This was the Super Bowl for economists, market makers and market watchers. Wednesday was rate cut day in the U.S. and the Fed did not disappoint, kicking off the rate cut cycle with a 0.50% hike (hut, hut). Go big or go home, right? Recent lower inflation reports cleared the opening for Jerome Powell and […]
The path of rate cuts, plus bonds ‘spike’ on the Sunday Reads.
In the Sunday Reads we’ll look at the expected path to rate cuts in Canada. The most aggressive estimates have the Bank of Canada down to 2.75% in 2025. We’re currently at 4.5%. There is also the likelihood of rate cuts in the U.S. in 2024 due to some softer economic reports this past week. […]
Using your TFSA to pay off the mortgage, on the Sunday Reads.
Many Canadian homeowners are about to face the big fixed rate reset. Of the $2 trillion in outstanding mortgage debt, only 5% came up for renewal in 2023. The bulk of the rate reset will arrive in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The popular 5-year fixed rate mortgages will come up for renewal. Many households will […]
The tax-free first home savings account in Canada (FHSA).
The first home savings account goes live on April 1, 2023. It is a program to help first time home buyers save for a home, in tax-free fashion. The program can be used on top of the current Home Buyers Plan (HBP) that is part of the RRSP savings vehicle. We can also throw in […]
The Bank of Canada goes easy, on the Sunday Reads.
The Bank of Canada raised rates 50bps (0.50%) this week, compared to the expected 75 bps increase. That helped the narrative that was developing last week when investors had a week off to recover. Stocks had another good week, up 3% or more. U.S. stocks are up about 9% over the last month. There is […]
Our U.S. and Canadian stock portfolio, on the Sunday Reads.
In this post I’ll offer up charts on our U.S. stock portfolio and the Canadian stock portfolio. And I’ll put them together so that we can see how they work together. The total portfolio was designed to be retirement-ready. The fact that it beats the market benchmarks is a welcome surprise. At the core of […]