If there is anything we’ve learned over the past year it’s that central banks are pretty bad at predicting inflation. Which may be a reason for hope. When Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers warned on Wednesday — the same day Statistics Canada inflation data shocked nearly everyone with a jump to levels not seen […]
The threat of another big hike in interest rates by the U.S. central bank had markets in a tizzy this week, but some critics worry that the bigger-than-expected increase won’t be enough to stop inflation. Even as the market digested Wednesday’s extraordinary three-quarters of a per cent rate increase in the Fed rate, Federal Reserve […]
Seven months ago, there was a celebratory mood in the air for crypto traders as the two best-known cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ethereum, shot to new highs. Advocates said “told you so,” as financial journalists reported that the value of the global crypto market had soared to a stunning new record of about $3 trillion US. A trillion — a million millions, or […]
As in previous years, reading the Bank of Canada’s annual Financial System Review can be enough to send your pulse racing, and not in a good way. On the bright side, this time around, those most likely to suffer from the bank’s warnings will be young enough to withstand the health effects of heart palpitations. The main […]
If you are expecting clear sailing on the highways this coming long weekend because soaring gas prices have forced all the other drivers — except you, of course — to leave their cars at home, you might want to think again. Some motorists insist that $2-a-litre gasoline means they’ll drive a lot less, but people who study Canadians’ love […]
Even as Canada’s central bank was announcing its biggest rate increase in 20 years, headlines in the U.S. were filled with warnings from the Bank of America about an impending “recession shock.” Certainly, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem told reporters at Wednesday’s news conference that there is plenty to worry about. “Russia’s unprovoked invasion […]
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the long-standing dispute over how governments should be spending our tax dollars in the oil and gas sector has become more complicated and, if possible, more heated. As Canadians wait to hear Ottawa’s spending plans in today’s budget, there are conflicting views worldwide over whether countries […]
Electric car advocates are waiting to see spending details in this week’s federal budget, but for the first time, pro-EV business leaders and economists are expressing new optimism that Canada’s move away from internal combustion vehicles may have reached a turning point. After years of excuses, there are signs that a conjunction of forces is pushing the country into a technological […]
As images from the conflict in Ukraine attest, war can completely change the rules of economics. Suddenly people who only a month ago were worried about keeping their jobs and paying their mortgages are on the move, some to the Polish border to escape shattered homes, some to risk their lives in battle. By definition it is […]
In the current roar of high inflation, last week’s quarter-point increase in interest rates by the Bank of Canada will likely be a whisper too quiet for most Canadians to hear. According to a flurry of statements and speeches, including testimony to a parliamentary committee, the central bank’s governor, Tiff Macklem, has begun his long-awaited attack on inflation […]