LIBOR and CDOR Scandal: What Investors Should Know + MORE Mar 31st

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event is SOLD OUT!
The only way to get in is to enter the contest above.
Event information:
Thursday, May 15, 2014
The Toronto Board of Trade, 77 Adelaide Street West
First Canadian Place, Suite 350
Toronto, ON M5X 1C1
Click here for map and directions
Join Canada’s leading personal finance experts for a must-attend evening of wealth-building guidance. Covering retirement to real estate, savings to investment, learn everything you need to know to be rich at any age.
Speakers
David Chilton
Dragon’s Den star and author of The Wealthy Barber
Bruce Sellery
MoneySense contributor and author of Moolala
Jonathan Chevreau
MoneySense editor and author of Findependence Day
Plus…
Norm Rothery, Ph.D., CFA, founder of StingyInvestor.com
Dan Bortolotti, MoneySense editor-at-large and blogger at canadiancouchpotato.com
Pat Bolland, MoneySense columnist and host of Straight Talk on Sun News Network
Preet Banerjee, MoneySense writer and blogger at WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo…

A full 25% of Canadians have already filed their taxes, according to a new survey for BMO Nesbitt Burns. Not only are we Canadians keeners, we’re pretty confident about our tax filing abilities too. The overwhelming majority of respondents to the BMO poll are confident that their 2013 tax returns will take advantage of all the tax deductions, tax credits and other tax savings available to them.
Not in either of these camps? Relax. The tax filing deadline is still one month away (April 30) and MoneySense has got you covered. All Access subscribers can check out Evelyn Jacks’ latest column “Must-knows to file this year’s taxes” listing deductions for singles, families and business owners alike and everyone is free to peruse our 2014 Tax Essentials guide.
Our guide will not only help score the fattest refund possible but also help you decide how to use it. Of those expecting a refund for the 2013 tax year, 37% plan to use the money to pay household bills and/or reduce their overall debt load, BMO found…

About a year-and-a-half ago, LIBOR went from being an obscure acronym from the world of international finance, to the name associated with the latest in a series of global financial scandals. While regulators are still sorting out precisely what happened – and the full implications – there are already some impacts being felt around the globe.
What is LIBOR?
First off, a brief primer on what LIBOR is. The acronym stands for London Interbank Offered Rate. It’s the rate an international collection of banks charge each other when exchanging various currencies. It’s one of many such exchange rates around the world – Canada has its own, the Canadian Dealer Offered Rate (CDOR); more on that in a moment – but the London rate is considered the global standard.
It’s calculated by averaging out the rate that as many as 18 different banks say they would have to pay in interest when borrowing funds. Trillions of dollars in credit card charges, mortgages, car loans, and other items are linked to the LIBOR rate…

TORONTO – A Toronto man was accused on Monday by the Ontario Securities Commission of illegally selling some $90 million in securities to investors before his businesses went bankrupt.
The provincial regulator said some $38 million remains outstanding to investors.
In a statement of allegations, the OSC said Eric Inspektor raised the money between January 2005 and September 2011 through the issuance and unregistered sale of short and long term debentures, convertible term debentures, co-tenancy agreements, share purchase agreements and promissory notes.
“Through their dealings with Inspektor, investors were led to believe that the Kaptor Group was investing in various business activities within the Kaptor Group which would generate substantial rates of return and would generally yield investors returns between 15 per cent and 36 per cent annually,” the OSC said.
Most of the money raised was in conjunction with CarCap and CarCap Auto Finance, which provided sub-prime car leasing financing and sub-prime auto loans…

Out with the old finance minister, in with new deals? BMO has once again seized the market’s attention with the re-introduction of their 2.99 five-year fixed mortgage!
This time around, though, BMO doesn’t need to worry about receiving a stern phone call from Jim Flaherty. The former finance minister, who left his post last week, famously voiced his concerns over deep mortgage discounting last March, stating it was irresponsible given the state of Canadian household debt. So… does this open the door for even more mortgage rate cuts this spring?
What Will You Save With This Rate?

Looking to enter the market this spring, or refinance your existing mortgage? Let’s check out the savings potential of scoring a rate this low.
 Assuming…

Mortgage value: $378,000 (average Canadian home purchase price, according to the CMHC)

Term: 5 years

Amortization: 25 years

Compared to: 3.39% (The lowest Big Bank offered rate)

Using our handy Mortgage Calculator, we can determine:
 Monthly payments at 2…