Five things to watch this week in Canadian business:
> Corporate ledger
Just a smattering of earnings this week. Some notables include Quebecor Inc., HNZ Group Inc. and Spin Master Ltd.
> U.S. interest rate decision
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board will release its latest interest rate decision onWednesdayafter a two-day meeting. Expectations are it will hike the rate, which is at a range of 0.5%, to 0.75%.
> Housing and debt
These days, they go together like love and marriage. OnWednesday, the Canadian Real Estate Association comes out with the home sales figures for February while Statistics Canada will release the latest data on household debt, which at last check was at a record high.
> Alberta budget
Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci will present the spring budgetThursday. The province has been slowly recovering from the crash in oil prices, but it’s still far from the days of “Ralph bucks.” Just last month, Alberta’s deficit was pegged at $10.8 billion.
> Raising the roof — on costs
Canadians in need of mortgage loan insurance will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets as ofFriday. The country’s federal housing agency is hiking mortgage insurance premiums. For someone who has forked down a 15% down payment on a $450,000 loan, it will mean $6,347 in extra costs over the life of a typical 25-year amortization period, according to RateSpy.com.