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In prepared remarks of a speech he was to deliver Tuesday in Quebec City, Stephen Poloz laid out recommendations on how to adapt to low interest rates that he expects will linger for a long time.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz. (Photo: CP)
“The most important force pushing the neutral rate down has been a steady decline in the potential growth in the economy,” Poloz’s speech said.
“I have heard from many Canadians who are rightly worried about their ability to live off their savings and who are seeking a return to higher interest rates.”
The bank’s benchmark interest rate, however, has remained at a low level of 0.5 per cent for more than a year and it’s not expected to start climbing any time soon.
Stephen Poloz. (Photo: CP)
To ensure an adequate retirement, Poloz suggested Canadians consider saving more, working longer than planned and changing their investment mix to adjust to the persistently low interest rates…
How to Improve Your Credit Score – Student Edition
– ratesupermarket.ca
Welcome to our brand new monthly MoneyWise series, “How to Improve your Credit Score”. Over the next year, Amanda Reaume is sharing her tips and tricks to bump up your credit score and adopt life long solid credit habits. To begin, we’re discussing how to achieve a higher credit rating as a student.
September is in full swing and if you’re a university or college student, then you’re probably comfortably settling into your routine and dorm room. As you buy books, begin assignments and make new friends, the last thing you’re likely thinking about is your credit.
But even at this stage of life, it’s critical that you start planning for your future. That means making smart credit decisions now that will pay off later in life, saving you up to tens of thousands of dollars. Adopting solid habits while you’re a student can lead to lower interest rates when borrowing money for large purchases such as car loans or mortgages. You might even be able to refinance your student loans after you graduate and pay a much lower interest rate…
Canadian Household Debt Hits New Record High
– ratesupermarket.ca
Canadian debt-to-disposal income ratios are at an all-time high, according to the latest numbers released by Statistics Canada. The ratio was 167.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year, up from 165.2 per cent in the first three months of the year – and we can thank our housing prices for that. With interest rates remaining at record lows, Canadians continue to feel comfortable borrowing more to get into their dream house.
But are we seeing the full story when it comes to debt in Canada? At first glance, it may seem Canadian debt levels are out of control, but when this debt is compared to the value of assets that Canadians are holding, the numbers aren’t as scary. Yes, we are borrowing more, but our real estate values are also rising. This means our debt-to-asset ratios have remained virtually the same – sitting at about 16.9 per cent – since the early 1990s.
Here is what we’re hearing from Statistics Canada:
We are Borrowing More
There is no doubt that mortgage loans make up the lion’s share of Canadians’ debt…