Articles

Oh me, Oh my, The Canadian dollar, Fell from the sky. Last Wednesday our Canadian dollar dipped below 80 cents U.S. It has fallen 14 per cent over the last six months and 20 per cent within the last two years. Our dollar is down and our national pride is bruised. Our giant neighbour, the … The plunge of the dollar will affect many Canadians

Politicians’ lack of financial consistency and transparency harms our country. Last week the federal government surprised us by lowering interest rates. The reason is that lower oil prices meaning decreased economic activity, will slow the Canadian economy. They hope to accelerate business activity by reducing interest rates. In our opinion this short-term reaction is a … Lack of financial consistency, transparency is bad government

The unexpected collapse of Target stores last week can be a valuable lesson to us all. Bad things happen and in a perfect world you are prepared to deal with declining financial circumstances. In financial planning it is advisable to have an emergency fund available in case sudden financial difficulties occur. That is the theory … Sudden collapse of Target stores is a lesson for us all

Banks make billions of dollars in profits. Some of the most successful and powerful high tech companies such as Google and Apple want a piece of that action. The competition to be your banker of choice is about to heat up and that will be beneficial for us all. The only way a consumer will … Competition in the banking world is good for consumers

The investing process often has two opposing competitors: you versus you. The rational you versus the emotional you; and depending on who wins, the investment returns can be good or bad. Consider each of us having our own Walter Mitty split personality. Walter Mitty is a fictional character who was introduced in 1939 in a … Leave emotions at the curb when making investment decisions

Attempting to mix your long-term financial plan with your guess about where the stock market is headed over the short-term is a bad idea; but not all advisors agree. In the world of investment advisors there are two segments. An overwhelming majority believes there are ways to predict how the stock market will perform. Part … Try to resist temptation to guess stock market performance