Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Forgot that CPI numbers came out today, so we get a special update, and some very good news as well with the CPI dropping by almost a full point to 2.6%, mostly on the strength of the plummeting price of gasoline.

Although the growth in gasoline prices eased in the 12 months to October, they were still the most significant upward contributor to the overall growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Prices at the pump increased 13.3%, compared with a 12-month change of 26.5% in September. On a monthly basis, gasoline prices fell 13.4% from September to October 2008.

Even with gas prices dropping it still was the largest price increase, which means next month’s numbers should be even more interesting, because gas prices in Ottawa right now are 70 cents a liter.

CPI With and Without Energy

With inflation levels dropping will this mean even further interest rate drops by the Bank of Canada? Can gasoline prices stay this low? These are the two questions to keep in mind with this data.

Inflation Data Table

Twitter Correction

My twitter link should be http://twitter.com/bigcajunman which I got wrong on my previous post, sorry guys.

After this week the easy answer to my post Is it Safe? is NO! Another very bad week on the Stock Market, worldwide and things are not looking up in the near future, that is for sure. The S&P TSX Index had it’s second worst percentage drop ever.

“…The S&P/TSX closed down 9.02 per cent, or 765.80 points, to 7,724.76 as the price of oil slid as low as $49.50 (U.S.) a barrel. It’s the first time the index has closed below 8,000 since December, 2003…“

• Free Money Finance asks the question Who Gets to Keep The Ring When an Engagement is Called off? I can say in my case, I asked for it back, but I felt it was my right. I also got a full trade in value (back then People’s jewelers did that).
• One Caveman pointed out that Tipd has gone live a new idea, Social Networking for Financial Folk. I have posted a few ditties there.
• Michael James continues his graph work to illustrate why MER: Death by a Thousand Cuts . If you own Mutual Funds, you really need to look at this one.
• Canadian Capitalist has some Ideas for your TFSA , which are quite good. I am still not sure what type of account we may open and how might use it, but we better decide soon, I guess.
• Ellen Roseman writes about How to cut back and be frugal, I guess frugality is the new extravagance? Kind of like short is the new long? I never understand fashion metaphors.
• All About Nortel asks the question, How Low Can it Go? A suitable fashion metaphor might work, but I will stick by my Zero means Zero statements of last week.
• No Debt Plan has good advice to Manage Your Spending Not Your Bills, which is very true, if you control spending you’ll have things under control, bills come no matter what!
• Canadian Tax Resource suggests using RRSPs to Offset Capital Gains, which means the tax on the Capital gains. Be nice to have Capital Gains to worry about.

Not Safe Yet!

I am on Twitter for those who feel your life would somehow be fullfilled seeing my wit and commentaries as I think of them, follow me.

I have 10 followers for now, and I am still astounded anyone cares (although I follow Stephen Fry, so I guess I am no better).

As for the question, I was toying with having an Umpire picture with the caption “Not Safe”. Then I toyed with a giant condom picture but figured that was a little vulgar (safe = prophylactic), so I ended up with this picture showing many dangerous things, and the answer, that it is not safe yet.

Have a safe weekend!

Special Report: Federal Speech from the Throne

My Kind of Throne

I’m sorry I just could not resist the picture, since every time I think of the Throne Speech my mind naturally moves to the water closet.

The Speech From the Throne

You can find the complete speech on this link, have a read it’s a lot of fun to read something that implies so much and says so very little.

• A Fiscal statement is coming next week from Jim Flaherty (mini-budget? budget? whatever).
• We are going to try not to run a deficit, but we make no promises.
• Support of workers in transition. Does that mean they are going to give me an athletic supporter, money or training? Support is a generic term, training is implied, but not sure.
• Quoted Warren Buffett, who quoted Wayne Gretzky who said we should “to skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”, commenting about how we need a Dynamic economy. I always liked Yogi Berra’s “Hit ‘em where they ain’t..” as a colloquialism.
• More effective government, that’s kind of like promising to eat right, words are interesting, actions are the telling part of it.
• One very interesting statement about Electric Power generation:
  “Our Government will set an objective that 90 percent of Canada’s electricity needs be provided by non-emitting sources such as hydro, nuclear, clean coal or wind power by 2020. ” 
  Interesting target to have, given a lot is already Hydro and Nuclear how close are we to that number already?
• Improving the UCCB, no real statement what that improvement might be, but I like that idea.
• Lots of motherhood statements about funding the military and the police to keep us all safe (not bad things, just fairly standard stuff).
• “May divine providence guide us in our deliberations.” Really not sure what that is supposed to mean, but it reads well, that is for sure.