monetary policy – Benefits Canada.com

Domestic equity returns bolstering Canadian DB pension plan solvency: report

Gideon Scanlon — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 14:00:34 +0000

The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw improvements on a solvency and accountancy basis in October, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s monthly report. Its monthly report on DB pension indices found the average plan saw its solvency index rise to 111.5 per cent, up from 108.8 per cent at the end of September and a […]

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Institutional investors turning to equities, global markets in 2021

mschmit — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 05:12:32 +0000

Institutional investors are focusing on equities and global markets as the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue in Canada, according to a webinar hosted by Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. on Tuesday. In the keynote address, Stephen Poloz, former governor of the Bank of Canada, said the pandemic is amplifying the economic effects of five pre-existing […]

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The case for eventual inflation

mschmit — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 08:28:23 +0000

While inflation never materialized after the last financial crisis and the subsequent economic expansion, this time will be different, said Erik Weisman, portfolio manager and chief economist at MFS Investment Management, when speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s Investment Innovation Conference in November. After the global financial crisis, quantitative easing didn’t generate inflation because the […]

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Bidenomics: More stimulus, tougher regulation and gridlock

mschmit — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:25:46 +0000

President-elect Joe Biden will inherit a vulnerable economic recovery under threat from a resurgent virus, likely with a divided Congress that will hinder his ability to address the challenges. Yet despite the obstacles, the former vice-president and senator will pursue a drastic shift in America’s economic policy. He has vowed to reverse much of the […]

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Bank of Canada holds rate steady, says coronavirus economic recovery likely by 2022

mschmit — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 07:58:54 +0000

The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold Wednesday as it said the country’s economy won’t recoup the losses from the coronavirus until 2022, with the road to recovery dependent on the path of the pandemic. In July, the Bank of Canada said it believed the country had been spared from a […]

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Statistics Canada says annual inflation rate rose 0.5% in September

mschmit — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 05:29:26 +0000

Canada’s headline inflation measure went up in September by 0.5 per cent compared with a year ago, a better-than-expected increase, but one that experts say won’t sway the Bank of Canada’s stimulus measures. Economists had, on average, expected a year-over-year increase of 0.4 per cent, according to financial data firm Refinitiv, following readings of 0.1 […]

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How a central bank’s policy can impact investments on the other side of the world

mschmit — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 05:55:28 +0000

How do the European Central Bank’s monetary-policy decisions influence corporate debt levels in the U.S.? The ECB’s purchasing of investment-grade, corporate, Euro-denominated bonds seemingly crowded Eurozone institutional investors out of such instruments and Eurozone investors increased their allocations to U.S. dollar corporate bonds soon after, according to a new paper by Kerry Siani, a PhD […]

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Europe’s central banker: Recovery risks losing momentum

mschmit — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 03:47:05 +0000

The head of the European Central Bank says the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic “risks losing momentum” due to a second wave of infections and that more stimulus could be added if necessary. “The second wave of the pandemic in Europe, notably in France, and the resulting new restrictions are adding to the uncertainty […]

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BoC deputy: pandemic means central banks must ‘move faster’ on digital currency plans

mschmit — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 04:56:47 +0000

Pandemic-related shifts in how people shop, sending more people into cyberspace than a physical space, means central banks must speed up work on creating their own digital currencies, says a top Bank of Canada official. The coronavirus has meant more people are shopping online, and foot traffic for brick-and-mortar storefronts hasn’t caught up to pre-pandemic […]

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Path to economic recovery filled with risks that need to be managed, Macklem says

mschmit — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 05:31:03 +0000

The governor of the Bank of Canada said managing the risks from the pandemic is more critical than ever and it is key to a recovery and the stability of society. Tiff Macklem said in a Thursday morning speech that a second historic recession in just over a decade underlines how managing financial system risks […]

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