U.S. Federal Reserve holds interest rate, saying it will take ‘longer than expected’ to start cutting

The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and signaled it is still leaning toward eventual reductions in borrowing costs, but that cuts could be delayed as recent inflation numbers have strayed further from its two per cent target. Indeed, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it was likely to take longer than previously expected for Fed officials … Read more

In videos and podcasts, Poilievre and Trudeau are eager to explain themselves — at length

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Liberal MP who made a name for himself as a backbencher with his own voice, posted a nine-minute video to YouTube this week about the federal government’s carbon pricing policy. It would be an exaggeration to say the video is setting the internet on fire. As of Friday afternoon, it had a … Read more

Nearly 23% of the Canadian population reported food insecurity in 2022

Nearly nine million Canadians lived in food insecure households in 2022, with 22.9 per cent of the population reporting some form of food insecurity, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday. The data agency wrote in its annual Canadian Income Survey that 8.7 million people lived in households that reported some kind of food insecurity. … Read more

Emefiele arrives Lagos court, pleads not guilty to charges

Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has arrived at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, on Monday in his ongoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He is being arraigned before Justice Rahman Oshodi for abuse of office bordering on alleged irregular allocation of billions of US … Read more

Some consumers, businesses are feeling more optimistic about the economy, say BoC surveys

The Bank of Canada says business and consumer sentiment improved during the first quarter of the year, despite higher interest rates still putting a drag on the economy. The central bank on Monday released its business outlook and consumer expectations surveys, which showed increased optimism as people expect interest rate cuts are nearing. Although firms … Read more

Bank of Canada holds key interest rate at 5% again, saying it’s still too soon for rate cuts

The Bank of Canada has held its key interest rate at five per cent again, saying that it’s still too soon to consider rate cuts while underlying inflation persists. Economists were widely expecting the central bank to hold the rate. The bank said in a note on its website that it was still concerned about underlying inflation, which strips … Read more

Bank of Canada worries a rate cut now could overheat the spring housing market

The Bank of Canada is trying to thread a needle. It’s keeping rates higher for longer at least in part because it’s worried a rate cut now could undermine the last two years of pain and progress. “We don’t want to keep monetary policy this restrictive for longer than we have to. But nor do … Read more

Finance deal struck help Indigenous communities build infrastructure

Today, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and the First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) announced the signing of a $100-million deal to help Indigenous communities borrow money to build infrastructure. For decades, Indigenous leaders and business experts have said limited access to affordable loans with flexible terms have held back important development projects in Indigenous communities … Read more

Corrections in mid and small cap stocks are underway, say analysts

New Delhi: Corrections in mid and small caps are underway and expected to continue, with regulators urging disclosure of associated risks to AMCs, says Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Banking stocks reversed initial weakness to perform well on the back of an improved economic outlook, while weakness persisted in the IT and … Read more

Canadian economy not in recession, but 2023 was one of its weakest recent years

The Canadian economy continues to beat recession fears, posting modest growth in the fourth quarter even as high interest rates weighed on consumers and businesses. Statistics Canada reported Thursday that real gross domestic product increased by an annualized rate of one per cent, beating economists’ expectations and the Bank of Canada’s forecast for the final … Read more