Economy

BoC trims rates, warns of U.S. recession

The Bank of Canada has cut its key overnight rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%. The cut itself comes as no surprise, but some had called for a 50 basis point cut. The cut was carried through to the Bank rate as well, which now stands at 2.5%. The BoC left the door open […]

By Steven Lamb |October 21, 2008

2 min read

Policies need time to ease credit market

Global equity markets remain in the cellar, as frozen credit markets slowly thaw. There have been a few stellar days on the market, but they have barely made a dent in the losses incurred over the past year. So far, the response to the credit crisis has included rate cuts, mortgage buybacks, coordinated takeovers and […]

By Steven Lamb |October 20, 2008

7 min read

Brace for slow recovery

If there was any doubt that North America is in a recession, it has been laid to rest by five of Canada’s top economists, speaking at the Economic Club of Toronto on Monday. The only question that remains is How bad will this be? “Trying to do an economic forecast in this kind of turmoil […]

By Steven Lamb |October 6, 2008

4 min read

Signs of the times

Manufacturing employment in Canada, as in the United States, is on a downward trend, despite the fact that in 2007, the proportion of employed people in Canada was at its highest level in at least three decades, while the national unemployment rate sank to a 33- year low of 5.8%. Despite job losses, retail trade […]

By Staff |October 1, 2008

1 min read