That’s what CAW chief economist Jim Stanford calls economics as it’s practiced by industry economists in Canada today, in a piece that takes BMO’s Doug Porter and his ilk to task for their continued cheerleading about the contracting Canadian economy: What’s as shocking to me as the actual numbers (which are very negative) was thecontinue reading
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The 100-mile office
Canadian gas prices have risen (though they haven’t kept pace with the increase in crude oil), and by enough, apparently, to drive some change in behaviour. Unless, of course, someone steps in to subsidize the high cost of commuting. A story in today’s Careers section in the Globe outlines how some employers are responding tocontinue reading
There are worse criteria for spousal selection
From an interview with Jeff Bezos: Portfolio: Are you always extremely methodical about major decisions? Bezos: With business decisions, yes. With personal decisions, I find that my methodical nature can confuse me, and so I think more about personal decisions, like what job you really want to take or whom you want to marry. Althoughcontinue reading
Nothing but blue skies does he see
Rudyard Griffiths of the Dominion Institute, who has become a pundit-for-all-seasons, sees gloom ahead: While the fear of a recession seems like the last thing on the mind of the average Torontonian, I for one cannot figure out how the Ontario economy can avoid a prolonged economic turndown, and most likely a nasty one atcontinue reading
Hard wind a-blowin’
Concern about the coming (current?) recession seems to be intensifying: The federal government says it will allow Canadians who are facing hardships to withdraw up to $22,450 a year from their locked-in Registered Retirement Savings Plans.
Nickel and dimed
Here’s a banking product you really don’t need: With the Bank the Rest savings program, Canadians using their ScotiaCard to make debit card purchases can choose to round up the total purchase amount to the nearest dollar or five dollars, and have the difference deposited automatically into their Scotiabank Money Master High Interest Savings accountcontinue reading
Enthusiasm on the wane
Regularly scheduled Bank of Canada interest rate decision announcements are always made at 9 am. The press releases from the big banks, announcing their intention to pass the change onto their customers through the prime rate, usually follow fairly quickly thereafter. Until recently. Below, the time stamp of press releases from TD Bank Financial (usuallycontinue reading
The boom goes boom
– Urban is often a euphemism for “black”, “inner-city” or “low-income”. Unless, of course, you’re the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods, the FUN part of the Coalition After Property Tax Reform, in which case urban means… South Rosedale. – Have you heard? The housing boom is “officially over.” That’s according to Doug Porter of BMO Economics,continue reading
Oh, well if he says so
No global recession: Flaherty I’m assuming there were some hearty laughs around the Star newsroom this afternoon.
From the too-good-to-be-true dept.
Icelandic economist Frosti Olafsson comments on the faltering krona: “In some senses, Iceland is like an economic experiment,” Olafsson said. “In 20 years or 50 years, economics professors will look at Iceland and say it’s possible for a country of that size to have its own currency or not.”