Optimism returns to Canadian businesses, confidence highest since 2007   By Julian Beltrame        OTTAWA — Canada’s business leaders are turning bullish about the economy after a year of doom and gloom, a new survey suggests. The Conference Board of Canada’s fall business confidence survey finds corporate leaders believe the recession is finally over and that the […]

Full Post Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:06 PM Newsweek Canada’s Quiet Economic Strength In the past year, distance from the U.S. has proved a great insulator from economic pain. China and Australia, literally on the other side of the globe, are humming along, while Mexico is suffering from a decline in U.S. imports. But […]

CMHC forecasts continued new housing rebound The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The national housing agency is reporting that housing starts have started to recover and it expects the recovery to continue. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicts starts will reach 141,900 this year and increase to 164,900 in 2010. The CMHC’s fourth-quarter market outlook forecasts […]

October 30, 2009 Q. What can the Bank of Canada do about the value of the dollar? A. Usually the Bank can use monetary policy to impact the value of the dollar. But given that the bank rate is already as low as it can go; the Bank cannot use monetary policy to weaken the […]

Canada’s economy still sputtering October 30, 2009 OTTAWA —Canada’s economy unexpectedly went into reverse again in August, adding new uncertainty about the strength and sustainability of the recovery. The country’s real gross domestic product slipped 0.1 per cent in August — the first outright decline in three months — in a broad set-back led by […]

Globe and Mail Update Published on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 While it’s tempting to think of a “housing correction” as a continent-wide phenomenon, National Bank Financial says the Canadian and U.S. markets couldn’t be more different. “The two have absolutely nothing in common,” senior economist Marc Pinsonneault wrote in an economic update Monday. “In Canada, […]

Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1/4 per cent and reiterates conditional commitment to hold current policy rate until the end of the second quarter of 2010 OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is […]

Post Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Most economists say recession is over and recovery is beginning By Mae AndersonNEW YORK — More than 80 per cent of economists believe the recession is over and an expansion has begun, but they expect the recovery will be slow as worries over unemployment and high federal debt persist.That […]

Post Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 The BC Harmonized Sales Tax in a Nutshell– A Quick Overview of the B.C. HST 12% Tax and How It Influences New Home Buyers of Real Estate1.The Harmonized Sales Tax (also known as the new BC HST) is 12% tax applicable to most goods and services, including new homes, […]

Post Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009 New Immigrants Driving Housing Demand,according to Scotia EconomicsTORONTO, July 9 /CNW/ – Canadian immigrants are narrowing the homeownership gap with their Canadian-born counterparts, according to the latest Real Estate Trends report released today by Scotia Economics. The most recent census data available show that in 2006, almost 72 per […]