Economic Indicators

Quebec budget to boost small-cap investment

The Quebec government tabled its budget yesterday, reintroducing the Quebec Stock Savings Plan (REA). First launched in 1979, the REA was replaced in 2005 by the SME Growth Stock Plan, also known as “Hooked SMEs.” REA II, as the program is known officially, is essentially a rebate on the Hooked SMEs program. It affects shares […]

By Claude Couillard |March 20, 2009

4 min read

Fed’s Treasury purchases to devalue dollar

The U.S. Federal Reserve has announced it will buy up to $300 billion in longer-term treasury bonds, in the central bank’s latest effort to shore up the American economy. “To provide greater support to mortgage lending and housing markets, the committee decided today to increase the size of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet further by […]

By Staff |March 18, 2009

2 min read

Forecasts continue to fall for 2009

With another week comes another group of economic forecasts calling for “worse than expected” declines in the both the global and Canadian economies. Given the their reliance on export markets, Canada’s two most populous provinces — Ontario and Quebec — are going to be hit a lot harder than others. Economists continue to trim their […]

By Mark Noble |March 17, 2009

4 min read

A Great Recession, but no Depression: DBRS

Canadians shouldn’t be too quick to think of an early end to the present downturn, says Canadian bond rating agency DBRS. It’s only just begun. “We don’t want to be alarmist, but we do want to highlight why we think this is a very serious recession,” says DBRS co-president Peter Bethlenfalvy. “We’re a small open […]

By Scot Blythe |March 12, 2009

5 min read