One week in, and the prevailing mood in 2008 is gloom:

Globe and Mail: Mighty loonie may face eclipse

“Everything is terrible now in Canada, from manufacturing to retail sales to tourism to exports,” said John Taylor, head of New York-based FX Concepts Inc.

Happy new year!

Outgoing Bank of Canada governor David Dodge piles on:

“The downside risks to Canada from slower U.S. growth in the first half of 2008 are probably greater than we estimated in October,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland.

Maybe dishy new BoC governor Mark Carney is a more cheerful sort?