- The Bank of Canada decided to keep rates steady but clearly signaled that the period of exceptionally low interest rates is soon going to be over. Bond traders are expecting the Bank to increase interest rates, which are currently at 0.25% to 1.25% to as much as 2.0% by the end of 2010. That would put the prime rate to which variable rate mortgages and consumer lines of credit are linked at between 3.25% and 4.0% by the end of this year.
- Once upon a time, Exchange-Traded Funds meant simple, transparent, low-cost products that tracked broad markets. Now, the ETF landscape is getting increasingly cluttered with complex, unpredictable, expensive products says Tom Bradley of Steadyhand Funds.
- Mr. Cheap’s post on things people irrationally hate to spend money on generated a flurry of comments.
- Michael James says that a proposal to change the way RRIF withdrawals are taxed breaks down on further analysis. Others simply say “Oink! Oink!” to the proposal.
- A guest poster on Million Dollar Journey offered her take on the battle royale between the CREA and the Competition Bureau. Grab a bag of popcorn, this one is going to be worth watching.
- If you are running a small business and use your vehicle for business purposes, you’ll be interested in Larry MacDonald’s 5 tax tips for claiming auto expenses.
- Preet drove across the border, picked up a brand-new Apple iPad and wrote a review. His verdict: “dream to use”.
- Balance Junkie offered her take on the bull and bear argument for stocks now. My take: It’s hard to argue that stocks are overvalued but they aren’t screaming buys either.
- Canadian Financial Stuff was surprised to find how drastically a new front-load washing machine cut his water bill
- Thicken My Wallet takes media personality Kevin O’Leary to task for confusing GDP growth rates with stock market returns.
If you haven’t started working on your taxes, you are running out of time. Remember that the deadline for filing taxes is April 30.
I’m unable to highlight all the articles worth checking out in my weekly round up but you can check them out through my Twitter feed. Have a great weekend!
