BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) – The euro zone’s debt crisis swept closer to the heart of Europe despite a clear-cut election victory in Spain for conservatives committed to austerity, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to act more decisively.   Spain’s Socialists became the fifth government in the 17-nation currency area to be toppled by […]

Related Content Pedestrians are reflected on an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to 8,365.04 in the morning session as Asian stock markets headed lower Monday as a change of government in debt-laden Spain and Singapore’s warning of a sharp growth […]

Canadians can get their hands on the country’s newest banknotes Monday — $100 bills made from a plastic polymer designed to last longer and thwart counterfeiters. Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will be on hand at an afternoon ceremony in Toronto to formally launch the bills. First announced in June, the bills are a […]

Price of safety enormous in world of low interest rates Retiring today with financial security is challenging. Courtesy of central banks, interest rates are at levels not seen since the Second World War. Then, ultra-low interest-rate policies abetted wartime funding needs. Today, central banks are promising a lengthy period of minuscule rates in a frantic […]

OTTAWA — Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is expected to release his fall economic update on Tuesday in Calgary —and he’ll likely confirm the government won’t meet its 2014-15 target for eliminating the deficit. The Conservative government, Bank of Canada and parliamentary budget officer have all downgraded their economic projections over the past few weeks, […]

OTTAWA — Canada’s economy gained momentum for the third straight month in August as output in the energy sector expanded at the fastest clip in eight months, confirming expectations of solid third-quarter growth. Gross domestic product climbed 0.3% from the previous month as oil and gas extraction surged, Statistics Canada said on Monday, beating market […]

Rising consumer debt nationally has raised concern, and now Canada’s financial regulator is taking action by increasing scrutiny of residential mortgages held by banks, according to media reports. Julie Dickson, superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), said her office is “stepping in to increase the monitoring” of home loans and lines of credit secured by real […]

Canada ranks as the top country among 134 major developed nations for business, according to the annual Best Countries for Business survey by influential business magazine Forbes. The move from fourth in 2010 to top billing is based on a ranking of 11 different factors – including property rights, taxes, freedom of trade, money, corruption, […]

BMO Capital Markets pushed its rate hikes forecast back to 2013 on Tuesday, citing continued serious economic risks both home and abroad. The new forecast pushes the expected time frame for the Bank of Canada to raise its benchmark interest rates back from previous expectations of the second half of 2012. As recently as this […]

Canada’s lending industry is witnessing rock-bottom interest rates and unrelenting competition. The former has fuelled borrowing volumes. The latter has been known, on occasion, to encourage looser lending criteria. Together, the two can be destructive to a banking system and economy. That’s why OSFI (Canada’s banking regulator) is being proactive. In a speech today, OSFI […]