Economy

Recession? Entrepreneurs barely noticed

You may have noticed that your small business-owner clients have remained upbeat during the recession — and you probably weren’t alone. It turns out that less than half of small businesses felt a negative impact from the downturn, according to a poll by RBC. Only 36% of entrepreneurs said the recession had a negative impact […]

By Steven Lamb |October 14, 2010

2 min read

RBC: Economic confidence drops

Canadians are starting to get worried. The results of RBC’s Canadian Consumer Outlook Index for September indicate that on the whole, the faith Canadians have in the economy is slipping. 60% believe the overall outlook is good. That is down seven points from last quarter. Job anxiety has climbed two points to 22% and fewer […]

By John Powell |October 1, 2010

1 min read

Feds scale back EI hikes, table economic bill

The federal government has announced it will scale back previously announced increases to Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, after intense pressure from unions and businesses. The employee-paid premium will rise by five cents per $100 of insurable earnings, starting in 2011, and 10 cents for subsequent years. The employer-paid premium will rise by seven cents in […]

By Steven Lamb |September 30, 2010

2 min read

Experts: Canadian recovery to be slow, steady

As rocky as the global economic outlook remains, there will be no double dip recession said two of North America’s leading financial experts. At the CFA Institute’s annual dinner in Toronto, Patricia Croft, RBC Global Asset Management’s chief economist, and Bob Doll, vice-chairman and chief investment officer at New York-based BlackRock Advisors, both said the […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |September 24, 2010

4 min read