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 […]

ROME— Globe and Mail Update In Asia, the Nikkei 225 lost 2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite was down 2.8 per cent. Most commodities, gold included, were down significantly. Copper prices, which are often viewed as a proxy for global economic growth, lost 4.6 per cent, taking them to a year low. The market […]

OTTAWA — Canada’s annual inflation rate increased to a higher-than-expected 3.1% in August from 2.7% in July, in part due to higher prices for passenger vehicles and electricity, Statistics Canada data reported on Wednesday. Market analysts had expected the annual rate to hit 2.9% in August. Prices grew by 0.3% in August from July, greater […]

OTTAWA — Canadian household debt continued to rise in the second quarter as individuals took out more mortgages at historically low rates and obtained consumer loans, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. The ratio of household credit market debt, which includes mortgages, consumer credit and loans, to disposable income rose to 149% from 147% in the […]