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(January 12, 2007) On Friday, CIBC Investor’s Edge unveiled Edge Advantage, a new online trading system for Canadian investors.

CIBC said Edge Advantage will offer a service with some of the most flexible trading options available in the marketplace. Subscribers of the service will be able to purchase a package of 50 trades, which can be used anytime during the year, for $395.

At an average cost of $7.90 a trade, CIBC believes it is offering an industry-low price. Investors exceeding 50 trades in the year will pay just $6.95 for each subsequent trade. Trades can be made either on Canadian or American exchanges, and traders do not need to meet a minimum asset threshold.

Marybeth Jordan, director of CIBC Investor’s Edge, said Edge Advantage will be particularly appealing for online investors who do a modest amount of trading.

“Edge Advantage is perfect for online investors who make regular trades over the course of the year but don’t fall into the 120-plus trades a year category that most other Canadian online brokers cater to,” she said. “With 50 ‘anytime’ trades for a low up-front fee of $395, this offer is both flexible and affordable.”

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RBC says U.S. consumer confidence increasing

(January 12, 2007) The most recent results from the RBC CASH Index report that the new year has renewed the confidence of American consumers.

Having conducted an attitude poll of 1,002 individuals this week, RBC concludes that Americans are feeling much more optimistic about their economic future than they were at the close of 2006. Overall consumer sentiment increased more than eight points this month, driven by a 29-point jump in assessments of future conditions. Opinions regarding current conditions dipped slightly; feelings about job security held steady; and confidence in investing rose slightly.

T. J. Marta, economic and fixed income strategist for RBC Capital Markets, speculates that confidence may have been boosted not only by the start of a new year but also by a new political landscape.

“The significant increase in the expectations sub-component of the CASH Index, which reached 83.8, the highest since October 2004, drove the rise in the overall index. This increase is likely derived in substantial part from the [Democrat] takeover of the new Congress,” Marta said.

Marta added that continued positive labour conditions and a low unemployment rate of 4.5% in the U.S. have also helped spur optimism there.

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BoC urged to hold interest rate

(January 12, 2007) The C.D. Howe Institute, a Canadian think tank, advised on Friday that the Bank of Canada keep its target for the key overnight interest rate unchanged at 4.25%.

The recommendations came from within C.D. Howe’s Monetary Policy Council, which tracks Bank of Canada attempts to achieve its 2% inflation target and offers suggestions. The council was unanimous in urging the Bank to hold the rate not only on its January 16 setting but on its March decision as well.

The C.D. Howe Group believes that weakness in U.S. domestic demand is bottoming out, that growth overseas looks solid and that the Canadian economy is regaining momentum after weakness late in 2006. It feels these factors will allow the Canadian economy to grow at a rate very close to the stable inflation rate that the Bank of Canada currently targets and, therefore, does not see any reason to change it.

C.D. Howe will update its recommendations on March 1, a few days before the Bank of Canada announces the next scheduled interest rate decision.

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TD AMERITRADE and Suze Orman join forces

(January 12, 2007) Well-known personal finance expert Suze Orman, host of CNBC’s The Suze Orman Show, has partnered with TD AMERITRADE to offer brokerage account bonuses to women who read and follow Orman’s advice from her latest book.

Orman is promoting her self-help book Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny. In the book, Orman outlines a simple five-step plan she calls the Save Yourself Plan, which is intended to help women find long-term financial security.

TD AMERITRADE is helping promote Orman’s book by offering a $100 bonus to clients who follow the Save Yourself Plan, open a new brokerage account during the month of March and make monthly direct deposits of $50 or more for one year.

Orman said she is thrilled to be working with TD AMERITRADE. “What’s at stake is far bigger than money itself; it’s about every woman’s sense of who she is and what she deserves, and why it all begins with the decision to save yourself,” she said.

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(01/12/07)