Yearly Archives: 2014

Don’t be Fooled by Labor Market Data

The Labor Market In September 248,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. 🙂 The national unemployment rate dropped from 6.1% to 5.9%, the lowest since 2008. This must mean we’re almost back at pre-recession, full employment right? Well if you ask people on the streets how they feel about the strong labor market recovery, many of them will not know… Read More »

Why Does Ben Bernanke Still Have A Mortgage?

Difficult to Refinance You know the credit market is tight when the former Chair of the Federal Reserve can’t even refinance his mortgage. 😛 If that’s of interest to you, you’re not a loan. 😀 Ben Bernanke graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1975 from Harvard University. He later received his Ph.D. in economics at The Massachusetts Institute of… Read More »

Asset or Liability? Primary Residence

Is our home an asset or liability? The answer depends on how we define “asset.” 😉 According to the Oxford English dictionary it’s a a useful or valuable thing or person. Investopedia defines asset as a resource with economic value that an individual, corporation or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide future benefits.  According to these definitions a home… Read More »

Fiscal Update Sept 2014 – Economy Slow Down

The American economy is starting to pick up. U.S. stocks have held steady in September. However the Canadian stock market dropped 4.3%, the price of oil fell $3 per barrel, and the value of the Loonie sank to just 89.4 cents U.S. Thankfully my finances held up okay in September. I did lose about $5,600 of value in my stock portfolio… Read More »