My budget-conscious family has always sworn by outlet malls, but almost every time Ive bought something there, Ive been dissatisfied by the experience. And its not because Im some retail snob. Though I do like my name brands, I can always find them second-hand. That always feels good because I only buy gently-used items at a fraction of the retail cost. On the other hand, outlet shopping tends to leave me a little cold because, although theyre name brands, I find a lot of irregularities in the quality. Plus, the discounts just dont seem all that deep to me.

Well, as it turns out its not just me.

As reported by Kiplinger, Cheapism.com conducted a study with similar results. Though outlet store shopping can be a smart way to save money on name brands, its only worth it if you know the facts and make informed purchases accordingly.

According to the study:

Outlet stores arent all that cheap.

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Environmentalists may call the oil sands developers many nasty things, but they can’t dispute the sector’s job-creating prowess.

Alberta’s oil sands industry will see its workforce rise 73% over the next 10 years, according to Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada, as rising bitumen production demands greater manpower.

The industry, which accounts for 15% of the country’s oil and gas industry, employed 20,000 people at the end of 2011.

“The oil sands sector entered 2012 with a healthy dose of optimism, with all indicators — notably stable oil prices and strong international investment – pointing to continued expansion,” said Cheryl Knight, Executive Director and CEO of the council. “Demand for more workers is being driven primarily by growth in the sector, however our research tells us that the supply of skilled workers remains very tight.”

Going forward, age-related attrition and competition from other industries will further escalate labour and skills shortages. In fact, the sector

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As I blogged yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke does not believe economic recovery is happening fast enough to create enough new jobs to bring down unemployment. However, a new survey shows that CEOs of major corporations plan on increasing their hiring this year. The question is, what sorts of jobs will this open up, especially for women in light of a new study revealing the worst jobs for women in 2012.

The Business Roundtables latest survey of CEOs shows that 42 percent of them plan on increasing their hiring this year. Lets hope, for womens sakes, the majority of these new jobs do not fall into one of the following 10 categories the top jobs that Forbes reports are rated lowest on the totem pole when it comes to job satisfaction:

1. Food Preparers and Servers - Annual earnings: $19,000; projected growth: 9%; job openings: 510,000; ratio of women in the job: 47.7%

2. N

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After being on the block for about two years, HSBC Bank Canada announced Wednesday that it is “winding down” its consumer finance division, a business that operates as HSBC Financial Corporation Ltd.

“The decision was made following a comprehensive review and assessment where it was determined that the consumer finance business no longer supports HSBC’s core businesses and growth strategy in Canada,” the bank in a release, noting that its first preference was to find a buyer for the operation that is home to about 1,000 employees based in about 75 offices across the country.

Last September, HSBC sold its retail brokerage business to National Bank Financial.

The move “will allow HSBC to better focus our resources on the core businesses that matter most to our Canadian banking customers,” said Lindsay Gordon, HSBC’s chief executive and chairman of HSBC Financial Corporation. From now on, HSB

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In yet another instance of a big bank taking advantage of its customers, JPMorgan Chase is under investigation for shady debt collection practices of its credit card holders. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is working to uncover just how extensive these practices were over a period of at least two years time.

Chase keeps track of its credit card customers via three separate databases that evidently do not sync up with one another databases for 1) current account holders, 2) collections and litigtions, and 3) charge-offs. Unfortunately, outsider attorneys tasked with collecting on delinquent accounts often received access to information from only one of the three database systems. For years, Chase employees simply doubled-checked the accounts, making sure attorneys were suing customers based on accurate information.

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The Dow Jones industrial average rose above 13,000 in early trading on Tuesday, but erased most of its gains after retail giant Walmart reported low prices hurt its margins and investors took a second look at the implications of the Greek bailout deal that caused the initial advances.

While the Dow dropped in later trading, Canada’s benchmark stock index held on to its gains, thanks to jumps in the prices of oil and gold. The S&P/TSX composite index closed the day at a five-month high of 12,623.36, up 165.06 points, or 1.32%. Seven of its 10 sub-indexes advanced, led by materials, which gained 3.03%, and energy, which rose 1.33%.

The Dow Jones industrial average swung between gains and losses in afternoon trading, ending with a gain of 15.82 points, or 0.12%, at 12,965.69, while the Nasdaq edged downward by 3.21 points, or 0.11%, to 2,948.57.

“U.S. equ

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In a speech on Friday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed concern over the state of the U.S. housing market and, more specifically, its hindrance to economic recovery. Bernanke blames a couple of things for the the housing markets slow bounce-back, both of which would require action by banks.

As reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, Bernanke says credit is too tight in the mortgage market, making it difficult for consumers to realize their dreams of home ownership. He calls for banks to ease their credit requirements, making it easier for more consumers to get loans. Bernanke also blames vacant, foreclosed homes for the lagging housing market. His suggestion: turn them into rentals (i.e., money-makers, as opposed to just sitting empty, taking in no income at all, but taking up plenty of valuable real estate space).

Bernankes speech came on the heels of news that big banks agreed to a $25 billion foreclosure settlement deal.

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