Toyota Credit settles US discrimination allegations + MORE Feb 3rd

With the Canadian dollar hovering around $0.70 U.S., those who live along the border or shop a lot in the U.S. are likely taking a financial hit. With the cost of exchanging money back and force between currencies likely to put a damper on your spending power, perhaps it’s time to consider getting a U.S. account?
There are a lot of benefits to be had from different types of U.S. accounts. The biggest benefit is the flexibility to exchange money when the rates are good and to hold onto those funds for when you need them. Having U.S. accounts generally decreases your conversion fees and allow you greater flexibility when spending money in the U.S.
They also allow you to potentially convert money at a third party money exchange which often offers better rates than banks. Converting larger amounts of money at a time could also offer you some savings at these third party money exchange companies.
But there are different types of U.S. accounts and each is helpful in different ways. One or more might be right for you and could potentially save you a significant amount of money over the long term…

DETROIT – Toyota Motor Credit Corp. will pay $21.9 million to black and Asian borrowers as part of a settlement over alleged discriminatory lending.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the settlement Tuesday.
A government investigation found that dealers were marking up interest rates on loans to minority buyers between 2011 and 2016. Under the settlement, Toyota will cap the amount dealers can mark up a loan.
Toyota Motor Credit is the nation’s largest captive auto lender. The company denies wrongdoing and said it didn’t know the race of credit applicants, but agreed to the settlement because it was fair to customers and dealers.
Toyota is the latest auto lender to settle a discrimination case. Ally Financial and Honda’s U.S. finance arm have reached similar settlements.
The post Toyota Credit settles US discrimination allegations appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

By: Barry Choi
Although markets have rebounded slightly, 2016 has not been kind to investors. It’s tough to stomach any loss, but when it comes to our Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), some of us tend to overreact.
Since our RRSP is meant for long term savings, what’s happening now in the markets shouldn’t really matter. However if the value of our portfolio is declining or it hasn’t grown, it’s worth taking a second look at our investments to try and figure out if we’re on the right track.
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Reason 1: The Markets are Down
This is the only reason why our portfolio would have decreased in value, and unfortunately that’s the situation we find ourselves in right now. Keep in mind that these downturns are perfectly normal; markets don’t always go up in value.
This is actually an opportunity for investors since stocks are on “sale”. Think about it: when prices are down, we’re able to buy more than we normally could; it’s similar to buying things on sale at the grocery store…