July 2010

How much should a lawyer cost you?

Posted by on July 20, 2010 in estate planning, Real Estate

Every year, Canadian Lawyer Magazine releases its legal fee survey. The survey’s accuracy is subject to some question since it depends on the voluntary participation of lawyers cross country. With a relatively small sample size of almost 600, a regional concentration or a cluster of results in the low or high end of the fee [...]

Making the most of part-time or seasonal work

Posted by on July 15, 2010 in Jobs

Having distinctly remembered the early 90′s recession and being a history buff, I feel like I am watching a remake of the economic recovery- new players, new styles but same old script and feeling. The early 80′s was marked by a double dip recession. The early 90′s recession was characterized by a jobless recovery even [...]

The next battleground in retail banking

Posted by on July 14, 2010 in Investment Information

Much attention has been paid to banks offering cash incentives for customers to switch from one big bank to another.  However, a cynic would argue all the banks are doing is churning the same group of customers from one institution to another. In essence, the economic pie is not growing so much as it is [...]

Where will the interest rate roulette ball fall?

Posted by on July 12, 2010 in Investment Information

Not so long ago, most of us were worried that governments printing money freely would trigger inflation. Now, with there are fears of deflation- the decrease in the price of goods- due to slower than expected demand by the consumer. This has left many of us wondering where interest rates will head in the short-term. [...]

Avoiding over exposure to the equity market

Posted by on July 6, 2010 in Investment Information

When the equity market began a great decline in September 2008, many investors were caught over exposed to the equity market, some surprisingly so, and their losses were greater than it should have been (especially those who sold at market lows). Since research shows that most average investors fail to re-balance their portfolio, and with [...]