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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.
Our strong dollar undermines returns from global securities, writes ROB CARRICK
The rule of global investing lately is that he or she who does not hedge against currency moves gets pruned.The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index was up 4.9 per cent in 2005 with dividends included, which is nothing spectacular. But if you factored in the appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. currency, you made just 1.6 per cent.
A last-day surge puts Emilia and Sam ahead of the pros
It was a late-year battle of two oil-patch plays, but on the last day of the year a blue-chip stock chosen by a little girl and her stuffed dog soared to wallop a veteran pro's junior oil selection in the 2005 My One and Only stock-picking contest.
A weekly scorecard of some of the lowest and highest rates and yields across Canada.
MORTGAGESThe lowest rates posted for one, three and five year closed mortgages.1-YEAR CLOSED PACE Savings and Credit Union3.93Ukrainian Credit Union3.94Comtech Credit Union 3.99Ontario Civil Service Credit Un.4.15So-Use Credit Union4.20Average rate5.31
Having completed a six-month stint as a columnist who files every two weeks, I have taken a look back at the collection to see whether there are any appropriate updates. I am also mindful of an ROB editor who stated to me that readers enjoyed pundits ''fessing up'' to their mistakes.
I recall a conversation I once had with my grandfather about money. ''Tim,'' he said, ''ready money is Aladdin's lamp.'' He was always big on having money available to seize opportunities when they came up. Many Canadians are the same way. The problem? Many people have been eyeing the money in their registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) as a solution for their short-term cash needs.
A selection of the past week's winners and losers
STARS:SandP/TSX 11,620.46, up 348.20 (TSX)Canada's benchmark stock index got off to a flying start in 2006, notching record highs in four consecutive winning sessions. At this rate, it should hit 7,545,371,513 points by the end of the year, give or take a billion.
