The world is entering an unpredictable period defined by increasing fiscal policy use, decreasing global trade and higher inflation and interest rates, according to a new research paper by the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario. “At IMCO, we believe that these global trends are leading us towards a new era of investing, one where it […]
It may take up to 18 months for central banks policies to curb inflation to around two per cent on an annual basis, says Julianna Spiropoulos, partner and head of investment strategy, investment and risk at LifeWorks Inc. “Around the world, there’s concern about persistent inflation. . . . Central banks need to get inflation […]
Consensus is building among Canadian business leaders that inflation will average above three per cent over the next two years, according to a new survey from the Bank of Canada. The survey, which polled business leaders in the final quarter of 2021, found two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents anticipated that inflation will stay above […]
Pandemic-related shifts in how people shop, sending more people into cyberspace than a physical space, means central banks must speed up work on creating their own digital currencies, says a top Bank of Canada official. The coronavirus has meant more people are shopping online, and foot traffic for brick-and-mortar storefronts hasn’t caught up to pre-pandemic […]
The second-in-command at the Bank of Canada said Wednesday that any changes to the underpinning of its monetary policy will be judged against how they affect the distribution of income and wealth in this country. Senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins said the various frameworks the bank is considering are also being tested for how they […]
The Bank of Canada is turning to the public for input on its inflation-rate target that underlies any changes to the central bank’s trend-setting interest rate. The bank had already planned on a much broader consultation than what it did for previous reviews long before the coronavirus pandemic struck Canada and forced a sharp decline […]
Confronted with an economy gripped by recession and high unemployment, the Federal Reserve made clear Wednesday that it will keep supplying all the help it can by buying bonds to maintain low borrowing rates and forecasting no rate hike through 2022. The Fed has cut its benchmark short-term rate to near zero. Keeping its rate […]
The economy appears to have avoided a worst-case scenario due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Canada said Wednesday as it kept its key interest rate steady at its lower bound. The bank left its target for the overnight rate unchanged at 0.25 per cent, which it has said is as low as it […]
Financial markets are showing signs of concern about how well companies can weather the coronavirus economic crisis, the Bank of Canada said in a report outlining issues the pandemic is having on business and household debt. The central bank has spent the last two months making a flurry of policy decisions that include slashing the […]
Tiff Macklem, a former second-in-command at the Bank of Canada, is returning to the central bank to take over the top job at a moment that he says cries out for bold, unprecedented responses to the economic crisis fuelled by the coronavirus. And he suggested that once the current crisis passes, a key focus for […]