This and That: Interest Rates, $1,600 Gold and more…

1. The Bank of Canada decided to keep interest rates steady this week but hinted that rate hikes are on the horizon. The Prime Rate to which lines of credit and variable-rate mortgages are tied to remains at 3.0 percent.
2. The yellow metal hit $1,600 this week before easing up a bit making those of us who don’t own gold feel a tinge envious. This article in SmartMoney explores what could go wrong with gold’s rocket-like trajectory.
3. Our local newspaper The Ottawa Citizen featured a heart-warming story of an elderly couple of modest means who won the lottery but gave it all away because they felt they already had everything they needed.
4. Canadian Finance Blog points out that families receiving the National Child Supplement can get the Canada Learning Bond just for opening up a RESP for their children.
5. Michael James waded into the debate between traditional capitalization-weighted indexing and the new-fangled fundamental indexing. A little while back, John Bogle and Burton Malkiel argued in favour of traditional indexing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
6. Million Dollar Journey debated whether to leave an inheritance for the kids or give away the estate to charity or some combination thereof. We plan to fund our kids’ education but anything beyond that will be bonus, not to be counted upon!
7. Canadian Couch Potato found that the Scotia iTrade US-Friendly RRSP offers significant savings over typical foreign exchange conversions at discount brokers.
8. Larry MacDonald worried that the housing markets in Canada is showing signs of a bubble and suggested measures that can be taken to counter it.
9. Money Smarts Blog shared his experience camping with young children. Our kids are pretty much the same age group but I think I’ll stick with day trips and picnics for now.
10. The Blunt Bean Counter points out that low interest rates offer a great income splitting opportunity.
11. Today’s Economy Blog offered ten reasons to worry about the European debt crisis. Of course, a potential financial crisis is no reason to abandon’s one’s well thought out asset allocation plan.
12. My Own Advisor lists the reasons why he isn’t a fan of mutual funds. If you must own one, look for a fund with low fees and low turnover.

Just a quick reminder that you can read my posts in your favourite reader or delivered by e-mail. Have a great weekend everyone!