Economy

Economy shrinks 1.4% in first quarter

Canada’s real gross domestic product (GDP) declined 1.4% in the first quarter of 2009, marking the largest quarterly decline since 1991, according to StatsCan. On an annualized basis GDP fell 5.4% over the past 12 months. Despite these uninspiring figures, economists believe that it could have been worse. The Bank of Canada was forecasting an […]

By Rayann Huang |June 1, 2009

2 min read

Deficit sets the tone for 2009

The federal government started off this fiscal year with an unprecedented $3.6 billion deficit for the month of March. Compare that to a deficit of $1.2 billion in March 2008, and a surplus of $11.4 billion reported in the period of 2007-08. The deficit shows, in ample measure, the crippling impact of an economy in […]

By Kanupriya Vashisht |May 29, 2009

2 min read

Emerging markets still bucking downturn

The credit crisis that has laid waste to so many investor portfolios may be global, but it has not derailed the engine of economic growth in the most powerful emerging markets, according to speakers at the Independent Financial Brokers’ Spring Summit in Toronto. “I would suggest that the emerging markets are one of the best […]

By Steven Lamb |May 26, 2009

3 min read

Mixed news getting better

Ever since the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research first proclaimed America was in a recession, investors and consumers alike have been desperate to get a handle on just what lies ahead. Unfortunately the news has been mixed. In March, there were reported sightings of “green shoots” of a recovery south of the border. In […]

By Steven Lamb |May 1, 2009

5 min read