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This and That

January 25th, 2007 ·

  1. If you shopped at Winners or HomeSense last November, check your credit card statements for suspicious activity. Though Canadian banks are saying that there are no signs of fraudulent activity so far, stolen credit card information linked to TJX (the parent company of Winners) was used to make purchases in the US and other places.
  2. Jack Layton offers the standard NDP prescription for bank ATM fees: legislation. How difficult is it to go to an ATM machine where cash withdrawals are free, or ask for cash-back when making a purchase at a store? If Mr. Layton really wants to help “working families”, his party should support cutting taxes at the lowest level.
  3. The mutual fund companies used to advertise happy scenes involving beaches, cottages and weddings during the RRSP season. This year, they are trying to scare Canadians into saving money instead, by featuring seniors flipping burgers or greeting customers at a discount retailer.
  4. Canadian Banks & Insurance offers a preview of the fourth quarter earnings of the major insurance companies.
  5. Fundamental Indexing is the new new thing in indexing. SteadyHand’s Tom Bradley points out why he doesn’t like it and Investing Idea’s Larry MacDonald tells us why he does.
  6. Ellen Roseman writes in The Toronto Star about the Smith Manoeuvre. Unlike Mr. Smith, she does point out that there are pitfalls involved in the strategy.

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14 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Joe // Jan 26, 2007 at 1:00 pm

    Layton’s idea is a good one. I travel alot and have noticed ATM fees are much higher in Canada than other countires. Why? I suspect we are getting screwed.

  • 2 Steve Heath // Jan 26, 2007 at 2:03 pm

    I disagree. You pay no fees if you use your own bank’s machines. If you want the convenience of being able to withdraw from another bank (who has paid the place of business, has paid for the machine, has paid to maintain the machine, has paid for the internet connection to allow the machine to work, has paid for the armored car to deliver the worker who has to fill it with bills, paper, and ink) then be prepared to pay.

    Next we’ll be hearing that Layton is up in arms because having a pizza delivered costs more than going to the pizza place and picking it up yourself.

    Now, if banks were charging you to withdraw money from them, you’d have an issue, but what you’re basically complaining about is that Joe owes you money, and Fred won’t give you money and then go collect from Joe for free. Why should Fred have to do that for you?

  • 3 Joe // Jan 26, 2007 at 2:57 pm

    Lots of banks are charging you to withdraw money. Many banks allow you to get charged twice, once by your bank, and once by the bank/business that owns the ATM.

    Some banks have waived their fees for ATM use - evidence that the ATM fees are not so essential for providing the service in the first place.

  • 4 David // Jan 26, 2007 at 3:42 pm

    “This year, they are trying to scare Canadians into saving money instead, by featuring seniors flipping burgers or greeting customers at a discount retailer.”

    While I won’t call them ’seniors’, I know of many pensioners who are working at Home Depot & other box retailers, for either or both of the following reasons: it reduces the boredom of retirement, and lets them interact with people, AND allows them to obtain hobby project materials at a discount price. These employers offer very flexible hours (they have lots of part-time employees available to fill shifts), and have happy employees who are happy to work for minimal benefits. The poor bugger who is trying to raise a family, pay a mortgage, etc., on the other hand is at a major financial disadvantage, as the subsidised pensioner allows the employer to lower wagews and benefits.

  • 5 Canadian Capitalist // Jan 26, 2007 at 4:40 pm

    Joe: I am not disagreeing that banks have fat margins in ATM fee withdrawals. My point is it is the responsibility of the consumer to search out banks that have lower or no such fees. When customers flock to banks with lower ATM fees, the competitors would notice and probably drop their fees in response.

    I mostly withdraw money from my PC Financial account for free at the CIBC ATM network. These bank machines are everywhere, even at gas stations. My main checking account is with Royal on a pay-as-I-go basis. My average fee per month is 50 cents or less.

    There are many services that companies provide at fat margins: cable, cell phones, internet, double-doubles etc. come to mind. Now are we going to regulate those industries too? I for one am tired of the nanny state wanting to regulate every aspect of our lives.

  • 6 awardtour // Jan 26, 2007 at 5:41 pm

    A side story on ATMs: Washington Mutual, a pretty big bank in the US, never had fees at their ATMs regardless of what bank you were from. the problem? everyone knew this and always used WaMu bank machines and so actual WaMu customers were getting screwed over for having to wait longer for ATMs then people from other banks.

    And Layton’s idea is just foolish. I can’t imagine the cost of the regulatory board and ensuing bureaucracy would be less then the money saved by low-income families.

  • 7 MillionDollarJourney.com // Jan 26, 2007 at 9:30 pm

    If you guys are interested, I’ve written a couple of posts regarding the Smith Manoeuvre also.
    You can read them here.

    FT

  • 8 Nhi // Jan 26, 2007 at 11:05 pm

    CC, I’m a long time reader, first time commenter. Love your blog!

    Re: Bank machine fees, I agree with you. I liken it to roaming charges on a different cell phone network. It’s not as prevalent, but when you’re using someone else’s infrastructure, you pay, even though the minutes are deducted by your wireless provider from your own plan.

    It annoys me that some of the same people who complain about bank fees have no problem paying the exorbitant interest charges at those paycheque advance places. That’s paying to access your own money too!

  • 9 Joe (2) // Jan 27, 2007 at 3:24 am

    Stop Getting political, Canadian Capitalist. Stick to your knitting.

  • 10 Canadian Capitalist // Jan 27, 2007 at 9:06 am

    Joe: My comments had nothing to do with my politics. I made the same point about a recent column in the Globe by Rob Carrick. It has to do with money and finances, so I think it is a fair topic.

  • 11 Phil S // Jan 27, 2007 at 9:27 am

    Unfortunately in our country, politics does frequently get in the way of investing. We live in a socialist country and that’s just a reality that we must deal with.
    The purpose of regulation SHOULD only be to create a level playing field for businesses to compete. But in our socialist regime, the government frequently crosses the line by favouring specific companies (eg. tax incentives and subsidies to Ford, Bombardier, …) and even getting into business directly (eg. Ontario Hydro, LCBO, etc).

    By the way CC. Is there some way to move that Singles.Net ad to another page? I frequently look at your blog during lunch time at work and it’s bad to have a woman’s butt on the front page. As attractive as it might be, I can get busted for stuff like that where I work!

  • 12 Canadian Money Blogs Reviewer // Jan 28, 2007 at 12:50 pm

    I agree with CC: why should the government regulate if there are “free market” options? I use Pc Financial as well and I never pay banking fees. I don’t even have an account with a regular bank anymore. As long as those new players are allowed to compete (i.e. if the banks play fair), there’s no problem in my opinion. It’s the same with brokerage fees, the banks tried to keep them high, but companies like Etrade keep pushing them down.

    —
    Phil: regarding the ads, that’s Adbrite getting too extreme. They don’t respect the “edgy ads” filter they provide the publisher.

    CC: you can switch Adbrite to require your approval for ads … more works but less surprises :-)

  • 13 Canadian Capitalist // Jan 28, 2007 at 7:32 pm

    CMB: I’ve removed AdBrite altogether. Not worth the hassle IMO and though I didn’t see the Singles.net ad, I saw a bunch of ads for online poker. Pretty sure that’s not keeping with the spirit of the blog.

  • 14 Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » The Smith Manoeuvre // Jul 14, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    [...] Smith Manoeuvre Well our amigo over at the Canadian Capitalist mentioned in his Friday update that the Star has an article about the “infamous” Smith [...]

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