If you think oil prices are high now, just wait four years. Jeff Rubin, a leading economist at CIBC World Markets, expects oil prices to nearly double by 2012. The increase will happen, he says, primarily because of supply issues. “Our latest review of supply suggests oil production will hardly grow at all, with average […]
The Alberta budget might be entitled “The Right Plan,” but it should have been named “The Spend Plan.” The first budget under provincial Tory leader Ed Stelmach calls for record spending of $37 billion. “It’s a spending budget, admittedly,” Finance Minister Iris Evans told reporters beforehand. Most of the money the government will dole out […]
(April 2008) With more investors turning away from risk and investing in government bonds, one debt instrument that has fallen out of favour with investors is the maple bond. In the last six months of 2007, there were only 15 Maple issues worth $4.9 billion; that’s a 53.8% drop over the same period in 2006. […]
(April 2008) It’s likely that most advisors remind their clients at least once a year to contribute to an RRSP. But how many tell them to withdraw? A new TriDelta Financial Partners report notes that many clients accumulate a tax bill of more than $1 million between age 55 and when they die. Frank Wiginton, […]
In the U.S., the controversial fee-based account has dwindled in popularity, but Canada’s still moving full steam ahead with the non-commission advisory model. Just because our financial industry is still promoting the account, however, doesn’t mean we’re not faced with the same problems that derailed the option down south. At Advisor Group’s Compliance Matters Summit […]
The Ontario Securities Commission is calling on legislators to give police more power to crack down on financial crime. Speaking to an Economic Club of Toronto luncheon on Wednesday, OSC chair David Wilson said, “it’s time to carefully study the idea of giving police some new, but very carefully circumscribed powers to investigate economic crime.” […]
With America’s economy in increasingly greater turmoil, it’s hard not to think that Canada’s relatively stable economic status will eventually crumble. However, Jeff Rubin, CIBC’s chief economist and chief strategist, says there’s nothing to worry about. In the bank’s latest economic forecast, Rubin says that Canada’s energy and resource rich economy is still thriving thanks […]
While the Conservative government has made strides to lower personal income tax rates for Canadians, it still has a way to go before it’s satisfied, says federal finance minister Jim Flaherty. “We’re reducing taxes, we intend to continue reducing taxes, and we think Canadians pay too much tax,” he said over lunch during a C.D. […]
Everyone looks for a scapegoat during times of crisis, and for many fed up with the credit crisis, hedge funds are to blame. The Alternative Investment Management Association, however, is taking issue with what it sees as “unwarranted criticism.” “People have been taking pot shots at hedge funds,” says Phil Schmitt, president of AIMA Canada. […]
Despite a major slowdown in the American economy, we’re not seeing a global recession, says a senior Franklin Templeton executive. Paul Vaillancourt, senior vice-president and director of portfolio strategy for Fiduciary Trust Company of Canada, the high-net-worth division of Franklin Templeton Investments, says an economic decoupling from the U.S. has saved the rest of the […]