The Parti Québécois government is vying to reboot the province’s economy with a new $2-billion plan that it says will create more than 40,000 jobs by 2017.

The money injected into the province will fund employment and development in a number of targeted areas:

• $566-million for the renovation of infrastructure, including community centres, arenas and schools
• $516-million for the development of an electric transit industry in Quebec that will build electric cars, electric railways, and related infrastructure.

The new plan also includes more than $700-million in tax credits as well as discounted hydro rates for companies which invest to create new jobs.

Reflection: Even though there are many people opposing this plan, but I think this plan is very efficient and effective for the recession in a short term. As a result of this plan, unemployment rate will drop significantly since the government encourages people to get jobs. There also appears a chance that the economy may stay out of the recession, and is charged with full energy.

source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pq-announces-2-billion-jobs-plan-1.1928834

The White House signalled on Monday that it would be open to a short-term hike in the U.S. debt limit as the United States moved a step closer to its first-ever default while a separate impasse.

The shutdown, which centres on a fight over funding for President Barack Obama’s new health care law, has pushed hundreds of thousands of workers off the job, closed national parks and museums and stopped an array of government services.

A default could have far bigger consequences. Economists say it could trigger a financial crisis and recession that would echo 2008 — or worse. The 2008 financial crisis plunged the U.S. into the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Those who remain at home or are working without paycheques are a step closer to getting back pay once the partial government shutdown ends. The Senate could act this week on the measure that passed the House unanimously on Saturday.

The shutdown of U.S. government have caused lots of economical problems. It is totally inefficiency. unemployment is rising sharply. Few people working lead to a long line up for document may missed or delayed many economic opportunities. Fortunately, the government is going to reopen very soon, so worker will get go back to their work very soon

source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/white-house-open-to-consider-short-term-rise-in-u-s-debt-limit-1.1928976

There’s no refuge in the suburbs from Canada’s housing affordability problem.

You can buy a house for less money in the suburbs than you can in a big city, but the cost of commuting may kill almost all your savings. Some number-crunching by a public-spirited mortgage broker in the Toronto area makes this point quite clearly.

David Hughes, with the Mortgage Group Ontario Inc., divides his clients into a couple of groups with respect to attitudes toward living in suburbia: One group wants to live in the suburbs and is fine with the idea of commuting, and then there are those who want to live downtown, but can’t afford the prices. He finds people talking more about the cost of two working parents commuting by car every day. He explains this shift as being a result of the bigger mortgages people are taking on, and the considerable cost of buying and owning a car.

If you plan to live outside the city where you work, commuting costs must be part of your housing affordability analysis. Mr. Hughes said he delicately makes this point to clients that come in with thoughts of suburban living. “I don’t want to see anyone impoverished by their choice.”

Living in the suburbs

Living in the city

Assumptions

• Car costs estimated at $9,500 per year for a compact car using CAA numbers times two vehicles
• Downtown transportation costs pegged at $235.50 for 2 adult transit passes per month plus discretionary transit spending of $264.50 per month
• Mortgage is paid over 25 years at a constant rate of 3.5 per cent

SOURCE: DAVID HUGHES
GRAPHIC BY STUART A. THOMPSON AND JOHN SOPINSKI

Reflection: As the price of houses is rising crazy, lots of people choose to move to some remote areas to save their money; however, the commuting cost may exceed what people expect Therefore, wisely choosing the living place becomes more important nowadays.

source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/mortgages/the-real-cost-of-suburbia/article14733912/