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
Metro Credit Union..........4.25
Manulife Bank 4.3 ING Direct 4.35 DUCA Financial Services 4.50 Camera Heights Credit Un 4.55 Average rate 5.33 Closed 3 years
Alberta Motor Assoc.........5.39
Camera Heights Credit Un 5.45 Bridgewater Fin'l Serv 5.49 DUCA Financial Services 5.50 ING Direct 5.55 Average rate 6.47 Closed 5 years
Alberta Motor Assoc.........6.09
ING Direct 6.1 Metro Credit Union 6.1 First Marathon Mortgage 6.15 Bridgewater Fin'l Serv 6.19 Average rate 7.06 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 investment.
30 days, $5,000
Pacific & Western eTrust....2
DUCA Financial Services 1.85 Maple Trust 1.85 Peoples Trust 1.80 Equitable Trust 1.75 Average rate 1.14 1 Year, $5,000
Pacific & Western eTrust....3.55
Peoples Trust 3.55 Achieva Financial 3.35 Maple Trust 3.35 Equitable Trust 3.25 Average rate 2.15 5 Years, $5,000
Achieva Financial...........5.75
Steinbach.Credit Union 5.5 DUCA Financial Services 5.25 Maple Trust 5.25 M.R.S. Trust 5.20 Average rate 4.50 TSX 300 TOP 20 YIELDS
The dividend yield is the indicated annual dividend divided by the current price. A $50 stock issuing a $5 annual dividend has a yield of 10%. Here are the TSX top 20, excluding income trusts.
Company....................Div. yld......P/E
Sceptre Investment 7.2 22.7 Emera 5.0 16.4 Hollinger 4.8 2.4 Rothmans 4.7 13.1 Telus 4.7 19.5 BCE Inc 4.6 24.1 TransAlta 4.5 26.5 TransCanada PipeLines 4.3 16.2 Nexfor 4.3 51.4 Noranda 4.2 - Fortis 4.0 14.6 Laurentian Bank 3.6 9.4 BC Gas 3.5 17.7 Dofasco 3.4 40.3 Cdn. Utilities A 3.4 12.3 CIBC 3.3 14.5 Bank of Montreal 3.2 15.0 Enbridge 3.2 16.4 Corby Distilleries 3.0 16.2 National Bank 3.0 11.2 CAR LOANS
The lowest rates offered for a three-year, fixed rate car loan for $15,000.
Fixed rate, 3 Years, $15,000
Company
Niagara Credit Union.........6.75
Key Savings + Credit U 6.95 Metro Credit Union 7 Laurentian Bank Canada 7.95 Caisses Desjardins 8.59 Average rate 8.33 TSX 300 LOWEST 20 P/Es
Price/earnings ratio is one of the key measures investors use to assess stocks. It's calculated by dividing the price of a stock by its annual earnings per share. A $50 stock earning $5 a share annually is said to have a p/e of 10, or is trading at 10 times earnings. By comparing the p/e of a stock with those of its peers or the overall market, investors can gauge how a stock is being valued. Here are the 20 lowest p/e stocks for the TSX 300. A low p/e may indicate a good buy, or it may say that the market feels the company's prospects aren't good.
Company....................P/E......Div. yld.
Hollinger 2.4 4.8 Proprietary Ind 2.9 - Quebecor B 5.0 2.3 Nova Chemicals 5.8 1.0 Geac 6.8 - Hurricane Hydro A 7.7 - BPO Properties 8.0 - CP Ships 8.5 0.4 Acktion 8.5 2.4 Hummingbird 9.1 - Paramount Res 9.2 - Laurentian Bank 9.4 3.6 Cascades 9.6 1.0 Dundee Realty 9.9 - Atco 10.1 2.2 Vector Aerospace 10.3 - Elk Point Resources 10.7 - Canadian Pacific 10.7 1.5 Cryptologic 10.7 - Westcast 10.8 0.9 CORPORATE BONDS
Bonds issued by corporations typically offer higher yields than government bonds because they pose more credit risk. Here are 10 issues of higher-yielding investment-grade bonds generally available in the market. High-yield "junk bonds" are excluded.
Issuer..........Coupon....Maturity date...Price ($)...Yield (%)
HELL Ltd 5.55 Jun 02/03 101.87 3.62 Nav Canada 3.75 Nov 09/04 98.19 4.54 Household Fn 6 Apr 11/05 101.37 5.47 Weston Geo 5.25 Oct 24/06 99.71 5.32 TD Bank 6.46 Oct 31/07 103.62 5.67 Bell Canada 6.15 Jun 15/09 97.05 6.68 Grtr TTO Air 6.7 Jul 19/10 104.43 6 Bank of Mont 6.685 Dec 31/11 101.84 6.42 Clarica Life 5.8 May 15/13 100.72 5.71
Bid price is per $100 face value and is the price at which an investor can sell bonds. To buy bonds, an investor would pay a slightly higher price (and receive a lower yield) than shown here. 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 Heroux-Devtek 0.176 Hummingbird 0.205 Open Text 0.301 Sears 0.484 Kingsway Financial 0.486 Mosaic 0.489 Cascades 0.515 Cryptologic 0.537 Nova Chemicals 0.541 Masonite 0.570 CANADA BONDS
Yields on Canadian government bonds vary with market conditions. Here are the latest yields available according to term.
3-month......2.6
6-month 2.8 1-year 3.4 2-year 4.1 3-year 0.0 4-year 4.6 5-year 4.8 7-year 5.2 10-year 5.5 20-year 5.8 30-year 5.8