Real estate: Three experts, one night, zero agreement + MORE Apr 29th

Jeff Rubin, author of The Carbon Bubble. Photographed on May 13, 2015. (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star/Getty Images)
When Jeff Rubin gave advice on Toronto real estate this week, the only thing polished was his shoes. Waving his fist clenched around a paper he wrote in 1989 as evidence, he chided the Bank of Canada for an “inflationary crusade” and “absolute utter nonsense,” speaking in run-on pronouncements even after he ran out of breath and trailed into digressions on Marine Le Pen’s attempt at reversing globalization in France and the “whacko” running America.
As people try to navigate their ways to home ownership, the advice has become just as overwhelming as the market. Rubin spoke on April 26 at an event called, “Surviving Toronto’s Housing Market,” hosted by The Empire Club of Canada, a forum for distinguished speakers founded in 1903. Rubin, a former chief economist for CIBC who famously predicted the housing crash of 1989, was one of three panelists with vastly different messages for the audience of about 150…

Facebook is acknowledging that governments or other malicious non-state actors are using its social network to influence political sentiment in ways that could affect national elections.
It’s a long way from CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s assertion back in November that it was “pretty crazy” to think that false news on Facebook influenced the U.S. presidential election. It’s also a major sign that the world’s biggest social network is continuing to grapple with its outsized role in how the world communicates, for better or for worse.
In a paper posted online on Thursday, Facebook security researchers and its chief security officer said the company will monitor the efforts of those who try to hurt “civic discourse” on its service, whether that’s governments or other groups. It is also looking to identify fake accounts, and says it will notify people if their accounts have been targeted by such cyberattackers.
“(We) have had to expand our security focus from traditional abusive behaviour, such as account hacking, malware, spam and financial scams, to include more subtle and insidious forms of misuse, including attempts to manipulate civic discourse and deceive people,” the report states…

Home Capital Group Inc. shares regained some ground on Thursday after it secured a $2-billion credit line and said it’s exploring its strategic options, suggesting it could be up for sale.
The stock (TSX:HCG) rose nearly 34 per cent to close at $8.02 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the mortgage lender said it hired RBC Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets “to advise on further financing and strategic options.”
Toronto-based Home Capital lost more than half its value on Wednesday after it warned it would miss financial targets and was seeking the credit line to offset withdrawals from savings accounts at its Home Trust subsidiary.
Some savers pulled their deposits in the wake of allegations by Ontario’s securities regulator that the company, two former CEOs and the current CFO broke the law in their handling of a scandal involving falsified loan applications. The company has said the allegations are without merit and vowed to defend itself.
Home Capital said Home Trust expects to have a high-interest savings account balance of approximately $814 million on Thursday, after settlement of transactions Wednesday…

CEO Rich Kruger said Friday his company has not been idle while other major Canadian producers snapped up oilsands assets from foreign rivals over the past year.
The head of Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) said the Calgary-based company, one of the top four oilsands producers in Canada, has been busy building and commissioning its Kearl oilsands mining project where the first phase started in 2013 and the second phase in 2015. It has also been dealing with operational issues at its Nabiye steam-driven oilsands project, which started production in 2015.
“We’ve just completed an unprecedented period of upstream growth with two phases of Kearl, with Nabiye,” he told reporters after the company’s annual meeting of shareholders.
“We have commented several times on how we’re progressing the technical and commercial project opportunities for readiness. So I wouldn’t describe it as ‘on the sidelines.”’
Last month, Royal Dutch Shell announced it had agreed to sell most of its Canadian oilsands assets to Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) for about C$11…

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Weekend Reading
Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading edition, where I share some of my favourite personal finance and investing articles from the blogosphere.
Here is what I posted, in case you missed it:
This boring (but important) money advice never goes out of style.
This is Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan.  The question is:  who it is fair for?
This 30-something couple ditched home ownership in Toronto and became millionaires instead.
Enjoy the rest of these articles and I’ll be back next week with more #money stuff to read and think about….
Mark
Cait Flanders wrote about the pursuit of happiness.  Not the band.  The concept behind it.  I certainly agree being present as much as you can given all the great moments life can bring.
Michael James on Money helps people who think the stock market only goes up.
The Blunt Bean Counter wrote about reports on realizing capital gains.
This Globe article profiled a retiree who is house rich and cash poor but wants to retire early…