| Thursday Ticket! Check out our weekly tabloid entertainment supplement for the latest local arts news
Canadians continue to sink deeper in debt. A recent Statistics Canada report stated that Canadian consumer debt surpassed disposable income in 2002 and household debt had soared to $916 billion in 2005. By 2005, Canadians owed $1.16 for every dollar of disposable income they had in their pockets. To hammer the point home, the median debt-load for families rose 38 per cent from $32,300 in 2002 to $44,500 in 2005 and lines of credit more than doubled -- to nine per cent of total debt -- during the same period. That's why Credit Canada and Capital One Canada are presenting the first ever Credit Education Week Nov. 13 to 16. "There is no doubt that many Canadians need more information and education about financial management and using credit wisely," says Laurie Campbell, Credit Canada's executive director.
Growing credit debt is crushing Canadians: study
A new study of Canadians' credit debt finds that a whopping 25 per cent owe between $10,000 and $40,000, and 28 per cent don't even know the interest rate they pay on their main credit card. The report by Credit Canada and Capitol One was timed for release during their Credit Education Week, and is designed to raise awareness of good financial management. Laurie Campbell, of Credit Canada, said the numbers -- which don't factor in mortgage debt -- were surprisingly high. "The numbers are quite startling, even I was quite surprised, but nevertheless, this is truly what we're seeing," Campbell told CTV's Canada AM. "Savings rates at an all-time low and debt rates at an all-time high so this financial literacy week in my opinion is long overdue." The study, which questioned 4,000 respondents about their personal credit debt practices, found a disconnect between Canadians' debt levels and retirement plans.
Good credit can help you save on insurance, maybe even get a job
When one longtime St. Louisan saw his car insurance bill jump 28 percent, he was shocked.
He was even more irate when he learned the reason: an unresolved issue with a creditor had left a blot on his otherwise unblemished credit report. He didn't understand what his credit report had to do with his car insurance rate.
More and more, credit information is being used by businesses other than lenders or credit card issuers. Bad credit could hurt your search for a job or even leave you without a place to live.
Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, said the ease of obtaining credit data has prompted a variety of businesses to add credit checks to the tools they use to evaluate people. .
US M1 Up $28.3B In Nov 5 Week; M2 Dn $20.3B
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Federal Reserve's latest weekly money supply report Thursday shows seasonally adjusted M1 rose by $28.3 billion to $1.393 trillion, while M2 fell by $20.3 billion to $7.407384 trillion. The figures are preliminary estimates for the week extending through Nov. 5 and are subject to revisions. More details on the report, along with weekly information on the Fed's custody holdings, repurchase agreements, Treasury portfolio and free reserves, can be found on the Internet at http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/. (END) Dow Jones Newswires November 15, 2007 16:55 ET (21:55 GMT) Copyright 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. .
Stocks lifted by Goldman Sachs†good news on subprime and Wal-Martâ€s strong earnings report
NEW YORK (AP) —Wall Street shot higher Tuesday, lifting the Dow Jones industrials nearly 320 points after reassuring news from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quelled some of the market’s worst fears about the credit crisis and the economy. A plunge in the price of oil gave investors further incentive to buy.Goldman Sachs heartened investors with word that it didn’t expect a significant hit from the subprime mortgage turmoil. Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, speaking at a conference held by Merrill Lynch & Co., said the bank has a short position in the subprime mortgage market and won’t be taking any significant charges to write off losses.Goldman’s news helped offset an announcement from Bank of America Corp., which joined other big financial companies including Citigroup Inc.
|
