Inflation grabs headlines, valuing the yuan and preventing fraud.

• The Globe and Mail. Canadian dollar soars on inflation, retail data. “The Canadian dollar jumped sharply Friday after a higher-than-expected reading on core inflation and a better-than-anticipated report on Canada’s retail sector.”
• The Globe and Mail. Inflation reading sparks rate speculation. “Inflation in Canada eased in February, but the so-called core rate ran hotter than the Bank of Canada would like.”
• Canadian Business. The inflation head-scratcher. “The economic meltdown and sluggish recovery have led many economists and policy-makers to do some soul-searching lately. Just about every economic concept and theory seems to be up for debate, even long-standing beliefs.”
• Canadian Financial DIY. Inflation at 4% to be the new normal? “Cynics might say it is a conspiracy to prepare the ground for higher inflation to be accepted by central banks. Realists will observe and weigh the probability that it will happen and think how to protect themselves or profit from the eventuality.”
• National Post. Carney’s conundrum. “It wasn’t so long ago that Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warned about the dangers of ‘persistent strength’ in the Canadian dollar, and left open the possibility of foreign-exchange intervention to cool the currency’s rise.”
• National Post. China tries to cool yuan dispute with U.S. “China on Friday said it was sending an envoy to Washington to try to ease trade frictions as its currency regime comes under fire, warning that threats from U.S. legislators could stifle room for progress.”
• The Economist. Exchanging blows. “Recent renewed American calls for China to revalue its currency have so far fallen on deaf ears. China has rejected accusations that America’s huge trade deficit with it is caused largely by an artificially weak yuan, which has been pegged to the dollar since July 2008.”
• Times Online. China Premier Wen Jiabao says world risks double-dip recession. “Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, closed the National People’s Congress session today with grim warnings that the global economy risked plunging into double-dip recession and that China itself faced a ‘complicated’ year.”
• The New York Times. Greenspan concedes that the Fed failed to gauge the bubble. “Is Alan Greenspan, famous for his libertarian leanings and hands-off approach to Wall Street, having some second thoughts?”
• The New York Times. Corporate debt coming due may squeeze credit. “When the Mayans envisioned the world coming to an end in 2012 – at least in the Hollywood telling – they didn’t count junk bonds among the perils that would lead to worldwide disaster.”
• Reuters. Canada sees gloom for world economy without reform. “Canada took a gloomy look at what could go wrong with the global economy on Thursday, warning of prolonged recession or a new debt-driven crisis unless countries push ahead with promised reforms.”
• Reuters. Possible economic scenarios in Canadian document. “A Canadian discussion paper obtained by Reuters outlined the following possibly scenarios for the world economy, depending on whether countries push ahead with a framework of economic reforms agreed at the G20 summit meeting in Pittsburgh last year.”
• Bloomberg. Canada’s Flaherty says currency nearing parity is “competitive.” “Canada’s currency, trading the closest to parity with its U.S. counterpart since July 2008, is at a level that continues to keep the nation’s economy competitive, according to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.”
• Bloomberg. Canada wholesale sales rise fastest in three years. “Canadian wholesale sales rose at the fastest pace in three years in January, as automobiles led gains in every major category tracked by the government’s statistics agency.”
• Toronto Star. Offshore investors respond to the Northern Tiger’s roar. “The Northern Tiger is back, as a Canadian economic recovery more rapid and vibrant than forecast increasingly wins favour with offshore investors.”
• Winnipeg Free Press. Rethinking the modest recovery story: Is Canada’s economy poised to take off? “Foreigners are buying up Canada, the loonie is heading for parity with the American dollar and recent economic indicators are off the map. Could the recovery be outracing expectations?”
• CBC. Save more, Dodge urges. “Canadians need to rely far more on personal savings if they want to retire comfortably, David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada, said Thursday.”
• Making Money Make Sense. Leveraging your investments. “I get a lot of questions about using credit to invest. Sometimes people want to know about The Smith Maneuver. Some people want to know if it makes sense to use their home equity to invest. And others want to know all about margin investing.”
• Four Pillars. Tight budget or keep some extra cash in your account? “Do you know what a zero-based budgeting system is? Basically it is a budget where you track every single dollar of income and each single expense down to the penny.”
• Million Dollar Journey. How annuities work. “Lately, I’ve been receiving a few questions regarding annuities. As I only have a basic understanding of annuities, I emailed Brian Poncelet (CFP and insurance specialist) to provide more details on the types of annuities.”
• Canadian Finance Blog. What is financial literacy? Part 2. “This week, I would like to simply continue where I left off from last week and walk through some more key points in the discussion paper released by the task force on Financial Literacy.”
• Thicken My Wallet. 5 easy tips to prevent against fraud. “March is fraud prevention month and, right on cue, Jonathon Chevreau became the unwilling advocate of the cause by becoming a victim of debit card fraud.”

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