Am I on track to quit my job now? + MORE Sep 28th

VANCOUVER – When it comes to overpriced real estate, Vancouver’s “bubble risk” is unmatched on the planet, according to a report by Swiss bank UBS.
The rise in Vancouver’s average housing prices compared with the growth in average wages, rents and other economic factors make it the most likely to experience a sudden downward correction compared with 17 other large cities around the globe, according to the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index released this week.
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The report also warned that investors are less likely to see growth in property value in high “bubble risk” cities.
Jon Woloshin, strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas, said the report doesn’t mean Vancouver is likely to experience a home price correction like the U.S. housing crisis that contributed to the 2008-09 recession…

REUTERS/Mark Blinch – RTX1HRYW
BlackBerry’s latest gambit to save its struggling business is to stop making BlackBerrys altogether—a move that sounds like a death rattle, but may well prove to be the one-time mobile giant’s last chance to return to profitability.
Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry said Wednesday it would no longer design or manufacturer physical devices as part of an ongoing strategy to refocus the company on higher margin software and services. “The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners,” CEO John Chen said in a statement that accompanied the firm’s latest quarterly earnings, which showed a loss during the three-month period of US$372 million.
The decision marks the end of an era. Under the leadership of former co-CEO’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, the company formerly known as Research In Motion kicked off the smartphone craze in the early-to-mid 2000s with popular devices like the Pearl, Curve and Bold…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California’s treasurer said Wednesday that he’s suspending some of the state’s most profitable lines of business with Wells Fargo amid allegations bank employees opened millions of accounts without customers’ permission.
The announcement by the nation’s largest issuer of municipal debt reflects the growing political pressure on the banking giant since it agreed to pay $185 million to settle the allegations. While the sanctions apply to only a portion of California’s business with Wells Fargo, the impact could grow if more states follow suit, as state Treasurer John Chiang urged them to do.
“I have a responsibility to take action aimed at helping Wells Fargo and all financial institutions to understand that integrity and trust matter,” Chiang said at a news conference two miles from the bank’s San Francisco headquarters. Chiang, a Democrat, is in a crowded field of Democrats running for governor in 2018.
Chiang said he wants to send a message that the bank’s behaviour was “a legal and ethical outrage…

(Photograph by Gemma Robillard)
The current situation
Lana, 42, works in Toronto’s financial sector and is the mother of two children aged 8 and 10. “I have been working for 15 years and now I’m ready to step away from the corporate ladder and be a full-time mom,” she says. However, her husband Jeremy, 43, is nervous they won’t make ends meet even on his take-home pay of $7,500 a month. The couple currently owns $1.1 million in real estate, but owe $350,000 in mortgages and an auto loan. They plan to pay $20,000 annually to eliminate their mortgages, until Jeremy retires in 11 years. But despite the plan, doubts remain. “I don’t want to jeopardize a comfortable retirement since we won’t be able to save much when we switch to living on just one salary,” says Lana.
The verdict
According to Janet Gray, a certified financial planner with Money Coaches Canada in Ottawa, Lana’s on track to leave her job now with enough in her RRSP to last until she’s 100, provided Jeremy doesn’t retire before age 54 and remains a member of his employer’s defined-benefit pension plan…

The Globe and MailLaurentian Bank to shut down dozens of branches, cut 300 jobsThe Globe and MailLaurentian Bank of Canada announced plans Wednesday to close dozens of branches and cut about 300 staff, becoming the latest Canadian bank to take action as consumers move to computers and smartphones to make their regular financial transactions.Laurentian Bank to eliminate 300 positions as it merges 50 branchesbnn.caLaurentian Bank to cut 300 jobsCBC.caLaurentian to Cut 300 Jobs, Merge Branches in RestructuringBloombergThe Cerbat Gem -Community Financial Newsall 11 news articles »