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Ellen Roseman

Ellen Roseman: Keeping ahead of credit card fraudsters

Thursday, October 18, 2007 | 09:15 AM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

You’re sitting at home when the phone rings. It’s a fraud investigator who tells you that your credit card has been compromised. A new card will arrive in the mail shortly.

How do they know? Banks have sophisticated software that picks up unusual patterns of credit card activity. A large purchase far from your home might be flagged as suspicious, for example, or multiple transactions in stores you never patronize.

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Ellen Roseman: Lowering those Canada-U.S. price gaps

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 | 04:11 PM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

Douglas Porter, a Bank of Montreal economist, made waves last month by criticizing the high price of Canadian consumer products compared to identical products sold in the United States. He found a 24 per cent price gap on a basket of assorted goods.

In his report, The Price is Wrong, he said retail prices in Canada have responded to the loonie’s moonshot “with all the speed of a three-toed sloth on a hot summer’s day.” As a result, inflation is higher than it should be and interest rates could be even lower.

So, what can consumers do? How can we persuade companies to adjust more quickly to exchange-rate changes? Here’s my advice.

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Ellen Roseman: Simplifying mutual funds

Thursday, September 20, 2007 | 04:50 PM ET

Small investors can’t always buy stocks. But they can always buy mutual funds, which are aimed at those with scant financial resources.

Mutual funds used to be simple. Now they’ve morphed into a pretty complex purchase. There are so many funds – greater in number than Canadian stocks – and so many ways to buy them. Front-load, back-load, no load, low load. What’s a poor beginner to do?

(Read more or listen to the original audio)

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

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