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Canadian Loonie


RECENT FINANCIAL POST NEWS

Replay our Q&A with the Tax Expert
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:15:41 GMT
Replay our online forum with CIBC tax expert Jamie Golombek to get tips on how to save on your tax bill

No one's getting rich
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:33:18 GMT
Don't feel bad if your portfolio returns over the past decade did not live up to your expectations. You have plenty of good company

Riding the loonie
Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:58:01 GMT
Keeping an eye on currency values is a tricky proposition for investors, but a potentially profitable one

Replay our Q&A on RRSPs
Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:58:08 GMT
Financial educator and author Talbot Stevens took your questions on last-minute RRSP strategies

Time is money, so start saving early
Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:34:07 GMT
Time is money" is a popular saying for today's Type-A high achievers. But in fact, time is more valuable than money, says an author I first encountered on the Twitter microblogging service.

GICs beat 20 years in Japan
Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:23:39 GMT
If the negative publicity of Japan's auto giants has you thinking about bottom fishing, you might first consider the track record of two of the oldest Japanese equity funds sold in Canada

Currency hedging: no guts, no glory
Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:03:30 GMT
Investing writer Ian McGugan discovers that becoming a one-man hedge fund isn?t so simple

Global bonds attracting attention ...but risks remain
Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:41:11 GMT
Global bonds are attracting interest from investors searching for higher yields in a world where major markets offer minuscule returns but Greece's credit problems are a vivid reminder of ever-present sovereign debt risk.

Investing on the Web, beyond stocks
Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:55:32 GMT
Today, one can buy such alternatives as bonds, options, futures and precious metals online

Building an ETF portfolio from the ground up
Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:37:26 GMT
The steady addition of new products has made it easy for investors to build their portfolio entirely in exchange traded funds. The challenge now is to follow the cardinal rule: Keep things simple

Sorting out the foreign ETFs
Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:11:39 GMT
Canadians can now buy locally traded single-country or single-region exchange-traded funds focused on fast-growing emerging markets like China, India and Latin America

Why it's a good time to buy Buffett's Berkshire
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:02:57 GMT
Warren Buffett's company offers the virtues of a value-oriented U.S. index fund with an excellent hedge fund manager attached -- and thanks to a 50-to-1 split, it's affordable

FPL RRSP top stories
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:34:27 GMT
Financial Post RRSP page top stories

Picking the pearl of stocks
Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:09:14 GMT
Six names to consider as we enter a stock picker's market

Bond King buys Canada
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:02:49 GMT
Bill Gross, founder and managing director of Pacific Investment Management Co., which manages US$1-trillion on behalf of clients, said in his monthly letter to clients that Canada stands out among industrialized countries as a destination for investors to park their fixed-income cash.

Beware 696-year TFSA investments
Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:02:42 GMT
Many Canadians are choosing only interest-bearing TFSA plans that pay so little that the accompanying tax savings are equally negligible.

Investors like sugar in their coffee
Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:30:44 GMT
This year may turn out to be the year of the commodity fund as money managers pile into raw materials such as oil, gold, copper, sugar and coffee

Hollywood's got a smash hit
Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:11:04 GMT
Hollywood racked up a record-breaking year at the box office last year, but that doesn't mean investing in movie stocks now will turn out to be a blockbuster bet

Seeking income in a post-trust world
Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:10:38 GMT
Instead of withering in the absence of income trusts, income-seeking investors may actually see their opportunities expand.

Buy American
Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:30:52 GMT
The U.S. economic situation is not pretty, but the biggest mistake investors could make in the next 10 years is to give up on the world's biggest market.

Boomers get set for the next stage
Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:02:47 GMT
According to Canada?s Urban Futures Institute, 425,000 Canadians will retire each year until 2020. Wealthy Boomer columnist Jonathan Chevreau writes about the coming wave of Boomer retirements.

A prescription for financial success
Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:43:56 GMT
Dr. Michael Graham's career has spanned six recessions and 10 bear markets. He's optimistic a bull market is on the way.

What's next for Canada's banks
Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:57:23 GMT
Canadians who have profited from how our financial institutions weathered the global economic crisis wonder whether the punch bowl has been removed and the investment party is over.

The last shall be first
Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:12:31 GMT
One of Templeton's principles is to buy stocks at the time of maximum pessimism. It works, most of the time

Don't expect 60% gains in 2010
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:08:16 GMT
In stark contrast to last year, economists and market strategists are exhibiting quiet confidence as they roll out their 2010 forecasts. Here's a sneak peek from the Street at 2010.

Canadians get a new way to buy gold
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:07:11 GMT
Access to gold bullion continues to expand for Canadian investors, after Claymore Investments Inc. announced it will convert the closed-end Claymore Gold Bullion Trust into an open-end exchange traded fund in January.

Put some creativity in your portfolio
Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:02:38 GMT
Since truly safe savings vehicles like Canada Savings Bonds, bank savings accounts and GICs pay next to nothing, investors need to get creative in finding alternatives that pay more interest, or its equivalent, but have less risk than traditional stocks.

Rates may rise despite BoC deadline
Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:29:17 GMT
Bond yields and mortgage rates could head higher before the Bank of Canada's pledge to hold interest rates steady expires in July, the chief economist at Bank of Nova Scotia said this week.

Outlook for silver looks bright this winter
Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:58:17 GMT
Traders showing interest in "gold's poor cousin"

So you want to be a green investor ?
Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:02:28 GMT
Insurers don?t make windmills or solar panels. But they?re still in an excellent position to generate a return on global warming.

How to get the most from your TFSA
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:04:12 GMT
As the new Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) approach their first anniversary, Canadians are still not getting the most out of them, according to BMO Financial Group.

Spoiled advisors want their 1%
Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:33:50 GMT
New offerings are ETFs --but with the high costs of mutual funds

Top-10 year-end tax tips
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:48:55 GMT
With barely a month to go before the end of the year, Jamie Golombek offers up his top 10 tax tips to help you get your house in order

Try DRIPing exchange-traded funds
Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:02:04 GMT
One of the secrets of building wealth with individual stocks is to reinvest dividends through dividend reinvestment plans, or "DRIPs." But what about DRIPing exchange-traded funds or ETFs?

Airline recovery on the horizon
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:56:56 GMT
If you can handle the turbulence, there are some good opportunities among carriers and related sectors

Bonds or Gold? Views differ on inflation hedges
Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:02:16 GMT
The record price of gold is flashing a giant warning that inflation is directly ahead. But which is the better hedge: bullion or inflation-linked bonds?

How the rich stay richer
Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:29:31 GMT
It isn't prognostication skills that make the wealthy savvy with their money. It is their tendency to focus on three critical aspects of successful investing.

If you can't beat banks, join them
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:27:46 GMT
Rather than being a long-suffering customer, focus on being an owner. Instead of buying banks' Guaranteed Investment Certificates, buy bank stocks, which pay more in dividends than GICs pay in interest.

More employers rethink retirement plans
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:19:48 GMT
Fifty-nine per cent of employers are likely to reassess their retirement and pension programs by the end of this year as the onus for retirement savings shifts away from companies and onto the shoulders of workers, say experts.

Canadians expected to stay cautious this RRSP season
Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:55:27 GMT
Sixty-eight per cent of Canadians planning to contribute to their RRSPs this year will allocate the same or more than last year, but invest in more conservative assets, a poll showed Tuesday.

Til money do us part
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:28:26 GMT
It?s a sad but true fact of married life that money is a huge source of trouble. And the 2008 stock market crash and subsequent recession have aggravated the situation.

Flaherty's trick still no treat
Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:02:07 GMT
For history buffs, there is a certain ironic arc between Jim Flaherty?s Halloween massacre three years ago and today?s square-root-of-squat interest rates courtesy of the Bank of Canada

Some LSIF investors hit with 'nasty surprise'
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:29:57 GMT
LSIF investors ponied up the cash and took tax credits in return for agreeing to a long period of illiquidity, but the industry has not delivered its end of the bargain.

Safety in bonds? Not so fast
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:52:55 GMT
Rarely has there been a more perilous time to be a bond investor.

Take back your cash
Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:05:24 GMT
Why investors need to get off their duffs and get their money moving

Record low Canada Savings Bonds now 'a bit of a joke'
Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:04:30 GMT
The new series 120 Canada Savings bonds will pay just 0.4% this year, the lowest annual return since 1946, the year Ottawa first began selling the retail savings instruments.

You may not be as rich as you think
Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:18:45 GMT
Millionaires often underestimate retirement costs

Ontario may give mutual fund investors a break
Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:49:09 GMT
The Ontario government seemed to signal Wednesday it is reconsidering a plan to apply the new 13% harmonized sales tax on mutual fund fees ? a move that should come as a relief to investors across the country.

Cash-hoarding Canadians missing out on returns
Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:51:30 GMT
With a record trillion dollars of cash sitting on the sidelines in Canada, and 10 times that much in the United States, it?s arguable households aren?t taking enough risk to get a decent return on their money.

If the pros can't perform, do it yourself
Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:48:48 GMT
Fraudsters, high management fees, poor returns -- all raise questions about whether you should trust fund managers. William Hanley offers an alternative: why not just manage your investments yourself?

Crisis hits home for pension activist
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:01:36 GMT
Peter Benedek was a pensions activist long before Nortel Networks went bankrupt in January. Now, the crisis has landed on the very doorstep of this engineer who retired years ago from Nortel?s Bell Northern Research division

Buy now! HST is on the way
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:01:34 GMT
The new harmonized sales tax being proposed in British Columbia and Ontario may end up being an overall wash for some consumers but anyone buying a new house is about to get dinged

Jumping through hoops for your RESP
Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:01:30 GMT
As the first day of school looms, those of us who have been diligently accumulating funds in RESPs in the decade since Ottawa created a 20% inducement have discovered you must jump through several hoops before you can access them

Actually, September is the cruellest month
Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:46:39 GMT
October has a fearsome reputation built on great crashes and other pyrotechnics, but through the years September has on average delivered the worst returns

Wake-up call for Boomers
Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:41:01 GMT
Author Jim Otar says most Baby Boomers have not saved enough to retire comfortably and should plan to remain in the workforce quite a bit longer.

A comfortable retirement is no sure thing
Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:01:32 GMT
A 'jobless' economic recovery could tarnish the Golden Years for retirees hoping to supplement their income with some casual work.

The book your bank doesn't want you to read
Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:24:18 GMT
Chartered accountant and author David Trahair tells readers to forget the stock market, mutual funds and investment advisors and invest in nothing but Guaranteed Investment Certificates.

Phased retirement sounds great in principle
Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:01:30 GMT
Malcolm Hamilton, a partner with pension consultants Mercer?s, guesses phased retirement will be used to help employers come to a middle ground with workers who can?t yet afford to retire, but would welcome the chance to work half-time for half-pay

Canada's working 'retired'
Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:01:31 GMT
Earning new income has become an increasingly important component of retirement planning

Where to be when inflation strikes
Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:11:33 GMT
Oil stocks perform better than gold when CPI jumps

Time for investors to strike the sweet spot
Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:16:41 GMT
Stock markets tend to rise in the early stages of economic recovery, and we're now the sweet spot of that cycle, says Levi Folk.

Tax policy for better and worse
Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:01:32 GMT
For better or for worse, tax policy, aside from raising revenues for governments, can have a direct effect on societal behaviour

Consumers under siege
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:10:49 GMT
Americans are defaulting on credit-card payments at a record pace while Canadian personal bankruptcies are soaring.

Missing the target for investors
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:01:44 GMT
Target-date funds are no guarantee of retirement goals

Uh oh Canada! Americans are out-saving us
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:58:08 GMT
Americans look set to become better savers than Canadians for the first year in almost four decades as harsh economic times drive them to save their pennies.

The case for U.S. banks
Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:01:36 GMT
From the wreckage of the credit crunch, new U.S. banking titans are emerging that can provide investors with exposure to the world?s greatest money-making machines in a way Canadian banks probably never will.

Math wizard to the rescue
Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:01:48 GMT
There is one good reason to have a solid relationship with an accountant: Most people are totally baffled by their tax return.

Play it safe with life-cycle investing
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:18:57 GMT
Life-cycle investing adds hedging and insurance strategies to traditional saving and diversification.

Calls on currency rise and fall
Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:14:39 GMT
Will the loonie resume its path toward parity, or has the rally run its course? A bear and a bull weigh in

Even when down, bet on the best
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:01:34 GMT
An old investing maxim holds the Dogs of the Dow roll over the highest dividend yields, but you may have to accept the mangy with the sleek

Don't handcuff your mortgage
Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:01:31 GMT
Would you like to pay an extra $300 per month on your mortgage? Not likely. That hasn?t stopped a number of Canadians, with the deal of a lifetime on a variable-rate mortgage, from switching over to a more expensive fixed-rate product and paying the extra freight.

Glittering gold all the rage
Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:01:39 GMT
A gold bear and a gold bull offer their views on this traditional safe haven.

Can bonds come back?
Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:01:38 GMT
Ballooning U.S. deficit risks is stoking a sell-off in treasuries

Markets swing with Stanley Cup
Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:26:40 GMT
If you have money invested in the stock market, you might want to start rooting for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Can money really buy happiness? Depends ?
Sat, 30 May 2009 00:01:36 GMT
If the best things in life are free, why is it that we always seem to be after more money? Because we think it can buy happiness.

Bringing Bay Street to Main Street
Sat, 30 May 2009 00:01:41 GMT
Patricia Lovett-Reid, the first woman to receive the Donald J. Johnston Award from the Financial Planners Standards Council, is passionate about how women should invest.

Hello Freedom ? 70
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:26:29 GMT
Ottawa threw a monkey wrench into Baby Boomers? plans for early retirement this week when the finance department announced a surprise revamp to the Canada Pension Plan.

Check both sides of the coin
Sat, 23 May 2009 00:01:44 GMT
Collecting rare coins offers excellent potential for profit. That is, if you can avoid the influx of Chinese counterfeits

The best tax break you?ve never heard of
Fri, 15 May 2009 19:39:00 GMT
One of the most important tax changes announced in this year?s federal budget has flown under the radar screen.

Be wary of buy-and-hold mantra
Wed, 06 May 2009 17:02:10 GMT
Canadians saving for retirement are learning the hard way that market risk doesn?t always bring reward

Holy investment opportunity, Batman
Thu, 28 May 2009 11:23:07 GMT
For investors, the biggest drawback to collecting comic books is the fear that you may have to attend a comic book convention and rub shoulders with middle-aged, pot-bellied delegates dressed in spandex superhero outfits.

Canada?s the place to be, says U.S. mutual fund manager
Fri, 01 May 2009 21:02:12 GMT
Robert Loest of Integrity Growth and Income Fund considers Canada one of the best places in the world to invest, with fabulous companies that hold tremendous promise, and there is no ulterior motive.

Drilling down for tax credits
Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:01:59 GMT
For well-heeled investors with taxable cash to burn, flow-through shares have long been a legitimate way to defer tax while taking a flyer on speculative Canadian resource enterprises.

Nest egg dilemma still not cracked
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:23:48 GMT
How much money do you need to save in order to retire or achieve financial independence? Overshooting would not be a catastrophe, but undershooting might be.

Stamps give stocks a licking
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:01:49 GMT
Diversifying beyond stocks into say, rare stamps or coins, baseball cards or other collectibles appears a daunting task if you don?t know anything about what you?re collecting.

Keeping It Simple
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:02:20 GMT
Exchange-traded funds offer a cheap and simple way to build a diversified portfolio

Canadians' wealth to plunge 3.5%
Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:44:43 GMT
The country?s dismal productivity record is going to cost Canadians what amounts to a year?s worth of income once the recovery from the recession has run its course, says a leading economic forecaster.

No time like the present
Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:05:43 GMT
Are you waiting for equity markets to hit bottom before wading back in? You may be missing the buying opportunity of a lifetime