Five things to consider before buying a snowbird property in the U.S.

Before you become a Canadian snowbird with a stake in U.S. real estate, here are five essential issues you should think about first:

Canadian dollar sinks below 88 cents as Saudis cut oil to $77 a barrel

The Canadian dollar sank to its lowest level in five years as Saudi Arabia moved to slash its price for the type of oil used in much of North America to its lowest level since September 2010.

Visa, MasterCard to cut credit card interchange fees in Canada

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have voluntarily agreed to cut the fees they charge to retailers for credit transactions, the Canadian government said on Tuesday, adding it now sees no need to regulate fees set by credit card networks.