Bank of Canada Raises Rates

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney raised his benchmark interest rate for the third straight time today, but left himself room to pause at his next scheduled decision by saying that while borrowing conditions in Canada remain “exceptionally stimulative,” the overall economic climate is fraught with “unusual uncertainty.”

In the statements on his decision to lift the overnight rate by another quarter of a percentage point to 1% (Bank lending rate is now 3%) Carney reiterated – arguably more strongly than in the past – that future moves will depend on developments around the world and, in turn, how they are affecting Canada’s export-heavy economy.

“Any further reduction in monetary stimulus would need to be carefully considered in light of the unusual uncertainty surrounding the outlook,” the central bank said, tweaking language in the all-important last line of the statement, which in the two previous versions referred to “considerable” uncertainty. Click here to read the full article in the Globe and mail

10 easy ways to build a credit history

I constantly run in to couples where one of them has no credit due to the fact that their spouse has the credit and they have a spousal card and assume that they have credit as well. This is not true and the reality is if they do not have their own credit cards or loans they will not be building credit, which can seriously affect their ability to borrow.

Everyone needs to have the ability to borrow money. That’s true whether you’ve just found yourself in the new role of single parent without an emergency fund, you’re a young adult starting out, or in the case above. The reality is that if you want to borrow money you must have a strong credit history. Gale Vaz-Oxlade of Yahoo Canada Finance outlines 10 easy ways to build your credit history. Click here to read the full article.