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The Globe and Mail's Smart Money section is dedicated to giving you what you need to manage your personal finances successfully. Smart Money appears every Saturday in The Globe and Mail and on globeinvestor.com.
Mergers are no longer part of the equation, but picking bank stocks has never been so difficult, writes SINCLAIR STEWART
Let's face it. Jack Layton could become the next Prime Minister of Canada before all those Bank of Montreal shares you've been hoarding ever deliver a fat merger windfall. As BMO boss Tony Comper has said on several occasions, ''We're not waiting for Godot.''
Single mother lives beyond her means with too many accounts, payments
Toronto single mother Louise Charest (not her real name) is struggling to raise her two daughters, ages 19 and 15. Her monthly income of $3,588, including $600 support from a former partner and $90 in child tax benefits, is stretched thin. A provincial government employee, she has a secure pension. Her problem is to stay solvent until she retires in her early to mid-sixties.
A weekly scorecard of some of the lowest and highest rates and yields across Canada. The survey of mortgages, GICs and car loans - taken from a sample of companies by Cannex Financial Exchanges - covers posted rates only, so consumers may be able to haggle for a better deal at some financial institutions.
A selection of this week's winners and losers
DOGSCoca-Cola$40.30 (U.S.), down $2.66KO - NYSETake one can of Coke. Shake vigorously. Point directly at face and open. Shareholders are all wet and sticky after the soft drink company warned of lousy third-quarter results, citing weak sales in Europe and stiff competition at home.
