for some time. But as of yesterday, The Bank of Montreal announced it is lowering its rate on five-year fixed mortgages to 2.99 per cent, an all-time record low in Canada.

This recent announcement is likely to spur competition with our rival banks according to a recent Huffington Post article.

The question is, why should you care?

Tags: Bank of Montreal, BankOfMontreal, bmo, fixed rate mortgage, FixedRateMortgage, interest rate cuts, interest rates, InterestRateCuts, InterestRates, mortgage rates, MortgageRates, variable rate mortgage, VariableRateMortgage

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Rate Hike Fears Ease On Shock Inflation Figures

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Banks, Budgeting & Planning, Financial Crisis, Investing

A record low increase in core consumer prices was the last thing economists expected to see, especially given recent advances in the Canadian economy. However, a record low increase is what we got, taking the pressure off the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates anytime soon.

Core inflation -- a measure of the cost of living -- rose only 0.9% in the 12 months ended February, the lowest reading since records began in 1984. In fact, a reading that low would usually cause the Bank of Canada to lower interest rates to stimulate the economy and price increases.

Tags: bank of canada, BankOfCanada, canada, canadian dollar, CanadianDollar, central bank, CentralBank, consumer prices, ConsumerPrices, core inflation, CoreInflation, cost, cost of living, CostOfLiving, cpi, economists, economy, energy, food, gas, headline inflation, HeadlineInflation, inflation, interest rates, InterestRates, loonie, record low, RecordLow, rise, understanding the numbers, UnderstandingTheNumbers

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Improved Housing Affordability Won't Last, Says RBC

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Loans, Real Estate, Real Estate

The steady decline in mortgage rates combined with slow house price appreciation has made the past few months some of the most affordable in recent years to buy a home in Canada. In fact, a report by the Royal Bank of Canada shows that housing affordability improved for a second straight quarter at the end of 2010.

However, as the Canadian economy continues to improve, the experts say that these attractive buying conditions will not last.

Tags: affordability, atlantic canada, AtlanticCanada, british columbia, BritishColumbia, Calgary, canada, cheaper, cost, Edmonton, house prices, household income, HouseholdIncome, HousePrices, housing, interest rates, InterestRates, Montreal, mortgage rates, MortgageRates, rbc, Royal Bank of Canada, RoyalBankOfCanada, Toronto, Vancouver

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Why Canadian Stocks Are a Good Buy in 2011

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Financial Crisis, Investing

Canadian investors are in luck: our home stock market is predicted to chalk up some of the best returns in the world this year amid continued economic struggles in Europe and the United States and political turmoil in the Middle East.

"Relative to the U.S. or east Asia, Canada's equity market carries more insurance against a worsening geopolitical climate in the Middle East, in the form of a larger basket of energy stocks and safe havens like gold shares," Avery Shenfeld, the chief economist at CIBC, says in an economic report.

He says that while a diversified investment portfolio is always wise, this year it looks like Canadian stocks will offer you some of the best growth opportunities.

Tags: avery shenfeld, AveryShenfeld, banks, bonds, cibc, earnings, europe, gold, growth, inflation, interest rates, InterestRates, investing, investment, materials, middle east, MiddleEast, oil, portfolio, profits, share market, ShareMarket, shares, stability, stock markets, StockMarkets, toronto stock exchange, TorontoStockExchange, treasuries, tsx, united states, UnitedStates

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Interest Rates May Rise Sooner Than Previously Thought

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Financial Crisis, Investing, Real Estate

It turns out that Canada's economy is in much better shape than previously thought, causing economists to bring forward their predictions of an interest rate hike.

"The recovery in Canada is proceeding slightly faster than expected, and there is more evidence of the anticipated rebalancing of demand," Canada's central bank governor Mark Carney said in a statement Tuesday.

Tags: april, avery shenfeld, bank of canada, BankOfCanada, canadian dollar, central bank, CentralBank, cibc, consumer prices, cpi, economic growth, EconomicGrowth, economy, gdp, inflation, interest rates, InterestRates, mark carney, MarkCarney, monetary policy, MonetaryPolicy

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Protect Yourself From Rising Life Insurance Premiums

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Financial Crisis, Insurance, Investing, Retirement and RRSPs

Two of Canada's largest life insurers have significantly hiked their rates on some permanent life insurance products and more companies are set to follow suit as insurers buckle under the pressure of low interest rates, a wealth advisor says.

Insurance companies Sun Life and Manulife have increased the cost of Universal Life insurance by as much as 22%, according to an article by the Financial Post's Wealthy Boomer, Jonathan Chevreau. He quotes John Nicola, chairman and CEO of Vancouver-based Nicola Wealth Management as saying that this is the start of a trend that will see other insurers significantly hike premiums, possibly by as much as 50%.

Young Universal Life policy holders or joint-last-to-die policy holders have been hit with the largest increases.

Tags: canada, convert, cost, financial post, FinancialPost, hikes, income, increasing, interest rates, InterestRates, joint last to die, JointLastToDie, life insurance, LifeInsurance, low, manulife, nicola wealth management, NicolaWealthManagement, permanent, plans, policy, premiums, retirement, rising, sun life, SunLife, term, term-100, universal life, UniversalLife, WealthManagement, wealthy boomer, WealthyBoomer

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Canadian Dollar Near Parity, But For How Long?

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Banks, Investing

The Canadian dollar is once again dancing about near parity with the U.S. dollar making this holiday shopping season a great one for snagging some bargains whether you're in Canada or travelling across the border. But how long will it stay there?

The loonie has been historically strong all year, largely because of weakness in the U.S. dollar combined with rising commodity prices. This week it has been trading at about US99 cents. Abnormally low interest rates in the United States at a time of high unemployment and fear of a second dip into recession has made investors shun the greenback, causing most currencies around the world to rise. The loonie has been no exception. But the loonie is not expected to stay near parity forever and the experts are beginning to forecast when it will likely fall and by how much.