Economy

The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, having pulled back from a 6-year high the day before, as oil prices fell and investors awaited a speech by Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem.The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, was down 2.3% at...

Fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, as companies held on to their workers amid the growing labour shortage that helped to curb job growth in April.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 473,000 for the week ended May 8, compared to 507,000 in...

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart and all the other G10 currencies on Wednesday as oil prices rose and investors bet that the Bank of Canada would be more sensitive to rising inflation than the Federal Reserve.U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 12 years in...

The European Union economy is set to bounce back strongly this year after the deep coronavirus recession and member states are forecast to have recouped the ground lost by the end of next year.In its latest forecast Wednesday, the EU’s executive commission significantly upgraded its predictions for economic growth.It said...

A worrisome bout of inflation struck the economy in April, with U.S. consumer prices for goods and services surging 0.8%, the largest monthly jump in more than a decade, and the year-over-year increase reaching its fastest rate since 2008.The acceleration in prices, which has been building for months, has unsettled...

It will be “some time” before the U.S. economy is healed enough for the Fed to consider reducing its monthly bond purchases, Fed vice chair Richard Clarida said on Wednesday, acknowledging that April’s weak employment report makes the pace of the jobs recovery “more uncertain” than that of the economy...

The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, pulling back from its highest level in 3½ years as investors turned cautious ahead of data on Wednesday that is expected to show a jump in U.S. inflation.Global stock markets suffered a second day of sharp losses as a combination...

U.S. job openings surged to a record high in March while hiring lagged, further evidence that a shortage of workers was hampering job growth.Job openings, a measure of labor demand, jumped 597,000 to 8.1 million on the last day of March, the highest since the series began in December 2000,...

Toronto’s housing market started to slow in April after months of frenetic activity, with sales and the average price falling from March.There were 13,663 home resales in the Toronto region last month, which was a record for the month of April but 13 per cent below March, according to the...

Re/Max Canada’s two top executives are calling for more transparency in the home bidding process, and say homebuyers should be allowed to know what their competition is offering.The common realtor practice of blind bidding has angered buyers and is being blamed for pushing up prices in the country’s overheated real...

A certain four-letter word comes up a lot when financial planners address young adult clients who fear they will never own a house.The word is rent. R-e-n-t. Say it with me and then let’s dig into how planners are tackling the challenge of mapping a way for millennials and members...

The Canadian dollar rose to its highest since mid-September 2017 on Monday, but was last little changed on the day, drawing some support overall from firmer commodity prices and generally higher yields compared with its U.S. counterpart.Analysts said those two factors have helped shield the Canadian dollar from the negative...

British Columbia is creating its own permanent program to provide workers with sick pay as Ottawa and Ontario engage in finger-pointing over whether to enhance a temporary federal benefit meant to keep workers infected with COVID-19 from spreading the disease.B.C. Premier John Horgan maintained that Canada should have a national...

Daily roundup of research and analysis from The Globe and Mail’s market strategist Scott BarlowBMO economist Sal Guatieri detailed an interesting phenomenon in the U.S. economy with important implications (my emphasis),“U.S. durable goods orders disappointed with a 0.5% advance in March, though a 14% annualized Q1 gain in nondefense capital...

After a full year of working from home without spending money on commuting, work clothes or eating out, Alanna Tomson said the savings added up enough to cover the cost of her first car in years.Ms. Tomson, who lives and works in downtown Toronto, said she didn’t enjoy working from...

Canadian consumers have many ways to save money on home renovations despite a pandemic-driven surge in demand that has jolted lumber and construction panel prices to all-time highs.However, such advice usually falls on deaf ears, experts say.Instead, customers are doubling down, switching to more expensive materials as the cost difference...