The Bank of Canada on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to the G-7 to address the threat to the economic growth posed by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Canada’s central bank moved aggressively to drop its policy rate by 50 basis points, to 1.25%, following action taken by the Federal Reserve on ... READ MORE >
Canada
Holding interest rates steady, Bank of Canada keeps the door open for a cut
The Bank of Canada held its overnight interest rate at 1.75% on Wednesday as the central bank kept its powder dry ahead of an uncertain path of growth in the domestic economy in 2020. The tone of the policy statement would imply that the Bank of Canada stands ready to cut rates to bolster the domestic ... READ MORE >
USMCA is a solid opportunity for the middle market
The new North American trade agreement represents a solid opportunity for American middle market firms to expand their participation in the regional and global economies. The pact, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, includes a chapter dedicated to small and medium enterprises – a first ... READ MORE >
The Bank of Canada’s dilemma — stability versus rate cut
Canadian money markets imply that the Bank of Canada will remain on hold at 1.75% at the interest rate announcement on Jan. 22. The implied probability of a rate change that day is nearly zero, according to the futures market. But we do think that the decision is a close call. While maintaining the ... READ MORE >
Canada added 35,200 jobs in December, exceeding estimates
The Canadian economy added 35,200 jobs in December, significantly greater than the 25,000 expected by economists. This partially offsets the 71,000 job losses in November’s Statistics Canada labor market survey. The unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to reach 5.6%, near the historic low of ... READ MORE >
As global economy slows, populism looms as long-term threat
The global economy has been buffeted recently by trade tensions between the United States and China and slowing growth. But a greater risk looms around the world in the form of rising populism that threatens to unravel the postwar economic order, said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM at a recent ... READ MORE >
Canadian election results will test government spending
Canadians returned Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to power on Monday, but the Liberals fell short of securing a majority, in what some commentators are regarding as a “strong minority government.” The Liberals garnered enough support to win Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario with 157 seats (170 is required ... READ MORE >
Second edition of The Real Economy, Canada focuses on digital transformation, other positives
RSM Canada on Wednesday released the second issue of The Real Economy, Canada. The publication explores the impact of positive economic trends such as Canada's burgeoning digital economy against the backdrop of a global slowdown in growth, North American trade disruptions and other stresses to the ... READ MORE >
FOMC policy and the path of interest rates: Fed funds rate to decline by 50 basis points in 2019
Based on recent economic data and policy risk around deteriorating global trade conditions, we now expect the Federal Reserve to reduce the policy rate to a range of 1.75 to 2 percent from 2.25 to 2.5 percent by the end of 2019. Our model now implies a target rate of 1.81 percent; we consider each ... READ MORE >
Tech is taking hold in Canada–The Real Economy, Canada has the story
Either by federal and local government promotion of technology or the invisible hand of capitalism, technology has taken hold in cities throughout Canada. The knock-on benefits to local economies as tech industries establish footholds include: the revitalization of city life; increased tax revenue that ... READ MORE >