Around the Blogosphere

With 2014 quickly winding down I wanted to publish one more edition of weekend reading before we break for Christmas.  We hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas holiday, and we’ll be back to our regular schedule the week of December 29th. Value of Simple Many investors recognize that Canada has the highest investing fees…

Christmas is a time for giving, but how far does your generosity have to reach before it starts to impact your budget?  MoneySense reached out to an etiquette expert to ask how much to tip everyone from your hairdresser and manicurist to your personal trainer and housekeeper. Enough is enough, according to Garry Marr, personal finance columnist at…

No, I’m not talking about the Edmonton Oilers’ 11-game skid.  Oil prices have collapsed some 40 percent since the summer and oil and gas stocks have taken a beating.  Canadian Oil Sands – the same stock that prompted a reader to ask about leveraged investing – slashed its quarterly dividend from 35 cents to 20…

Jonathan Chevreau has launched an ambitious project with the unveiling of FindependenceHub.com, a portal dedicated to all things related to financial independence.  In addition to articles from Chevreau himself, you’ll also find blogs from prominent guest authors, podcasts and video content, and discussion forums for every age and stage of findependence.  Definitely worth checking out.…

I’ve written before about the changing tide of the investment industry and how banning embedded commissions is the inevitable next step.  Advocis, an organization that represents more than 11,000 advisors across Canada, is pulling out all the stops to prevent this change from happening. The latest push came from a conference in which Advocis railed…

Big news out of Ottawa this week as the Harper regime unveiled its long-awaited (and controversial) plan for family income-splitting. The Conservatives announced that couples with children under 18 will be allowed to transfer up to $50,000 in income from the higher earner to the lower earner in the form of a non-refundable federal tax…

It’s been a rough ride for the stock market this month – the TSX is down more than seven percent in the last 30 days – leading to speculation that we’re headed for another big correction or crash. It’s been all uphill for investors over the last five years, so any blip on the radar…

We were excited to have consumer advocate Ellen Roseman with us on the Because Money hangout last week.  We discussed how she got started in journalism and why sticking up for consumers became “her thing”. Ellen is also involved with FAIR Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights, and we talked about some…

Monday marked the end of my bi-weekly column in the Toronto Star.  The most widely read newspaper in Canada has decided to scale back its personal finance section to focus more on consumer awareness and advocacy stories (okay, more Rob Ford coverage). I want to thank The Star, and my editor Adam Mayers, for the opportunity…

Earlier this week, two iconic fast-food chains decided to join forces when Burger King and Tim Hortons merged in a $12.5 billion deal. The news caused an uproar on both sides of the border, with Burger King facing criticism for moving its headquarters up north to reduce its corporate tax rate, and Tim Hortons “selling out”…