16 Feb

Making Your Home Workspace More Productive

Lifestyle

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

  Fall in love with your home and your workspace again with these tips to help you make your home office space more productive! Establish Boundaries: A key component of being more productive at home is to establish proper boundaries between work and personal life. While not all of us at home have space for a […]

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19 Jan

Canadian Inflation Rises to 3.4% Y/Y In December

Inflation News

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

A Bumpy Road To The Inflation Target Canada’s headline inflation number for December ’23 moved up three bps to 3.4%, as expected, as gasoline prices didn’t fall as fast as a year ago. These so-called base effects were also evident in the earlier US inflation data for the same month. Additional acceleration came from airfares, […]

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7 Jan

Brisk Wage Gains in December Will Keep The BoC Watchful

Economics Insights

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

Today’s StatsCanada Labour Force Survey for December was a mixed bag and far more robust than the weak headline figure suggests. Total employment in Canada barely budged, rising by a mere 100 jobs in the final month of last year. However, the labour force participation rate fell, leaving the unemployment rate at 5.8%. Most economists […]

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3 Jan

Mortgage Renewal Benefits

Mortgage Tips

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

Is your mortgage coming up for renewal? Do you know about all the incredible options renewing your mortgage can afford you? If not, we have all the details here on how to make your mortgage renewal work for you as we start to think about 2024. Get a Better Rate Are you aware that when […]

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20 Dec

Inflation Held Steady In November 2023

Economics Insights

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

Today’s inflation report was stronger than expected, unchanged from October’s 3.1% pace. While some had forecast a sub-3% reading, the November CPI data posted a welcome slowdown in food and shelter prices. Increases in recreation and clothing offset this – both are discretionary purchases. Cellular services and fuel oil prices declined on a year-over-year basis. […]

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15 Dec

Housing Markets Prepare For A 2024 Rebound

Economics Insights

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

Before we get into the details of the November housing market data released this morning by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), big positive news for housing occurred yesterday. The US Federal Reserve gave its clearest signal yet that its historic policy tightening campaign is over by projecting more aggressive interest-rate cuts in 2024. This […]

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13 Dec

Different Mortgage Types: Mortgage Types 101

Mortgage Tips

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

  Get to know the important basics before you choose your mortgage. You have to be sure you select what is most important to you – lower rates or flexibility. Before you choose a mortgage, take some time to study mortgage types: Closed Mortgage: If you want consistency with respect to rates and the length of […]

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7 Dec

The Bank of Canada Held Rates Steady and Took A More Neutral Tone

Economics Insights

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

It was widely expected that the Bank of Canada would maintain its key policy rate at 5% for the third consecutive time. It will continue to sell government securities (quantitative tightening) to normalize its balance sheet. Market participants weighed and measured each word of the Bank of Canada press release and assessed that the Bank […]

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3 Dec

Jobless Rates Hits 22-Month High: Led by Losses in Finance and Real Estate Employment

Economics Insights

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

The StatsCanada Labour Force Survey for November was a mixed bag. Total employment gains were stronger than expected. However, the rising unemployment rate and drop in hours worked were signs of mounting economic weakness, especially in the financial and real estate sectors.  Employment in Canada rose by 24.9K in November 2023, following a 17.5K rise in […]

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1 Dec

The Table Is Set For Rate Cuts In 2024

Economics Insights

Posted by: Yen Chi (Frank) Feng

The Canadian economy weakened far more than expected in the third quarter, down 1.1% annually. However, the Q2 figures were revised up significantly from a 0.2% decline to a rise of 1.4%. Such are the vagaries of economic data. The Canadian economy is contracting despite the positive impetus of rapid population growth. Household consumer spending […]

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