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.
MORTGAGES
The lowest rates posted for one, three and five year closed mortgages.
Closed 1 year
PACE Savings & Credit Un....3.5
Desjardins Credit Union 3.55 ING Direct 3.55 Metro Credit Union 3.55 Ontario Civil Service CU 3.55 Average rate 4.425 Closed 3 years
Bank West...................4.4
Parama Lithuanian C.U 4.45 Resurrection Credit Union 4.45 ING Direct 4.5 Desjardins Credit Union 4.6 Average rate 5.424 Closed 5 years
Comtech Credit Union........4.9
Bank West 5 Sutton Mortgages 5 Virtual One Credit Union 5.05 Alberta Motor Assoc 5.1 Average rate 5.929
GICs
The highest rates available for GICs for 30 days, one year (paid at end of year) and five years (paid annually), $5,000 minimum.
30 days, $5,000
Pacific & Western Bank......2.4
Peoples Trust 2.4 Equitable Trust 2.35 ResMor Trust 2.3 Maple Trust 2.25 Average rate 1.247 1 Year, $5,000
Peoples Trust...............3.1
Pacific & Western Bank 3 Virtual One Credit Union 3 Achieva Financial 2.85 Peace Hills Trust 2.85 Average rate 2.049 5 Years, $5,000
Achieva Financial...........4.5
Cataract Savings & CU 4.3 DUCA Financial Services 4.25 Manulife Bank 4.25 B2B Trust 4.2 Average rate 3.411 TSX TOP 20 YIELDS
The yield is the indicated annual dividend by the current price.
A $50 stock issuing a $5 annual dividend has a yield of 10%. Here are the S&P/TSX composite top 20 companies, excluding income trusts.
Company....................Div. yld......P/E
Rothmans 6.8 9.8 TransAlta 5.3 24.7 Emera 4.9 17.1 Laurentian Bank 4.2 13.5 TransCanada Corp 4.1 16.3 BCE Inc 4.0 15.6 Nexfor 4.0 17.0 Dofasco 3.8 13.8 Fortis 3.7 13.7 Cdn Utilities A 3.6 14.7 Investors Group 3.5 15.2 Aliant 3.4 19.6 Terasen Inc 3.4 19.6 Hudson's Bay 3.4 11.3 Enbridge 3.3 16.6 AltaGas Services 3.2 18.7 Quebecor World 3.0 14.8 Noranda 3.0 - TD Bank 2.9 32.6 Great-West Lifeco 2.9 14.6 CAR LOANS
The lowest rates offered for a three-year, fixed rate car loan for $15,000.
Company
PACE Savings & Credit Un.....6.5
Key Savings + Credit U 6.95 Metro Credit Union 7.5 Niagara Credit Union 7.5 Laurentian Bank Canada 8.2 Average rate 8.44
TSX LOWEST 20 P/Es
Price/earnings ratio is one of the key measures investors use to assess stocks. It's calculated by dividing the stock's price by its annual earnings per share. A $50 stock earning $5 a share annually is said to have a p/e of 10, or is trading at 10 times earnings. By comparing the p/e of a stock with those of its peers or the overall market, investors can gauge how a stock is being valued. Here are the 20 lowest p/e stocks for the S&P/TSX Composite. A low p/e may indicate a good buy, or it may say that the market feels the company's prospects aren't good.
Company....................P/E......Div.yld.
Fairfax Financial 4.5 0.7 Nexen 5.7 1.1 Dundee Bancorp A 5.9 - Methanex 6.0 2.5 Cdn. Natural Res 6.1 1.1 PetroKazakhstan 6.5 - Husky Energy 6.8 1.9 Decoma Int'l 6.8 2.7 Kingsway Financial 7.4 - CHC Helicopter 7.8 1.8 Penn West Pete 7.9 - Sherritt Int'l 7.9 - Quebecor B 8.3 - Petro-Canada 8.9 0.8 Compton Pete 8.9 - CFM Corp 9.1 - Aastra Tech 9.5 - Rothmans 9.8 6.8 Tesma Int'l A 9.8 2.0 CCL Industries B 10.1 2.0
CORPORATE BONDS
Bonds issued by corporations typically offer higher yields than government bonds because they pose more credit risk. Here are 10 issues of higher-yielding investment-grade bonds generally available in the market. High-yield "junk bonds" are excluded.
Issuer..............Coupon......Maturity date...Price ($)...Yield (%)
Nfld. Light & Power 8.9 5/7/2026 122.26 6.93 TransCanadaPipe 8.29 2/5/2026 117.00 6.8 Duke Energy 7.3 12/18/2026 106.08 6.77 Duke Energy 6.75 12/15/2027 100.31 6.72 Bell Canada 7 9/24/2027 105.46 6.54 Bell Canada 7.3 2/23/2032 109.88 6.53 Sears Canada 7.45 5/10/2010 105.96 6.32 Sears Canada 7.05 9/20/2010 104.05 6.31 NAV Canada 7.4 6/1/2027 114.44 6.22 EPCOR Utilities 6.75 3/22/2016 104.82 6.19
Ask price is per $100 face value and is the price at which an investor can buy bonds. Some of these bonds may have special features that can affect the yield. In particular, some may allow the issuer to pay off the holder before maturity.
TSX 300 LOWEST 10 PEGs
The PEG, or the price-earnings to IBES five-year earnings growth estimate, is a useful step for screening stocks. The lower the better.
Company PEG Methanex 0.140 Paramount 0.172 TVA Group B 0.284 Falconbridge 0.377 Rogers Wireless 0.382 Royal Group 0.430 Van Houtte 0.435 Fairfax Financial 0.453 CFM Corp 0.456 Biovail 0.495 CANADA BONDS
Yields on Canadian government bonds vary with market conditions. Here are the latest yields available according to term.
3-month......2.65
6-month 2.64 1-year 2.76 2-year 3.17 3-year 3.49 4-year 3.83 5-year 4.08 6-year 4.28 7-year 4.48 10-year 4.85 20-year 5.33 30-year 5.38
As of noon Oct. 31
Values as of Oct. 30, except where noted.
Source: Bloomberg Financial Services for dividend yields, P/Es, PEGs. CBID Markets Inc. for Canada and corporate bond yields. Cannex Financial Exchanges for mortgages, GIC's and car loans
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