Late filing guidelines for US citizens in Canada clarified
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US has finally announced some clear guidelines for US citizens who live in Canada and are late on their tax filing requirements. These new guidelines are proposed to take effect September 1, 2012.
Good news for US citizens living in Canada [...]

As part of the Government’s continuous efforts to strengthen Canada’s housing finance system, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced further adjustments to the rules for government-backed insured mortgages.
The Government is announcing four measures for new government-backed insured mortgages with loan-to-value ratios of more than 80 per cent:
Reduce the maximum amortization period to [...]

It’s been a lousy five years on the stock markets, but a lot of investors have still managed to earn very attractive returns over that time.  How come?
I say “lousy” compared to the longer term averages. For context, the Toronto S&P TSX Composite Index provided average total annual returns of 1.7% for the five-year period [...]

IMF warning on personal debt should be heeded
With Greece on the verge of debt default and other European countries threatening to follow, it was a little ironic this week to hear the International Monetary Fund issue a warning that Canadian household debt is getting too high.
After all, aren’t we the poster children for financial prudence [...]

Rough markets reaffirm need for proper balance
Okay, folks, we’ve talked about this several times before.  I hope you took it to heart, then, as you will now be relaxed and enjoying your summer, instead of fretting about the markets.
You need to assess your investment portfolio mix regularly, especially when times are good.  At those times, [...]

Identity theft in Canada:

The majority of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents (82%) are concerned about becoming a victim of identity theft, according to a recent report from TD.*
Every year, thousands of Canadians fall prey to identity thieves and are left with big bills, bad credit and a tarnished reputation. There’s also a personal toll that comes [...]

In the past two weeks, I have received 11 e-mail requests from various banks, asking me to either help them with their security or confirm no one has hacked into my online banking accounts.  And these are just the ones that snuck through the spam filter.
Most of them want me to log onto a website [...]

If you live in any province other than Ontario or BC, the July 1st introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to replace the separate GST and provincial sales taxes likely seemed like a non-event.
However, people in other provinces may be affected in a variety of ways.  Companies – even ones located in Manitoba, Saskatchewan [...]

Telling the truth is a good thing, especially when it is federal investigators asking the questions.
Just ask Martha Stewart.
Remember back in 2003, she ran afoul of the authorities and had to spend some hard time in the big house?
She was charged with various crimes related to insider trading.  However, she did not end up being [...]

The Canadian economy is expanding consistently, after a contraction and recession in 2009.  In the last few months, in fact, economists have been increasingly surprised and pleased by the statistics, suggesting the economy has moved past recovery mode into expansion.  The latest GDP results show that the economy has grown for five consecutive months.
Even more [...]