30 days – 1.50% + MORE Feb 12th

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.

PARIS – French oil company Total SA says its earnings slid nearly 30 per cent in the fourth quarter as oil prices stagnated under $110 a barrel and production slipped into reverse.
The company reported fourth quarter profit of $2.18 billion, down 28 per cent from $3.04 billion a year earlier. The drop followed earnings declines at fellow European oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell, as falling refining margins and a sluggish European economy weighed on demand.
Total said Wednesday production slipped to 2.284 million barrels a day in the quarter, down 0.5 per cent from a year earlier. Total blamed “normal decline” and security issues in Nigeria and Libya for the drop.
Brent crude oil prices were down 1 per cent at $109.2 a barrel in the quarter, Total said.
Total said it’s on track to achieve a targeted increase in production to 2.6 million barrels a day by 2015, and possibly 3 million barrels a day by 2017. Production will benefit this year from new projects in Angola, the North Sea and Nigeria, Total said…

In a recent post on my blog I covered my bias for winding down the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) sooner than later, preferring to move assets from the RRSP to a non-registered account or better still a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) before you’re forced to.  As part of the RRSP primer I wrote here, you already know that if you have one or more RRSPs you’ll be required to shut those accounts down at the end of the year you turn age 71.
If you’re in that position or you’re getting close to that age here are some considerations for you:

You can “cash in” your RRSP (but I don’t think that’s a great idea since you’ll be taxed on the entire withdrawal).
You can purchase an annuity (but I don’t think these products are needed for everyone).
You can convert your RRSP into a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF).

I suspect converting your RRSP to a RRIF may be a good choice for many investors because of these reasons:

A RRIF is similar to an RRSP in that investments inside the RRIF can continue (to grow) and defer taxes until monies are withdrawn,
You can keep your portfolio allocation and assets intact upon establishing the RRIF account,
You can use your (younger) spouse’s age to set a lower RRIF minimum withdrawal requirement,
You can leave RRIF assets to beneficiaries,
You can receive RRIF payments on any schedule, for example, providing pension-like monthly income, and
You can defer RRIF minimum withdrawals until the year after the RRIF was opened…

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.

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.