Canada’s annual inflation rate fell slightly in February, giving the Bank of Canada room to keep interest rates low over the next few months, economists say. Statistics Canada said Friday its consumer price index edged down one-tenth of a point to 2.2 per cent in February, with rising energy and gas prices keeping inflation just […]

TORONTO – Recent tragic events in Japan follow a string of global catastrophes that could slow economic recovery in the short term, but should not push either the Canadian or global economies back into recession, according to some of Canada’s top economists. “Obviously horrible things have happened (in Japan) that will take some of the […]

OTTAWA – Canada’s economy will register a strong start to 2011 despite the growing risks from crises in Japan and the Middle East, predicts a major Canadian bank. The TD Bank’s new forecast has the Canadian economy advancing a robust 3.5 per cent in the first half of this year, before slowing slightly in the […]

If you’re thinking of selling your house to make a little money before rising interest rates squeeze the real estate market, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is you’re almost certainly making money because home prices in Canada have been rising for the past few decades, particularly in the greater Vancouver area. […]

Ontario’s real GDP is forecast to grow by 3.1 per cent in 2011, marking the province’s best performance since 2002, according to the latest Provincial Economic Outlook report released today by RBC Economics. The even better news: Ontario’s economy will enter the expansion phase this year, as it finally moves beyond recovery from its 2008-2009 […]

Canadian household debt continued to grow at a faster rate than assets in the fourth quarter of 2010, Statistics Canada reported Monday. The average debt-to-personal disposable income ratio edged down to 146.8 per cent in quarter, but only because a 1.8 per cent gain in average personal disposable income outpaced a gain in credit market […]

OTTAWA – The Canadian economy disappointed in February, creating a smaller than expected 15,100 new jobs that included an outright decline in full-time work. The tiny pick-up overall, all part time jobs, was below the consensus expectation for as many as 25,000 new jobs, but large enough to keep the unemployment rate at 7.8 per […]

The Bank of Canada has now kept its official interest unchanged at 1 per cent for the fourth meeting. Those with floating-rate debts will no doubt be relieved; however, economists were looking for a signal from Mr. Carney and crew that improving economic conditions were paving the way for a return to rate hikes sometime […]

OTTAWA — The improving economic backdrop has strengthened some economists’ view that the Bank of Canada will begin raising its benchmark rate in the  – either in April or May – or at the very least in July, once the U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to end its US$600-billion asset purchase plan. Not so the […]

TORONTO – Canadian homeowners are much more confident than government officials and economists about their ability to pay off mortgages, even if the market takes a turn for the worse, according to a survey released Wednesday. The Royal Bank’s annual outlook suggests 85 per cent of respondents think they are doing a good job paying […]