ARTICLE 1
The age-old financial dilemma of whether you should use any excess cash to contribute to your RRSP or pay down your mortgage has gained renewed relevance in the aftermath of the financial crises. Canadians are learning to save more, invest more conservatively and de-risk their retirement account. So, despite what your personal conclusion might have been last time you thought about the smack-down between RRSPs vs mortgages, the economic equation has recently tilted in favour of paying down debts vs building up assets, but only for those of you with low tolerance for any investment risk. http://www.thestar.com/business/personalfinance/article/844358–paying-down-debt-makes-sense
ARTICLE 2
A survey conducted by Royal LePage Real Estate Services revealed that Ontarians and British Columbians have misconceptions about how the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) affects real estate transactions. When respondents were asked to provide examples of comments heard from buyers and sellers regarding the HST and its effect on the housing market, almost half of the comments (46.7%) indicated that confusion about HST remains more than one month after its introduction. Among the most common responses to the survey’s open-ended questions were that many homebuyers incorrectly believed HST applies to the sale price of resale properties. http://www.royallepage.ca/en/media/100805-hst-confusion-royal-lepage-advisor-survey.aspx?bottomcontent=874&toolstips=1052&relatedcontent=1074
ARTICLE 3
Even when a business is doing well, it’s a good idea to keep exploring new things to learn to operate better, smarter, faster or more efficiently. Rather than be complacent, entrepreneurs need to continually think about upgrading their skills so they grow with their businesses and take advantage of new opportunities http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/start/mark-evans/its-never-too-late-to-learn-new-business-skills/article1667061/?cmpid=rss1
ARTICLE 4
Next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for September 8th.
Conventional Mortgage – 5 Year Rate*
| June 16, 2010 | 5.99 % |
| July 5, 2010 | 5.89 % |
| July 14, 2010 | 5.79 % |
| Bond Type | June 23, 2010 | July 14, 2010 | July 28, 2010 |
|
1 year Treasury Bill |
1.17% |
1.18% | 1.17% |
| 3 year Benchmark Bond Yield |
1.99% | 1.93% | 1.82% |
| 5 year Benchmark Bond Yield |
2.53% | 2.54% | 2.44% |
| 10 year Benchmark Bond Yield |
3.23% | 3.26% | 3.22% |