This and That: Interest rates, debt and more…

1. The Bank of Canada boosted interest rates by 1/4 percent earlier in the week. In the accompanying statement, our central bank noted that any further increases will “weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments”. Variable-rate mortgages and lines of credit have become more expensive as lending institutions immediately boosted the Prime Rate to 2.75%.
2. Rob Carrick wrote that Canadians are preparing for rising interest rates by sharply easing up on debt. It is especially noteworthy that one quarter of Canadians with mortgages either accelerated their monthly payments or made a pre-payment on their mortgage in the past year.
3. Preet is celebrating the third anniversary of his blog by giving away an iPad and other goodies. Congratulations Preet!
4. With so many investors chasing commodities, Larry MacDonald wonders if commodities can continue to provide the equity-like returns they did in the past.
5. Michael James clarified that commodity investing really means investing in commodity futures contracts, not the actual commodities themselves.
6. Million Dollar Journey wrote a two-part series on deciphering the insurance puzzle. The first part dealt with mortgage, mortgage life and term insurance.
7. Money Smarts Blog calls Rob Carrick’s Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments a great book for Canadian investors.
8. Squawk Fox has put together a nifty windfall planner worksheet, which could come in handy if you win one of those $50 million jackpots (or even something less).
9. My Own Advisor explains the basics of a locked-in retirement account (LIRA), how it differs from a RRSP and how he manages his own LIRA.
10. In Search of Salt says that if you don’t know cars, know your mechanic.

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