Dating back to the summer of 2017, we have seen 4 interest rate hikes. On Wednesday, October 24, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates for the 5th time, to the current level of 1.75%. Prior to July 13, 2017, the central rate was 0.5%. This 1.75% is called the Bank of Canada rate. This... Continue Reading →
The American Social Security system has been under a lot of scrutiny lately, many questioning its sustainability. With the potential downfall of American social security, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the current status of the Canadian government benefit system. The main government benefit in Canada is the Canadian Pension... Continue Reading →
As some of you may have noticed, we took a short break from our weekly blog for the warm summer months. We are now back to business as usual and will be posting regularly. Picking up where we left off, we previously released a couple posts shedding light on the crippling effect of the Canadian... Continue Reading →
Inflation is a key factor when evaluating an economy. If inflation is at abnormally high levels, there are many negative side effects. These side effects may include the BoC (Bank of Canada) raising interest rates, which as we know, decreases the purchasing power. Inflation can be defined as a 'sustained increase in the general level... Continue Reading →
Last week we talked about credit-card/consumer debt, and how those debt figures seem to be trending higher year after year (click here to read that post). This week, we want to look at another contributor to increasing debt figures. Since 2012, the number of outstanding auto-loans is up by 57%. GDP growth over that period... Continue Reading →
"Canadian Average Debt Load now up to $22,081, 3.6% rise since last year" "Canadian Household Debt reaches $1.8 Trillion..." "Canadian Consumer Debt Just Keeps Growing" These are just a few of the alarming headings that we see showing up in the mainstream press on a more frequent basis. But how much validity is there behind these statements,... Continue Reading →
With much media attention given to millennials and baby boomers, each for their respective reasons (millennials supposedly being entitled and lazy, and boomers because they supposedly ruined the economy), there is one generation that seems to be forgotten. That generation is, of course, the one sandwiched between boomers and millennials; Generation X. Gen X-ers, as they... Continue Reading →
Recently released first quarter numbers for economic growth in Canada might seem a bit underwhelming. Stephan Poloz, the Governor of Bank of Canada, outlined 2 reasons for this; a slowing of the housing market and weak exports. However, even with the unsatisfactory results from Q1, the outlook for Q2 is still fairly optimistic. Rather than... Continue Reading →
If we look back at recent history, we can all remember the global economic crisis of 2008. Of course, many of us know that this crisis was triggered by a bubble in residential housing propped up by the availability of sub-prime mortgages. The collapse of the housing market had such a widespread effect that there... Continue Reading →
