Welcome to the Globe and Mail Personal Finance Reader. I'm Rob Carrick, personal finance columnist at The Globe, and twice weekly I compile a list of articles, blog postings, videos and websites that represent the best of what the online world has to offer on money-related subjects.
Current events are a focus of this edition of the Reader. Proposed changes to Canada Pension Plan, China's decision to allow its currency to rise against the U.S. dollar and lessons for investors from the BP oil spill are covered here, and so is a quiet story you may not have heard about. It's about growing concern over the drilling for natural gas that's going on in some U.S. states. This drilling has led to increasing gas supplies and, in turn, lower natural gas prices.
There's also a lot of personal finance content this time around, including a look at some examples of fine print on travel reward credit cards, the high cost of renting hybrid cars and some thoughts on allowances for children.
Please note, the Reader is on hiatus next week while I'm on vacation. It returns on July 7.
Found something on the Internet that your fellow investors might enjoy? Talk to me at rcarrick@globeandmail.com.
Note: If you're having trouble reading this e-mail, try viewing the Reader online.
From The Globe and Mail
Canadian mortgage and credit experts have united to educate Canadians about the fine print of mortgages. Here are five good questions home buyers should be asking.
What are the most common financial scams? RCMP superintendent Kevin Harrison explains in this Let's Talk Investing video.
Smart Cookie columnist Angela Self looks at how to get the most out of your loyalty reward card points.
Are you a workaholic? Here are some retirement tips for you.
Wondering how you can capitalize on the World Cup? Here are some investment ideas for gaining exposure to South Africa.
Must Reads From Around the Web
Growing the CPP
A look at proposed changes that would increase Canada Pension Plan benefits as a way of better ensuring people are financially prepared for retirement.
McKenna on the Economy
Here's a summary of some incisive remarks made this week by Frank McKenna, former New Brunswick premier and ambassador to the United States, on recent economic developments such as the decision by China to revaluate its currency, the yuan.
Food Fair
Restaurants in Vancouver and New York pioneer a "pay what you can" approach to their menus.
Fine Print Follies
Eight examples of how the fine print can trip you up with reward credit cards.
Gas Attack
Vanity Fair writes about the ugly side effects of drilling technology that has allowed new natural gas deposits in the United States to be tapped. This is the down side of the recent decline in your natural gas utility bill.
High-Cost Hybrids
How rental car agencies are charging a premium to clients who rent a hybrid car.
Investorama
Lessons for investors taught by the BP disaster. The comments on dividends are a little harsh from our vantage point here in Canada, where dividend cuts in the past few years have been much fewer than in the U.S. market.
The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments is your last resort if you can't get your investment firm or bank to resolve a dispute. Here's an update on OBSI, which has been hiring extra staff due to a recent rise in complains.
If you're looking for a clearly written, jargon-free analysis of what's going on in the global economy and what it means to investors, try this outlook from a new Halifax-based investment firm called IceCap Asset Management.
An account of the strangely aggressive stance the mutual fund industry's trade organization has taken to the new stewardship grades issued by the independent analysis firm Morningstar. The grades measure how investor-friendly fund firms are and I think they're well worth checking as you decide which firms get your money.
Paying Your Kids
Some thoughts on when to start your kids on an allowance, and how much to give them. One of our boys gets part of his allowance in the form of a monthly credit on iTunes.
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