Economic Indicators

Depression comparisons unwarranted

Despite repeated comparisons to the Great Depression, the current financial crisis is unlikely to result in anything so dramatic, according to one senior ratings agency executive. The coordinated action taken by central banks and stimulus packages offered by governments should help to guide the world economy into a period more similar to the banking panic […]

By Steven Lamb |November 18, 2008

4 min read

Call it what you will — most call it a recession

Your clients have likely lost a good chunk of their net worth, jobs are scarce, and productivity and spending are down. As a little cold comfort, it’s now okay to use the R-word to describe what’s going on with the developed world, even if Canada is not officially in a recession yet. The developed world […]

By Mark Noble |November 13, 2008

5 min read

Ottawa provides more support to credit markets

On Wednesday morning, the Government of Canada and the Bank of Canada both announced additional measures to keep credit flowing in this country. The government plans to purchase up to $50 billion more of insured mortgage pools by the end of the fiscal year as part of its efforts to maintain the availability of longer-term […]

By Craig Sebastiano |November 12, 2008

2 min read

Economy not out of the woods yet: Fidelity

With the markets still in freefall and housing prices continuing to drop, it doesn’t look as though America’s financial future is going to turn around anytime soon. Peter Drake, Fidelity’s vice-president of retirement and economic research, says the bottom might not be far off, though three things have to happen first. “U.S. housing prices need […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |November 11, 2008

4 min read