Stocks solidly lower following weak jobs report + MORE Feb 5th

LISBON, Portugal – In a tug of war over budgets, the European Commission approved Portugal’s so-called anti-austerity spending plan on Friday, but only after extracting a promise for almost $1 billion in additional cost cuts.
Despite a conditional approval, EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the new Portuguese “government’s plans are at risk of non-compliance with” EU rules to keep deficits down and would need strict monitoring.
Left-wing and centre-left governments — particularly in Greece, Spain, Italy and France — have long complained that the EU’s executive Commission required them to cut public spending they argued was needed to foster economic growth.
The EU Commission has insisted that budgetary rigour is needed to keep economies healthy and make sure nations are not burdened by excessive debt, which helped cause financial crises in several countries, notably Greece.
The issue flared up again in Portugal after the election of a new Socialist government that presented a so-called anti-austerity budget plan to the EU Commission last month…

Q: My husband is retiring from teaching and will receive a large lump sum payment, but if he doesn’t put it into a retirement specific account he’ll have to pay about 30% in tax on this sum. Problem is: Our house is in dire need of renovation. Any work we do would go a long way to boosting the value of our home (primarily we need to update our kitchen, two bathrooms and all the floors on the main floor and upstairs). Is there any way that we can use these funds or some of these funds without paying excessive tax? For example could we say that it was an “investment” in our home and thereby get some tax back from this claim? — The Browns, Mississauga, Ont.

Answer No. 1: First, the 30% may be a touch low for an estimate of the taxes owing on a lump sum payment which is not otherwise eligible or contributed to a registered investment account. Instead, it simply could be the initial estimated withholding taxes. The final tax amount would be dependent on the taxable income for the year…

OTTAWA – It’s an option for many people buying their first home, but when deciding whether to tap into RRSPs, investment advisers urge caution.
“Whether or not it is a good idea to use the homebuyers withdrawal plan, I would say the answer is maybe,” says Kelly Gares, an adviser with BlueShore Financial in West Vancouver, B.C.
“It does depend on your particular circumstances.”
Under the homebuyers’ plan, people can withdraw up to $25,000 from an RRSP to help buy or build a first home. They need to repay the amount to their RRSP and generally have up to 15 years to put the money back in their account.
In essence, people are borrowing money from themselves. And while they don’t have to pay themselves any interest on the money they take out, they are giving up any gains they might have made on the money had it remained invested in an RRSP.
The RRSP guide for savvy investors »
Mortgage payments aren’t the only cost to buying a new home. There are maintenance costs, property taxes and utility bills…

WASHINGTON – Banking giant HSBC has reached a $470 million settlement with the federal government and nearly all states over mortgage lending and foreclosure abuses that officials say contributed to the country’s economic meltdown, the Justice Department announced Friday.
The agreement requires the bank to pay $100 million and to provide an additional $370 million in consumer relief to borrowers and homeowners, including reducing mortgage interests rates as well as the principal on mortgages for homeowners who are at risk of default.
The deal also requires the bank to improve standards for how it services loans and handles foreclosures.
Officials say those changes are intended to discourage past banking practices, such as robosigning and poor-quality loans, that played a part in the financial crisis starting in 2007 in which millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosure.
“This settlement illustrates the department’s continuing commitment to ensure responsible mortgage servicing,” Benjamin Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The stock market is moving lower after the government reported that job creation in the U.S. slowed down last month.
Technology stocks had some of the biggest declines Friday.
LinkedIn plunged 40 per cent after the social media company released a weak forecast for 2016.
Tyson Foods soared 10 per cent after its earnings came in well ahead of analysts’ estimates.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 183 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 16,237 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 28 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 1,886. The Nasdaq composite dropped 112 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 4,398.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.86 per cent.
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