Canada’s annual inflation rate jumped to 3.4 per cent in December, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday. That’s after both October and November saw inflation hold steady at 3.1 per cent compared to the previous year. StatsCan said that the price of gasoline, air travel, passenger vehicles and rent drove the figure higher in December. Food … Read more
A Bank of Canada survey finds Canadians are increasingly cutting back on spending while mortgage holders remain confident they can keep up with higher payments when their loans renew. The central bank released its fourth-quarter consumer expectations and business outlook surveys Monday, revealing how Canadians are faring amid higher borrowing costs and rising prices. Roughly … Read more
Some small business owners in Canada are asking for the federal government to reckon with the challenges they face as they confront a looming deadline to repay a portion of emergency government loans issued during the pandemic. Businesses face a Jan. 18 deadline to pay back up to $60,000 in loans received through the Canada Emergency Business … Read more
Amid high inflation, rising operating costs and shrinking Canadian demand, clothing designers in Nova Scotia say they’re struggling to find a sustainable business model. Designers say they’ve had to adjust to significant changes in consumer behaviour, supply chain disruptions and inflation as they’ve navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. “We’ve made a lot of hard decisions. … Read more
For a third straight time, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, as it signalled its expectations to make a series of quarter-point cuts to the benchmark interest rate next year. Those envisioned rate cuts — which wouldn’t likely begin until the second half of 2024 — suggest officials think high borrowing rates … Read more
