Think Outside the Bun   In the lending world, the closest equivalent to “the bun” is the 5-year fixed mortgage. Like hamburgers are too fast food, the 5-year fixed is to mortgages. We offer you great 3 year specials like p-.80% on high ratio arms or 3.35% fixed also on conventional, to help you differentiate yourself from the fast food process of the banks. 

·        TSX -73.81 to 13,766.76   as energy stocks declined alongside oil prices which fell after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down amid widespread protests.

·         DOW +43.97to 12,273.26 

·         Dollar +.92c to 101.34c USD  amid data showing that the country's trade balance with the rest of the world went from a deficit of $115 million in Nov to a surplus of $3 billion in Dec

·        Oil -$1.15 to $85.58 USD per barrel falls to 10-week low as Egyptian risk premium unwinds

·        Gold -$3.00 to $1362.50 per ounce  

·        Canadian 5 yr bond yields markets up another +.01bps to 2.76. The spread (based on the MERIX 5 yr rate published rate of 4.24%) is in the high end of the comfort zone at 1.48.  http://www.tmxmoney.com/HttpController?GetPage=BondsAndRates&Language=en

The rate of return on your bond, can be read through a yield curve, If the increase in bond yield continues to go up, the spread will continue to shrink and this could be a trigger for interest rates to rise. Currently lenders are looking for a spread between 1.35 and 1.55