120 days – 1.70% + MORE Apr 30th

This GIC rate is offered by Oaken Financial and was updated on 2013-11-28. Click on the link above to get more details or apply online.

We often hear about companies that have a solid record of paying back their shareholders but mostly those that choose to do so through dividend payments. I get it, I’m a big fan of dividend stocks and manage a decent part of my investments by targeting solid dividend stocks in my USDP portfolio. That being said, I also feel like companies that are sung their cash to do buyback programs (where a company buys back its own stock) don’t get nearly enough credit.
It’s not always the case but it’s often much better for most shareholders to have money “returned” to them in such a way. Why?
-Postponing taxes: As many of you know, I hold a decent stake in Apple and intend to keep it in the very long term. When the company pays out a dividend, I’m thrilled to have money come in my account and it makes the payment more “real”. However, when Apple takes that same amount to buy back some shares, there are also benefits:

This (all things being equal) increases the value of other outstanding shares which increases the value of my stake…

LONDON, Ont. – Ontario’s international exports are expected to grow by six per cent this year and seven per cent next year, according to a new forecast by Export Development Canada (EDC).
The Crown agency pins the forecast on an accelerating recovery in the U.S. and higher demand from American customers.
The forecast says a lower Canadian dollar will also provide opportunities for price competition and increased profits.
The EDC says about 78 per cent of Ontario’s 18,681 exporters sell into the United States. The total share of Ontario’s exports to emerging markets grew to seven per cent in 2013 from five per cent in 2009.
The forecast says shipments of metal ores and international sales of industrial machinery will be the main drivers of export growth in Ontario through 2015.
In addition, says EDC chief economist Peter Hall, “the agri-food sector is a real sleeper story” and long-term growth prospects in this sector are very strong.
“A positive about-face is expected this year, as global businesses get back into investment mode…

Photograph by Della Rollins
Founded in 2005 as an online market for artisans to sell their handcrafted wares, and with an emphasis on local communities, Etsy can feel small scale. Its quaint charms mask its impressive size. Etsy now boasts more than 30 million members and more than a million sellers around the world, and it’s been profitable since 2009–an impressive achievement for an online start-up. In 2013, it sold US$1.4-billion in merchandise, up from US$895-million in 2012.
Chad Dickerson, 41,  joined Etsy as its chief technology officer in September 2008. When Etsy’s co-founder Rob Kalin resigned from his post as CEO for the second time in 2011, Dickerson took up the job. Maclean’s spoke with Dickerson, who was in Toronto to meet with 31 Canadian Etsy sellers—“team captains” of like-minded community members, to talk about how the company can continue to grow, including a potential IPO, while remaining true to its roots.
Q: Etsy is premised on the idea of “maker culture…

This GIC rate is offered by Oaken Financial and was updated on 2013-11-28. Click on the link above to get more details or apply online.