Oil prices increased slightly last week, despite a report from the the U.S. Energy Information Administration that showed an inventory gain of 1 million barrels. A positive report for durable goods orders in August, and a weakening dollar on the foreign exchange market, may have contributed to the higher prices. 
Crude oil prices battled their way to a gain for the week as worries about the economy warred with the upward pressure from a weakening dollar. Positive news in several categories of durable goods orders helped boost oil prices nearly 2% on Friday, so that the benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures contract, which switched from October to November this week, could tack on nearly 4% for the week. The dollar was under pressure most of the week as the prospect of further quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve pushed the U.S. currency down against the euro, yen and most other major currencies. Read more…
When you apply for a new credit card, you add a hard inquiry to your report which will lower your credit score. The impact of that score is pretty small, unless it takes a good credit score and knocks it down into a lower tier. That drop, of course, only matters if you plan on getting a new loan, which Jackson isn’t doing. He bought a house a year ago and doesn’t plan on getting any more loans.
The one thing he can do to minimize the impact of the change is to keep the old credit card around instead of canceling. This will lower his credit utilization by increasing his total credit limit. That will matter less than the inquiry but every little bit counts.
You’ll note that throughout this entire explanation, I wasn’t able to use any real numbers. No one can say for sure how many points you lose for a hard inquiry, or what percentage utilization you need to be “good,” that’s all be design. I think an id
Short term investments are the most ideal form of investing if you want to invest over a period that is relatively short. Cash manager accounts make it possible to access your money whenever you need to. Fixed term deposit investments secure your money for the entire length of the term. Typically short term investments are investments of only a year or less, and they usually refer specifically to loans or to bonds. Short term investment options may include bridge loans or swing loans, which are methods of short term financing that should be paid back relatively quickly by a longer term lending option.
Cash manager accounts are excellent short term investments if you want to access your money while still affording it a high level of security. The high interest that they offer make them a much better option when it comes to day to day savings than the conventional bank account option, because conventional bank accounts do not earn much interest if any.
Statistics show that Generation Y (born 1977-1997, also known as “Millennials”) has different expectations and values for their workplace than previous generations. As a small business owner and employer, you need to understand what motivates members of this generation in order to attract them to work for you. Whether you like it or not, Millennials are the future of your workplace.
Offer flexibility. While Millennials value high starting salaries and financial security, they also value flexibility in their work schedule and benefits. According to statistics, about 85% of Gen Y members want to spend 30-70% of their time working from home. In order to attract top talent from Generation Y, you need to look into what types of flexibility your company is able to provide.
Utilize technology and social media as a recruiting tool. Millennials grew up in the era of evolving technology, usually being the first ones to try out new tools. Sin
It is tough to keep up with our perfect future political candidate, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney (see prior post “Governor Carney’s future political career looking good” Sept 10-10).
Last Friday, he was broadcasting on CNBC from the Canadian Museum of Civilization. As visually perfect a setting as there is for a campaign event. And CNBC is the platform for anyone in international finance. This morning, the Toronto Star’s David Olive is jumping on our bandwagon (see prior post “Carney strikes a populist tone” Sept 16-10) with a column touting Mr. Carney’s international clout.
A friend in Ottawa tells me that even the Parliamentary Press Gallery has noticed that Mr. Carney has started to look like a would-be, high-wattage retail politician (my description — they’re not as romantic about the idea, and they just say that he’s running).
Mr. Carney — this is all coming on a bit strong. A bit fast. And a touch overt. The entire strategy (
The dollar’s continuing slide has central banks around the globe stocking up on precious metals, contributing to record-breaking prices for gold, and a 30-year high for silver. While its strength is closely tied to gold, silver is gaining momentum as a smart investment over the long haul, in part due to its industrial uses. 
Gold surged to an all-time record high of $1,298 an ounce yesterday (Wednesday) after a U.S. Federal Reserve plan to jump-start the American economy triggered a slump in the U.S. dollar. The yellow metal has now rallied for five straight trading sessions and is up about 18% for the year. Investors are waking up to the fact that the central bank’s plan to use U.S. Treasury purchases as a means of injecting another $2.3 trillion into the U.S. economy is only going to further debase the greenback. There’s no doubt that the ongoing slide in the dollar is going to be bullish for gold. Read more…