Prince George, B.C.- The year ahead on the markets should improve Commonwealth Financial President Dan McLaren says ’08 was bad, and 2009 can only be better.

Speaking on the Meisner program this morning on 93.1 CFIS FM,  McLaren says while the Banks can get their money cheaper than ever, they are charging their clients more, offering mortgages at prime PLUS.

“We see banks holding steady, and the Government putting increasing pressure on the banks to pass along the savings. We expect more curtailments and more shutdowns in the forestry sector as the U.S. housing market has yet to rebound. As for oil and gas, while it was nice to fill up my vehicle without having to make a double swipe of my Visa card, those days are numbered and we expect the price of oil and gas to increase.”

McLaren says the fundamentals for the economy in Canada are sound.  As for the strength of the American dollar, McLaren says he still marvels at the strength “There is no reason for it. Our dollar should be at parity with the U.S. dollar.” 

Of course McLaren says when it comes to the markets, he believes the markets are at the bottom, and at some point, the big companies, ( like the automakers) will have to restructure and come back stronger.