WHY HIGH CANADIAN HOUSEHOLD DEBT IS MANAGEABLE Canadian household debt has swollen to record highs during a period of low mortgage rates, but an economist with Canada's sixth-largest bank says the debt level is "manageable". "Analysts often raise alarm bells by pointing to measures such as debt-to-disposable income. But as we often caution, comparing a stock variable such as debt to a flow variable such as income has its limitations," writes Krishen... [read more]

HOW BREXIT COULD ADD MORE FUEL TO CANADA'S HOTTEST HOUSING MARKETS Canada's economy is facing yet another potential setback as the spillover effects of Brexit threaten to weigh on growth here at home. Direct trade with the UK is a relatively modest figure for Canada. BMO Capital Markets puts it at about 2.5% of our global trade. But the shockwaves go further than just the direct trade channel.  The crash in crude oil prices was the single-biggest weight on the... [read more]

TORONTO HOMES ARE CHEAPER IN GOLD TERMS TODAY VS. A DECADE AGO - SO WHY IS NO ONE CALLING THE GOLD MARKET A BUBBLE? Jeanette Rodrigues, Bloomberg News Image courtesty of: Getty Images Toronto homes aren't that expensive, if you pay in gold.  Douglas Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, mined data showing that when expressed in terms of gold, house prices in Canada's red-hot real estate market are far from record highs. An average home in Toronto today costs... [read more]