Shares of several Canadian cannabis companies temporarily halted on TSX + MORE Dec 29th

OTTAWA _ A federal agency won’t be releasing the results of its review of business practices among Canada’s major banks by the end of the year, as originally anticipated.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada announced the review in March, after the CBC reported some employees from Canada’s five biggest banks felt pressured to upsell, trick and even lie to customers to meet sales targets.
All five banks have denied the claims, defending their practices and insisting that they put the needs of their clients first.
FCAC commissioner Lucie Tedesco had indicated to a parliamentary committee in June that an interim report on its review would be issued by the end of 2017 and a full report in 2018.
But FCAC spokeswoman Lynne Santerre says that the commission has since determined that the better approach would be to issue one report in the first quarter of 2018.
She says that to date, FCAC supervision staff has been reviewing thousands of consumer complaints, interviewing over 500 bank directors and bank personnel, analyzing volumes of bank documents and examining the potential impact of sales targets and incentive programs on consumers…

Several Canadian cannabis companies had their stocks temporarily halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange early Friday afternoon due to volatile swings in trading.

Oil prices push past the $60 US mark for the first time in about 2½ years as Canada’s main stock index retreats from its two-day record streak.

When it comes to saving through registered savings plans, most of us make two very costly mistakes: we tend to contribute too little and too late in the year to get the full benefit of tax-free compounding. It is costing you money —and we’ll prove it.
Sometimes the reason we contribute at the last possible moment is that we have other, more pressing financial priorities like paying down the mortgage or investing in a family business. But more often than not, it’s because we’re doing other spending stuff, like leasing a new car, doing a new home reno, or taking that annual vacation with family.
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) are two of the most common lost opportunities. In a real sense, the first sin (investing too little) is more easily forgiven; if you don’t have the money to max out on your contribution room, there might not be anything you can do about it. But the second sin (investing at the last minute) is worse; if you can find the money, you should really find a way to put the deposit at the top of your to-do list for the year…

You’re going to take a tax blow on stock gains. But you can soften the blow. (Flickr)
Q. I foolishly bought 20 stocks on the TSX a couple of years ago in a non-registered account. They will be subject to capital gains when sold. One of them lost almost all its value. The others have held their own or made gains. I want to transfer the stocks to my TFSA, but obviously, don’t want to incur the full tax penalty. What would be the best way to mitigate this mistake?  — Andrew, Toronto
Andrew, if you’re concerned about capital gains tax, you didn’t make an investment mistake.  There are lots of portfolio managers buying winners only to find they’re really losers, which is one reason for year-end tax loss selling.  True, you may have been better off making the initial investments within your TFSA.
Unfortunately, if you have a capital gain you will have to pay the tax; however, before you create the gain, think about ways to offset, defer, or minimize the tax or the effect of the tax…