Canada’s annual inflation rate fell slightly in February, giving the Bank of Canada room to keep interest rates low over the next few months, economists say. Statistics Canada said Friday its consumer price index edged down one-tenth of a point to 2.2 per cent in February,...

OTTAWA – Canada’s economy will register a strong start to 2011 despite the growing risks from crises in Japan and the Middle East, predicts a major Canadian bank. The TD Bank’s new forecast has the Canadian economy advancing a robust 3.5 per cent in the first...

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says annual inflation edged down one-tenth of a point to 2.3 per cent in January.The agency says energy prices, particularly the cost of gasoline, as well as car insurance, home replacement costs and restaurant meals contributed to keeping inflation above the...

OTTAWA – Canada’s national housing agency says the pace of new-home construction will stabilize in 2011 and 2012 after trending lower at the end of last year. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s predicts between 157,000 and 192,000 new housing units will be built this year, with...

Why do mortgage rates rise quickly but fall like molasses? That’s the question posed by an article in the latest issue of the Bank of Canada Review, and it’s a good one. The report, by Jason Allen of the central bank’s financial stability department, notes that the...

Here we go, again. The economy is generating more jobs, a handful of banks raise mortgage rates and all of a sudden you’re being advised to lock-in your mortgage before the bank doors slam shut. In fact, some say you’d better hurry-up and buy a...

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is taking the unusual step of publicly challenging its critics, defending its reputation and its business model amid mounting calls for change. On Monday, the Crown corporation e-mailed to the news media copies of letters that its vice-president had sent to...

That is Taco Bell’s slogan.  It’s meant to remind us that fast food doesn’t end with hamburgers. Tacos are pretty tasty in their own right. In the lending world, the closest equivalent to “the bun” is the 5-year fixed mortgage. Like hamburgers are to fast food,...

A stronger economy will offset the effects of higher mortgage rates and keep Canadian house prices stable over the next two years, according to the Royal Bank of Canada. In a market update that has the bank forecasting price gains of 0.5 per cent in 2011...

MONTREAL - Your current lifestyle may impact your retirement more than you think. Can it be sustained? How much money will it take to maintain the standards you're used to? What will it take in RRSPs, investments, savings and private and government pensions once retired? "Understand how...