Foreign students are being wooed to Ontario. An interesting article in the November 6, 2010 Toronto Sun.
The first recipients of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s new scholarship fund for international students will start school about a month before the next provincial election in the fall of 2011.
The bulk of the program’s cost — $30 million for the first four years — will be spent during the term of the next government.
PC Leader Tim Hudak, who’ll be leading the Conservatives against McGuinty’s Liberals into the next campaign, said he’ll keep fighting to have that money spent on Ontario students.
”The PCs have called for this $40,000 per year grant to foreign students to be cancelled and the funds put towards helping Ontario students access post secondary education instead,” Hudak said.
“Certainly this is a government that’s done a lot of backtracking and the PCs will continue to push to get Dalton McGuinty to back down from this latest bad idea.”
McGuinty announced the new Ontario Trillium Scholarship in Hong Kong this week as he wrapped up an official trip to China.
The international students will get $40,000 a year for four years for doctoral studies at a university in Ontario.
The plan is to start with 75 students next year, and then add an additional 75 a year to a maximum of 300 annual recipients.
When fully ramped up, the scholarship program will cost $12 million a year.
The proposal has drawn strong support from universities, but opposition MPPs at Queen’s Park have questioned the decision to go further into debt to help foreign students while many Ontarians continue to struggle through the lingering economic effects of the recession.
Ontario taxpayers will pay $20 million in the first four years, while universities pick up the remaining $10 million.
Hudak said it’s wrong to expect Ontarians to pick up the cost of the program plus interest payments on debt.
The McGuinty spring budget says the province won’t balance its books for eight years.
Training, Colleges and Universities Minister John Milloy said the scholarship program will allow provincial institutions to compete with the best universities in the world for the top minds.
Milloy said the amount put aside for the international scholarships is “small” compared to the government’s investment in financial support for Ontario students.
According to Statistics Canada, Ontario university undergraduates and graduate students face the highest tuition in the country.
Graduate students entering the 2010/11 academic year were walloped with a 10.6% increase in tuition, bringing the average yearly cost to $6,917.
Undergraduates saw their tuition leap by 5.4% to $6,307.
But international students often pay three times as much for the same education as Ontarians.
The Canadian Federation of Students issued a report in the fall of 2009 criticizing the high tuition faced by foreign students.
The federation accused governments of cutting back funding to universities, and then exploiting foreign students to help make up the difference.
According to the U of T website, undergraduate tuition for international students at the institution ranged from $20,000 to $26,000 in 2010-11.
However, a math undergraduate degree at one Australian university costs $29,862 (Canadian) a year and other programs can be considerably more expensive, according to information posted on line by the university.
antonella.artuso@sunmedia.ca
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Pre-paid credit cards
Dealing as often as I do with credit-challenged clients, I am often asked about pre paid credit cards. They do have their place, but there is absolutely no impact (good or bad) on your credit history. They seem suited to people who simply need a credit card for certain transactions (parking lots, internet purchases etc.) but who cannot qualify for a regular card. They can also be useful for gifts or for beginning the teaching process for young people under the age of 18.
I came across a very good article at Moneyville this week which was entitled " A primer on pre paid cards." With thanks to the original author, Jennifer Stewart, here it is below.
November 04, 2010 by Jennifer Stewart
With the Christmas season nearly upon us, many gift buyers are opting to forego overcrowded shopping malls and long lines, and are purchasing pre-paid credit cards instead.
“If you don’t feel like trying to beat the Christmas rush or giving somebody money, which can often seem impersonal, then pre-paid credit cards can be a great gift option,” said Leanne Di Pucchio, who has given and received a pre-paid credit card during the holidays. “It can also take the cringe out of returning a gift you’re never going to use.”
While a pre-paid credit card may give users endless shopping choice, the unique form of swipe-and-go-plastic comes with its own rules.
Not quite a gift card, debit or credit card, pre-paid credit cards allow consumers to load a pre-determined amount of money onto a card, which is then used at stores. It is impossible to go into debt using a pre-paid credit card because once the money is gone, the card doesn’t work until more is deposited. There are no bills and no interest charges.
“It is essentially the same as a debit card linked to a bank account, without the overdraft option,” said Margot Bourque, a financial security adviser with Maia & Associates.
Touted as an alternative to carrying cash and an effective budgeting tool, pre-paid credit cards have one major difference from regular credit cards: they don’t build credit. All money on the card is pre-paid, and therefore developing credit history is impossible.
“Your credit rating is the most important thing you can ever have. Financially speaking, it’s like gold,” said Bourque, who added that that getting mortgages and best rates is highly dependent on credit history. “If you can get credit, even the slightest amount, pre-paid credit cards are the card of last resort.”
Despite their disadvantages, pre-paid credit cards are heavily advertised during the holiday season to give your loved ones what they really want: the freedom to make their own purchases. During other times of the year, they are touted to parents as a budgeting tool, allowing parents to control how much their child spends and making it impossible to go into overdraft or unwanted debt. The cards also give parents a means of getting money to their child in a pinch.
Mark Shefner, 24, received a pre-paid credit card this year as a promotion from an eye-wear company pre-loaded with $100. The card, said Shefner, was useful — until he got to the last $10.
“Once the bulk of the money on the card was gone, I basically stopped using the card, except for parking now and then,” said Shefner. “It’s not something I would recommend to others. I would always use my credit card, or use cash.”
Contrary to common belief, some pre-paid credit cards come with protection, in the case of a lost or stolen card. All MasterCard prepaid cards carry the same security protection as other MasterCard payment cards including Zero Liability, which protects card holders from unauthorized purchases. Visa pre-paid cards are also protected through Visa’s Zero Liability policy providing users follow set-out rules, such as registering the card. Rules for pre-paid Visa cards vary per issuer.
In the rush of the Christmas season, a pre-paid card can allow users to take advantage of post-holiday shopping sales, and avoid long waits in return lines. But buyer beware, the swipe and go plastic is not what it appears.
“I think as long as people know that pre-paid credit cards are essentially gift cards, than they are fine,” said Di Pucchio. “I think the term pre-paid credit card is misleading, and may confuse some people come Christmas morning.”
I came across a very good article at Moneyville this week which was entitled " A primer on pre paid cards." With thanks to the original author, Jennifer Stewart, here it is below.
A primer on pre-paid credit cards
November 04, 2010 by Jennifer Stewart
With the Christmas season nearly upon us, many gift buyers are opting to forego overcrowded shopping malls and long lines, and are purchasing pre-paid credit cards instead.
“If you don’t feel like trying to beat the Christmas rush or giving somebody money, which can often seem impersonal, then pre-paid credit cards can be a great gift option,” said Leanne Di Pucchio, who has given and received a pre-paid credit card during the holidays. “It can also take the cringe out of returning a gift you’re never going to use.”
While a pre-paid credit card may give users endless shopping choice, the unique form of swipe-and-go-plastic comes with its own rules.
Not quite a gift card, debit or credit card, pre-paid credit cards allow consumers to load a pre-determined amount of money onto a card, which is then used at stores. It is impossible to go into debt using a pre-paid credit card because once the money is gone, the card doesn’t work until more is deposited. There are no bills and no interest charges.
“It is essentially the same as a debit card linked to a bank account, without the overdraft option,” said Margot Bourque, a financial security adviser with Maia & Associates.
Touted as an alternative to carrying cash and an effective budgeting tool, pre-paid credit cards have one major difference from regular credit cards: they don’t build credit. All money on the card is pre-paid, and therefore developing credit history is impossible.
“Your credit rating is the most important thing you can ever have. Financially speaking, it’s like gold,” said Bourque, who added that that getting mortgages and best rates is highly dependent on credit history. “If you can get credit, even the slightest amount, pre-paid credit cards are the card of last resort.”
Despite their disadvantages, pre-paid credit cards are heavily advertised during the holiday season to give your loved ones what they really want: the freedom to make their own purchases. During other times of the year, they are touted to parents as a budgeting tool, allowing parents to control how much their child spends and making it impossible to go into overdraft or unwanted debt. The cards also give parents a means of getting money to their child in a pinch.
Mark Shefner, 24, received a pre-paid credit card this year as a promotion from an eye-wear company pre-loaded with $100. The card, said Shefner, was useful — until he got to the last $10.
“Once the bulk of the money on the card was gone, I basically stopped using the card, except for parking now and then,” said Shefner. “It’s not something I would recommend to others. I would always use my credit card, or use cash.”
Contrary to common belief, some pre-paid credit cards come with protection, in the case of a lost or stolen card. All MasterCard prepaid cards carry the same security protection as other MasterCard payment cards including Zero Liability, which protects card holders from unauthorized purchases. Visa pre-paid cards are also protected through Visa’s Zero Liability policy providing users follow set-out rules, such as registering the card. Rules for pre-paid Visa cards vary per issuer.
In the rush of the Christmas season, a pre-paid card can allow users to take advantage of post-holiday shopping sales, and avoid long waits in return lines. But buyer beware, the swipe and go plastic is not what it appears.
“I think as long as people know that pre-paid credit cards are essentially gift cards, than they are fine,” said Di Pucchio. “I think the term pre-paid credit card is misleading, and may confuse some people come Christmas morning.”
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Are you a gold bug?
I must admit, I have always had a fascination with gold, and gold stocks in particular. Goes back to my early days as a stockbroker when ripples in the price of gold would send shockwaves through the gold stocks - Lac Minerals I recall, was particularly kind to me and my clients.
In the past few years, gold has finally started to deliver on all the promises made by soothsaying goldbugs - and the price of gold is now in the mid thirteen hundreds. (USD)
I do own some gold stocks (I am not about to tout which ones - that's not the point, nor am I licensed to do so), and I am wondering when the stock market is going to wake up to the expected bonanza major gold producers are about to enjoy.
Yesterday was a very interesting article in The Globe and Mail business section - entitled "Gold miners ride new infatuation with metal to higher profits"
I like the article, and consider it recommended reading for all of you. Here it is:
Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., ABX-T the world's biggest gold producer, reported a record quarterly profit, while Goldcorp Inc. G-T quadrupled its profit and doubled its dividend. Shares of both companies shot up Thursday as results impressed investors and gold prices resumed their upward climb.
Gold, at about $1,342 (U.S.) an ounce, has risen about 30 per cent in the past year and remains near its all-time high of $1,387 reached earlier this month. The increase comes amid new predictions from mainstream investment banks such as RBC Capital Markets that if gold's rally turned into a full-blown investment bubble, prices could run to nearly $4,000 an ounce, well beyond the precious metal's inflation-adjusted peak of about $2,400 in 1980. Most analysts, however, see more limited gains ahead, and some say gold prices could stage an abrupt turn lower, especially if the U.S. dollar overcomes its recent weakness.
Gold "does have significant room to go," said Chuck Jeannes, chief executive officer of Goldcorp.
Underpinning the gains in gold, Mr. Jeannes and other supporters believe, is a fading faith in fiat currencies, the paper money issued by central banks in ever-greater quantities. The spectre of so-called currency wars has bolstered this view, and gold bulls argue the commodity provides a store of wealth whether the flood of global currency liquidity leads to inflation or fails to revive stalled economies.
In a report this week entitled "Bonfire of the Currencies," longtime gold supporter Sprott Asset Management LP insisted gold producers have more healthy earnings gains ahead. "If you haven't participated in gold's recent rise, don't fret, because the fun has only just begun," the Sprott report said.
"It's all about earnings. ... Investors seek out earnings growth wherever they can find it and we can't think of a single equity sector that exhibits better year-over-year earnings growth potential than the gold producers. ... As countries decide to burn their currencies in the devaluation race, gold has responded, and now it's the producers turn to perform. We'll gladly take the earnings," the report said.
Institutional strategist Myles Zyblock at RBC added: "The real fireworks might still be several quarters away."
Gold's climb to record heights hasn't drawn the widespread interest of investors to the biggest names in the industry. The hot spot for gold equities has been the smaller producers, mid-tier companies and juniors. Big investments in such companies as Osisko Mining have propelled the $1-billion (Canadian) Dynamic Precious Metals fund up 72 per cent in the past year.
Before trading Thursday, Barrick's shares had risen about 20 per cent in the last year- which made it just a median performer in the 234-member S&P/TSX index. Goldcorp badly lagged, with its return of 8 per cent ranking 191 out of 234 names.
But soaring earnings among the biggest producers is rekindling interest.
"People have ignored the big-cap companies to some degree, unfairly," said Robert Cohen, the fund manager for Goodman & Co. "They'll probably be more interested in them now."
On Thursday, Goldcorp's stock jumped 4.6 per cent as Barrick gained 2.4 per cent.
Barrick's profit in the third quarter was a record $839-million (U.S.). On an adjusted basis it was $829-million, up three-quarters from $473-million a year ago. (The adjusted basis was presented for comparison purposes and strips out massive losses Barrick took last year associated with its hedge book.)
Goldcorp, which reported results late Wednesday, made $464-million in the third quarter, more than quadruple the $114-million of a year earlier. The company doubled its dividend, paid monthly, to 36 cents a year- though the yield on the stock is less than 1 per cent.
Skepticism about gold still abounds, with critics wondering how a metal that has little industrial use can keep rising. It isn't a crucial component in any product in high demand. Even if the world entered severe distress, critics wonder whether gold could actually be used as a currency and medium of exchange, since gold quantities are relatively small.
Sheryl Purdy, a vice-president at Leede Financial Markets Inc. in Calgary, is among the skeptics. The stockbroker works at a Vancouver-Calgary firm that is full of gold bulls and has made significant money among mid-tier/junior names. Still, Ms. Purdy pointed to the relative underperformance of the big names Barrick and Goldcorp as an indication that there are more skeptics than believers.
"The share prices of Barrick and Goldcorp should be much higher and they're not," said Ms. Purdy. On the seeming inexorable rise in the price of gold, Ms. Purdy said: "I'm sitting on one side, saying, 'I don't get it, it's too far overdone.'"
______
GOLDEN NUMBERS
$839-million (U.S.)
Barrick's third-quarter profit, a record
$464-million
Goldcorp's third-quarter profit, more than quadruple a year ago
$1,342
The price of an ounce of gold on Thursday
In the past few years, gold has finally started to deliver on all the promises made by soothsaying goldbugs - and the price of gold is now in the mid thirteen hundreds. (USD)
I do own some gold stocks (I am not about to tout which ones - that's not the point, nor am I licensed to do so), and I am wondering when the stock market is going to wake up to the expected bonanza major gold producers are about to enjoy.
Yesterday was a very interesting article in The Globe and Mail business section - entitled "Gold miners ride new infatuation with metal to higher profits"
I like the article, and consider it recommended reading for all of you. Here it is:
October 28, 2010
Gold miners ride new infatuation to higher profits
By David Ebner
From Friday's Globe and Mail
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Barrick, Goldcorp make big gains as investor faith in fiat currencies fades
Gold's price GC-FT surge is beginning to shine on the world's top producers as they report massive profits, while experts predict the cash torrent is just getting going.
Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., ABX-T the world's biggest gold producer, reported a record quarterly profit, while Goldcorp Inc. G-T quadrupled its profit and doubled its dividend. Shares of both companies shot up Thursday as results impressed investors and gold prices resumed their upward climb.
Gold, at about $1,342 (U.S.) an ounce, has risen about 30 per cent in the past year and remains near its all-time high of $1,387 reached earlier this month. The increase comes amid new predictions from mainstream investment banks such as RBC Capital Markets that if gold's rally turned into a full-blown investment bubble, prices could run to nearly $4,000 an ounce, well beyond the precious metal's inflation-adjusted peak of about $2,400 in 1980. Most analysts, however, see more limited gains ahead, and some say gold prices could stage an abrupt turn lower, especially if the U.S. dollar overcomes its recent weakness.
Gold "does have significant room to go," said Chuck Jeannes, chief executive officer of Goldcorp.
Underpinning the gains in gold, Mr. Jeannes and other supporters believe, is a fading faith in fiat currencies, the paper money issued by central banks in ever-greater quantities. The spectre of so-called currency wars has bolstered this view, and gold bulls argue the commodity provides a store of wealth whether the flood of global currency liquidity leads to inflation or fails to revive stalled economies.
In a report this week entitled "Bonfire of the Currencies," longtime gold supporter Sprott Asset Management LP insisted gold producers have more healthy earnings gains ahead. "If you haven't participated in gold's recent rise, don't fret, because the fun has only just begun," the Sprott report said.
" The real fireworks might still be several quarters away. "- Myles Zyblock, RBC
"It's all about earnings. ... Investors seek out earnings growth wherever they can find it and we can't think of a single equity sector that exhibits better year-over-year earnings growth potential than the gold producers. ... As countries decide to burn their currencies in the devaluation race, gold has responded, and now it's the producers turn to perform. We'll gladly take the earnings," the report said.
Institutional strategist Myles Zyblock at RBC added: "The real fireworks might still be several quarters away."
Gold's climb to record heights hasn't drawn the widespread interest of investors to the biggest names in the industry. The hot spot for gold equities has been the smaller producers, mid-tier companies and juniors. Big investments in such companies as Osisko Mining have propelled the $1-billion (Canadian) Dynamic Precious Metals fund up 72 per cent in the past year.
Before trading Thursday, Barrick's shares had risen about 20 per cent in the last year- which made it just a median performer in the 234-member S&P/TSX index. Goldcorp badly lagged, with its return of 8 per cent ranking 191 out of 234 names.
" The share prices of Barrick and Goldcorp should be much higher, and they're not. "- Sheryl Purdy, Leede Financial Markets Inc.
But soaring earnings among the biggest producers is rekindling interest.
"People have ignored the big-cap companies to some degree, unfairly," said Robert Cohen, the fund manager for Goodman & Co. "They'll probably be more interested in them now."
On Thursday, Goldcorp's stock jumped 4.6 per cent as Barrick gained 2.4 per cent.
Barrick's profit in the third quarter was a record $839-million (U.S.). On an adjusted basis it was $829-million, up three-quarters from $473-million a year ago. (The adjusted basis was presented for comparison purposes and strips out massive losses Barrick took last year associated with its hedge book.)
Goldcorp, which reported results late Wednesday, made $464-million in the third quarter, more than quadruple the $114-million of a year earlier. The company doubled its dividend, paid monthly, to 36 cents a year- though the yield on the stock is less than 1 per cent.
Skepticism about gold still abounds, with critics wondering how a metal that has little industrial use can keep rising. It isn't a crucial component in any product in high demand. Even if the world entered severe distress, critics wonder whether gold could actually be used as a currency and medium of exchange, since gold quantities are relatively small.
Sheryl Purdy, a vice-president at Leede Financial Markets Inc. in Calgary, is among the skeptics. The stockbroker works at a Vancouver-Calgary firm that is full of gold bulls and has made significant money among mid-tier/junior names. Still, Ms. Purdy pointed to the relative underperformance of the big names Barrick and Goldcorp as an indication that there are more skeptics than believers.
"The share prices of Barrick and Goldcorp should be much higher and they're not," said Ms. Purdy. On the seeming inexorable rise in the price of gold, Ms. Purdy said: "I'm sitting on one side, saying, 'I don't get it, it's too far overdone.'"
______
GOLDEN NUMBERS
$839-million (U.S.)
Barrick's third-quarter profit, a record
$464-million
Goldcorp's third-quarter profit, more than quadruple a year ago
$1,342
The price of an ounce of gold on Thursday
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Who is watching your back?
In our zeal to qualify for a mortgage, we strive to meet the debt service ratios used by all major mortgage lenders. The rule of thumb the lenders use is your mortgage payments, property taxes and heating bills should be less than 32% of your gross monthly household income.
They also consider other monthly obligations like car payments and credit card payments, and decree your total housing costs and debt payments should be less than 40% of your gross monthly household income.
It always seems to me the standard calculation of household expenses is out of date and does not reflect reality. Every household I encounter in my business has a monthly hydro and water bill for example. They also have cable costs, internet costs, cell phones and often land line phones.
And almost all houses need to be maintained. Who cuts the grass and ploughs the snow? Who fixes things when they break down? And then there are unforeseen major expenses like roof repairs, leaking basements, termite flare ups, ant infestations etc. And if you have a pool, that’s almost $1,000 just to open and close the pool each year, plus weekly cleanings and chemical treatments, and the extra heating and hydro pools while the pool is open.
And what about your children and your pets? Or the aging parent who may live with you? The lenders don’t ask if your teenage son plays hockey five days a week at an annual cost of more than $15,000 after tax dollars! They don’t (at least not obviously) care if you have one child or four – but we all know the monthly financial burden of raising children is not cheap.
They don’t stop to consider whether or not you plan to contribute towards your kids' post secondary education, or the increased costs of medication and care for your elderly parent.
No, the harsh reality is the only person who cares about all this stuff is you.
But we are conditioned to buy as much house as we can possibly afford – using metrics and approaches that are hopelessly out of date and not reflective of life’s realities.
Most home buyers we meet in our business stretch their budgets to the max to get into their ‘dream home’. They have no back up plan, no savings, and are often only one or two hiccups away from financial chaos.
These hiccups inevitably lead to the use of readily available credit such as lines of credit or credit cards. Balances accumulate, often at high interest rates, and a further monthly minimum payment obligation is slapped on top of an already over worked monthly budget.
Ah, budget. Yes, we all talk about “the budget”, but very few households actually have a set budget and even fewer live within the means of that budget.
I am sure that’s why we are seeing record levels of financial stress in Canadian homes – and that is with interest rates at all time low levels. God help us all when they pop higher in the years ahead.
Do yourself a favour, and take an honest hard look at the totality of your monthly obligations, and make sure you are not setting yourselves up for stress and failure. Some enlightened industry experts argue your household expenses should in fact be no more than 25% of your total household income – and they have a valid point.
Every one of our mortgage or credit counselling clients are given a detailed budget and financial framework to work with for going forward. Our concern is not just with fixing the problem of the day, but more importantly, making sure we set you up for success and happiness.
If you don’t take these considerations into account, no one else will. The lenders are protecting their behinds with their outdated approach to assessing your ability to make the mortgage payment – who is watching your back?
They also consider other monthly obligations like car payments and credit card payments, and decree your total housing costs and debt payments should be less than 40% of your gross monthly household income.
It always seems to me the standard calculation of household expenses is out of date and does not reflect reality. Every household I encounter in my business has a monthly hydro and water bill for example. They also have cable costs, internet costs, cell phones and often land line phones.
And almost all houses need to be maintained. Who cuts the grass and ploughs the snow? Who fixes things when they break down? And then there are unforeseen major expenses like roof repairs, leaking basements, termite flare ups, ant infestations etc. And if you have a pool, that’s almost $1,000 just to open and close the pool each year, plus weekly cleanings and chemical treatments, and the extra heating and hydro pools while the pool is open.
And what about your children and your pets? Or the aging parent who may live with you? The lenders don’t ask if your teenage son plays hockey five days a week at an annual cost of more than $15,000 after tax dollars! They don’t (at least not obviously) care if you have one child or four – but we all know the monthly financial burden of raising children is not cheap.
They don’t stop to consider whether or not you plan to contribute towards your kids' post secondary education, or the increased costs of medication and care for your elderly parent.
No, the harsh reality is the only person who cares about all this stuff is you.
But we are conditioned to buy as much house as we can possibly afford – using metrics and approaches that are hopelessly out of date and not reflective of life’s realities.
Most home buyers we meet in our business stretch their budgets to the max to get into their ‘dream home’. They have no back up plan, no savings, and are often only one or two hiccups away from financial chaos.
These hiccups inevitably lead to the use of readily available credit such as lines of credit or credit cards. Balances accumulate, often at high interest rates, and a further monthly minimum payment obligation is slapped on top of an already over worked monthly budget.
Ah, budget. Yes, we all talk about “the budget”, but very few households actually have a set budget and even fewer live within the means of that budget.
I am sure that’s why we are seeing record levels of financial stress in Canadian homes – and that is with interest rates at all time low levels. God help us all when they pop higher in the years ahead.
Do yourself a favour, and take an honest hard look at the totality of your monthly obligations, and make sure you are not setting yourselves up for stress and failure. Some enlightened industry experts argue your household expenses should in fact be no more than 25% of your total household income – and they have a valid point.
Every one of our mortgage or credit counselling clients are given a detailed budget and financial framework to work with for going forward. Our concern is not just with fixing the problem of the day, but more importantly, making sure we set you up for success and happiness.
If you don’t take these considerations into account, no one else will. The lenders are protecting their behinds with their outdated approach to assessing your ability to make the mortgage payment – who is watching your back?
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