Financial Pain Caused by Higher Interest Rates
Bank of Canada interest rate increase will be painful, writes Peter Watson. It was a surprise the BOC increased interest rates again. The BOC has a delicate balancing act. One consideration is controlling excesses inflation and that is done by increasing interest rates. The second consideration is to try not to put the brakes on […]
Household Debt Continues to be a Risk
Many Canadians will not be able to make higher interest rate mortgage payments, writes Peter Watson. Canadians’ personal finances are at risk because of high debt levels. A recent report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation sounded an alarm. Since 2010 Canada has had the most personal debt levels of all G-7 countries. The UK […]
Are You at Risk if Your Bank Fails?
Investors are encouraged to manage their investments to be insured with the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation, writes Peter Watson. The banks that have failed in the US and Europe recently likely had customers that thought their bank would never go out of business. The reality is this can happen, not likely, but can happen. The […]
Artificial Intelligence Will Eliminate Jobs
Artificial intelligence could cost us our jobs, writes Peter Watson. The question for many is when will artificial intelligence take our job. The world is changing at a pace that none of us could have imagined even months ago. There is risk to us all. This change will affect our ability to earn an income. […]
Federal Budget Outlines Financial and Political Priorities
Federal government outlines priorities in the 2023 budget, writes Peter Watson. This budget is a fiscal and political balancing act between conflicting priorities. There are many worthy causes that require funding, but after pandemic induced spending over the last few years the government must control spending. The liberals have a minority government, so they needed […]
Canadians Worry About Personal Finances
People worry about retirement and investments, writes Peter Watson. Canadians are concerned about their ability to fund retirement and they have negative feelings towards their investments. There are many reasons creating this pessimism, including Covid, higher interest rates, and everything seems to be more expensive. Plus, personal debt levels continue to rise. According to a […]
Stock Market Returns can be Misleading
Investors short- term and long-term experience is often very different, writes Peter Watson. Understanding how the stock market performs can be very misleading to how risky and unpleasant the investment experience can be. We have a perfect example of this over the last three years. From 2020 to 2022, the US stock market had a […]
Our Health Care System is Broken
Our health care system puts Canadians at risk, writes Peter Watson. Free enterprise exclusion has failed miserably when it comes to the distribution of healthcare services. One of Canada’s self-proclaimed achievements is providing free medicine to all. Our ability to deliver medical services has failed and the sooner we face that sad reality the sooner […]
Bad Year for Bonds in 2022
There are a few fundamental guidelines we recommend people use when developing their investment portfolio, writes Peter Watson. It starts with diversification: a combination of stocks and bonds. Stocks usually have a higher expected rate of return that can help your portfolio grow. Bonds usually have a lower expected rate of return, but they provide […]
2023 is the year of side hustles
Your side hustle, an extra part-time job, could be your solution to cope with the rising cost of living, writes Peter Watson. Many are facing serious financial challenges this year. Let’s look at possible solutions. A starting point is what we know. One, things are more expensive including mortgage payments, housing rental rates and groceries. […]
