Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” This is an apt quote for the current market conditions, which continue to cause investors indigestion. Whether you want to call this Credit Crisis II or a continuation of that of 2008, the fact remains that equity markets have fallen substantially in the past […]
Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. The global financial system appears to have assumed the risk profile of a hockey game, where concussions are increasingly defining its current state of affairs. Julie Dickson, superintendent, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), drew the sports parallel while speaking Monday morning about Canada’s contribution to the […]
Canadian workers can expect a pay raise next year. Thanks to cautious optimism among Canadian companies, salary budgets are slowly moving back to pre-recession levels, Towers Watson reports in its annual salary survey. For 2011, 97% of employers reported increasing or planning to increase employee salaries an average of 2.9%. Salaries are expected to increase […]
Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is warning of a second financial meltdown on the scale of 2008 if action is not taken, saying he is frustrated by the lack of response from policy-markers. The minister issued the alarm hours before flying to Washington to meet with his G20 colleagues in […]
Events surrounding the credit issues of European sovereigns such as Greece, Portugal and Italy dominate the news. The idea of a country declaring bankruptcy seems difficult for most people—especially Canadians—to comprehend. We may consider the benefits of Greek citizens, such as reports of taxi drivers retiring at age 53, to be egregious, but also wonder […]
Canada has surpassed the United States for levels of economic freedom, according to a new report released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank. Canada ranks sixth in the world for economic freedom with a score of 7.81 while the United States fell to 10th overall with a score of 7.60, according […]
Two seemingly contradictory reports evaluating national debt levels tell the same stark truths about the rising severity of the financial straits facing many Canadians, analysts said Wednesday. A poll released by the Royal Bank of Canada exposes the complacent attitudes that many Canadians have adopted as a result of months of rock-bottom borrowing rates, they […]
Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. The cautious optimism of Canadian economists is fast fading as the dark clouds of recession begin to form over the nation’s dawdling economy. Over the last two days, the Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank have both released new gloomy forecasts predicting the second half of this year […]
Canadian employers expect the hiring climate to remain steady for the fourth quarter of 2011, according to Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey. The most active hiring is expected to take place in the mining sector. The survey of more than 1,900 employees says 13% of employers surveyed expect to hire in the quarter—a slight drop from […]
Keep calm and carry on; Canada is okay. That was the overall message given by a panel of chief economists from Canada’s big five banks, who spoke at the Economic Club’s Emergency Economic Outlook session this morning. While the U.S. and European economies continue to struggle, Canada has managed to remain relatively stable, and both […]