Canada and household debt: Almost the worst among G7
Filed Under Main Content · Tagged: American Consumers, Assets, Canada Ranks, Canadian Families, Developed Countries, G7 Countries, Globe And Mail, Globe Mail, Household Debt, Interest Rates, Leverage, Recession, Scotia Capital, Snapshot, United States
The Globe and Mail- Much has been said recently about how Canadian families are ringing up huge amounts of debt, and consumers have been warned repeatedly that they may be in over their heads as interest rates rise. A snapshot of the developed countries by Scotia Capital today shows just where Canada ranks in terms of leverage: As a share of total household assets, Canadian families are carrying more debt than those in five of the G7 countries. Only the United States ranks higher, and American consumers are beginning to get their act in gear after the recession…
Canada and household debt: Almost the worst among G7 – The Globe and Mail
Household worth rebounds after recession
Filed Under Main Content · Tagged: Asset Prices, Assets, Borrowings, Canadians, Decline, Economic Downturn, Economics Research, Economist, Household Debt, Jeffries, Liabilities, Low Interest Rates, Net Worth, Rbc, Rebounds, Recession, Residential Real Estate, Rising Stocks, Statistics Canada, Trillion
Times Colonist- Rising stocks and home prices have helped restore almost all of the value Canadians lost in household net worth during the economic downturn.
Household net worth rose 1.3%, or by $74-billion, to $6-trillion, as the growth in the value of assets, particularly equities and residential real estate, exceeded the increase in liabilities, Statistics Canada reported Monday.
“This marks the fourth consecutive quarterly improvement in household net worth and reflects a 96 per cent recovery off the net worth lost during the recent economic downturn,” David Onyett-Jeffries, economist at RBC Economics Research, wrote in an analysis.
“The increase of household net worth continues to repair the cumulative $552-billion decline.”
Household debt has also risen as low interest rates have encouraged Canadians to increase borrowings, but that has led to strengthening in demand and asset prices, particularly housing, said Mr. Onyett-Jeffries…
Household worth rebounds after recession
How Canadians are growing richer but deeper in debt
Filed Under Main Content · Tagged: Canadians, Credit Debt, Federal Statistics, Financial Assets, First Quarter, Fourth Quarter, Globe And Mail, Globe Mail, House Prices, Household Credit, Household Debt, Household Income, Liabilities, Mortgages, Net Worth, Residential Real Estate, Rose, Statistics Canada, Stocks, Trillion
The Globe and Mail- Canadians are getting richer as stocks and house prices rise. Household net worth rose 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, or $74-billion, to $6-trillion, Statistics Canada said today, as the value of assets eclipsed the rise in liabilities. “This follows a 1.8 per cent advance in the previous quarter,” the federal statistics gathering agency said. “Gains in the value of financial assets, especially equities, as well as increases in residential real estate contributed to the advance in net worth.”
Household debt also rose, particularly mortgages, Statistics Canada said. The ratio of household credit market debt-to-income now stands at 147 per cent, up from 144.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009…
How Canadians are growing richer but deeper in debt – The Globe and Mail
Beware the coming credit card hit on Canadian families
Filed Under Main Content · Tagged: Account Balance, Canada Bank, Canadian Coal, Canadian Families, Canadian Households, Coal Mine, Credit Card Holders, Emergency Measures, Filing For Bankruptcy, Globe And Mail, Globe Mail, Household Debt, Interest Costs, Low Interest Rates, Man Woman And Child, Minimum Payment, Personal Debt, Trillion, Western Democracies, Woman And Child
The Globe and Mail- MBNA Canada Bank mailed notices to credit card holders last week, notifying them that the country’s No. 1 issuer of MasterCard will be changing the way it calculates minimum monthly payments. Other card companies are doing the same, in accordance with new federal regulations aimed at greater transparency for consumers.
As an example, MBNA cited an account balance that would have required a minimum payment of $185 in the past; as of August, that required payment will rise to $307, an increase of 66 per cent. A higher payment would reduce interest costs, MBNA noted, adding that it would also “help you pay off your balance faster.”
We now have detected yet another coughing canary in the exemplary Canadian coal mine. Exploiting low interest rates, Canadian households have taken on record personal debt ($1.4-trillion) – more than doubling it in the past decade to now equaling more than $40,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. This is the highest household debt in 20 of the most advanced economies of the Western democracies. More ominously, however inevitably, the number of Canadian households filing for bankruptcy (or taking alternative emergency measures) has also set a record. By year’s end 2009, more than 150,000 families were economic wrecks (up by 30,000 families from year’s end 2008)…
Beware the coming credit card hit on Canadian families – The Globe and Mail
