Economy
U.S. weekly jobless claims decline further
Fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of blockbuster job growth in April as a re-opening economy unleashes pent-up demand.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 547,000 for the week ended April 17 compared...
Canadian dollar consolidates gains after ‘hawkish taper’
The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, holding on to its gains from the prior day as investors weighed the potential for the Bank of Canada to reduce stimulus further over coming months.The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2502 to the greenback, or 79.99...
With new projections, Bank of Canada signals it’s willing to be flexible on inflation target in pursuit of full recovery
Canada’s inflation-targeting central bank just acknowledged that inflation is headed above its 2-per-cent target in the post-COVID-19 recovery. And you know what? It’s okay with that.The Bank of Canada had plenty of interesting – and, mostly, encouraging – things to say in its eagerly awaited interest-rate decision and quarterly Monetary...
Canada’s annual pace of inflation leaps higher in March to 2.2%
The annual pace of inflation jumped higher in March due in large part to a plunge in prices a year ago at the start of the pandemic.Statistics Canada said Wednesday the consumer price index in March was up 2.2 per cent compared with a year ago.The increase compared with a...
Bank of Canada hikes growth forecast, could raise rates in second half of next year
The Bank of Canada is cutting its pace of government bond buying and moving forward its timing for a rate hike after dramatically raising growth projections for the Canadian economy.The central bank said Wednesday that it will reduce its pace of Government of Canada bond purchases, known as quantitative easing,...
Canadian dollar hits two-week low as rising COVID-19 cases weigh on oil
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as lower oil prices offset domestic data showing a pickup in underlying inflation, while investors awaited an interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada.The loonie was trading 0.2% lower at 1.2628 to the greenback, or 79.19 U.S. cents, having...
Canadian home prices jump 1.5 per cent in March
Canadian home prices accelerated sharply in March, with Halifax and Hamilton leading a bonanza of month-on-month gains felt across all 11 major markets in the country, data showed on Tuesday.The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which tracks data collected from public land registries to measure changes for repeat sales...
Canadian dollar sticks to recent range ahead of Bank of Canada rate decision
The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, with the currency extending its recent sideways pattern after Monday’s federal budget and ahead of a Bank of Canada interest rate decision on Wednesday.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government lined up billions in new spending to provide emergency...
Rosenberg: Budget 2021 is a vote-buying multi-year massive spending binge that Canada is unlikely to afford
Well, let’s call the Canadian federal budget for what it is: a pre-election slate of goodies aimed at regaining the Liberal majority. More than 200 spending initiatives and several brought in during the pandemic are being made permanent, with child care subsidies a major cornerstone. Spending is now projected to...
COVID-19 pandemic tears through Eastern Europe, making it one of the worst global hot spots
The pandemic in Eastern Europe has never been worse.The region went through the first wave, a year ago, with relatively minor damage compared with Western Europe. But the second and third waves have proved much crueller, with ICUs in some countries, including Hungary and Poland, near breaking point.Statistics from the...
U.S. President Joe Biden says it’s time to shift tax burden from individuals to corporations
How do governments speak to their people? Not just through dubious slogans and broken promises.Their serious and committed voices are expressed through tax policy. In the Western world, one message has come across loud and clear: Governments prefer corporations to middle-class individuals and, as proof, have repeatedly lightened the tax...
Car companies face a chip problem. Soon China will hand them a cobalt problem that might trigger radical ownership moves
U.S. President Joe Biden found out the hard way that supply chain obstacles are bad news for Corporate America. He moved fast to hand US$50-billion to the U.S. semiconductor industry after chip shortages began to shut down auto production.The chip glitch was a wake-up call for car companies, which had...
Mining companies struggle to reduce Scope 3 emissions, a process that will haunt and might disfigure them
The world’s biggest mining companies are both blessed and cursed.They are blessed because most of them produce the commodities – copper, nickel, cobalt, among others – that are essential for the transition to the “clean” economy. They are cursed because most of these same companies also produce the commodities –...
Canadian housing starts soar 21.6 per cent on month in March
The annual pace of housing starts in Canada soared higher in March as it climbed 21.6 per cent compared with February.Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose to 335,200 units, up from 275,567 in February.The annual pace of urban starts rose 24.4...
Canadian dollar notches one-month high ahead of federal budget
The Canadian dollar strengthened to a one-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as the greenback broadly declined and ahead of a federal budget that is expected to spend big amid a fast-rising third wave of COVID-19 infections.Canada will present a budget on Monday, at about 4 p.m. (2000...
Canadian home prices hit record highs in March, reaching ‘uncharted territory’
Canadian home sales and prices hit another record in March, with prices spiralling up in most of Ontario as calls intensified for measures to slow the country’s unruly market.There were 76,259 home resales last month, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, surpassing the previous record set last July when...
Cryptocurrency ETFs, stocks’ raging bull run and silver’s appeal: What you need to know in investing this week
Looking for investing ideas? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies plus what investors need to know for the week ahead. • Canada approves world’s first Ether ETFs for retail investors • Are these the stock market returns of...
Bank of Canada expected to slow pace of bond buying this week as economic outlook improves
The Bank of Canada is expected to reduce its pace of federal government bond buying this week in response to an improving economic outlook, while maintaining a cautious tone amid soaring COVID-19 cases and heightened lockdown measures in Ontario.Most analysts are forecasting a $1-billion cut to the central bank’s weekly...
Canada’s wholesale sales fell 0.7 per cent in February
Canadian wholesale sales fell 0.7 per cent in February to $68.8 billion as the building material and supplies sector and auto industry moved lower.Statistics Canada said Friday the drop was the second move lower in three months, but noted that sales in February were still the second highest on record...
Canadian dollar heads for weekly gain as greenback slips
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, turning higher for the week, as higher oil prices and a broader decline for the greenback offset domestic data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in wholesale trade.The U.S. dollar was set to post a second week of losses amid an extended...
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