Bloomberg - Patrick Winters and Marion Halftermeyer (2020-12-17)
Colleagues say the Pakistan-born executive is enthusiastic, energetic and talented. Former associates have described him as confident, even overly so. That said, he knows the business from several angles: Khan was a UBS auditor at Ernst & Young and a key competitor at Credit Suisse.
Insurance Business - Bethan Moorcraft (2020-12-07)
Enter, rate comparison websites. They’re all the rage in the UK and the USA, where consumers use comparison sites to shop for insurance much like Canadians do when comparing travel costs on sites like Expedia and Trivago. But Canadians are slowly starting to catch on to the insurance comparison trend. They’re searching for and finding platforms like LowestRates.ca, which is enabling consumers to compare insurance premium prices across a number of product lines, primarily in auto and home insurance.
FP - Barbara Shecter (2020-10-20)
Boaz Manor, a former Canadian hedge fund manager who served jail time following the collapse of Portus Alternative Asset Management Inc. in 2005, was indicted Friday on fresh criminal charges in the United States in connection with an alleged securities fraud scheme at an entirely different venture: a New York-based blockchain technology startup.
Bloomberg - Ferdinando Giugliano (2020-06-20)
Nevertheless, Lagarde and her colleagues would be wise to read the staff paper closely. Among all the carefully worded language, one can clearly see the contours of a monetary framework that would work for the ECB’s third decade. These include changing the inflation target to 2%, and maintaining all of the instruments — asset purchases, long-term loans to the banking system and negative interest rates — that the central bank used throughout the presidency of Lagarde’s predecessor, Mario Draghi.
The argument for a symmetric inflation target is rooted in the power of expectations. The ECB at the moment aims to reach an inflation rate “close to but below 2%.” This means that, as price pressures start climbing toward 2%, investors and consumers expect the ECB to react aggressively, tightening monetary policy to push inflation back. The authors believe this served the ECB well during its first decade, when it had to establish its reputation and fight off inflationary forces.
However, the objective has been less useful in today’s era of persistently low inflation. It may even be counterproductive. Consumers and investors don’t expect the central bank to act so decisively to counter deflation.
G&M - James Bradshaw (2020-04-23)
It is a convoluted web of suspect dealings and payments that stretches back more than two decades.
CBC - Pete Evans (2020-03-27)
Under a more pessimistic scenario, the board sees lockdowns and quarantines stretching for up to six months, until August. If that happens, the GDP hit would be massive — an annualized contraction rate of 9.6 per cent in the second quarter, which is worse than what we saw in the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. The economy shrank at an annual pace of 8.7 per cent at its worst stage, in early 2009 before rebounding starting in the spring.
Canadian Underwriter - Greg Mechbach (2020-03-27)
“Anyone who is seriously engaged in the surety business in this country has the ability to provide electronic bonds or digital bonds,” said Ness. “And if you are not, my message to you is: ‘The world is not going to sit still for you. Get yourself into the 21st century if you want to keep doing business.’”
Insurance Business - IB (2020-03-27)
It believes the virus and the implications of it are ‘catastrophic’ for the insurance industry. The council stated that the extent of claims and losses related to the coronavirus is unknown at this point but it also announced that an insurance industry taskforce has been formed to ensure that accurate claims data is captured by the industry, and that insurers’ positions on the virus can be understood by stakeholders.
G&M - Daniel Leblanc (2020-03-26)
Ottawa is bracing for an influx of four million applications under a new relief fund that will pay $2,000 a month to workers who have lost income because of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the existing employment insurance program is struggling to cope with a recent surge of applications.
G&M - James Bradshaw (2020-03-26)
The chief executive of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce says banks are facing their “moment of truth” as they are thrust into a central role in keeping businesses and families afloat long enough to ride out a fast-moving public health emergency.
CBC - Pete Evans (2020-03-26)
More than a third (34 per cent) of respondents said they were worried about missing a rent or mortgage payment this month because of the virus, which has caused widespread layoffs and a drastic reduction in the amount of paid work available for those lucky enough to have kept their jobs.
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2020-03-26)
Lenders had dropped rates to historic lows this month as the central bank twice cut its key interest rate, ultimately lowering it to 0.75 per cent, one of the lowest levels on record. But starting last week, mortgage lenders across the country began hiking again, according to James Laird, co-founder of mortgage comparison website RateHub.ca and president of brokerage CanWise Financial.
Reuters - Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Patricia Zengerle (2020-03-26)
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously backed a $2 trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries hurt by the coronavirus epidemic, as well as providing billions of dollars to buy urgently needed medical equipment.
Reuters - William Schomberg (2020-03-26)
The Bank of England is expected to say on Thursday that it is ready to take further radical action to prop up the economy and Britain’s finance minister will announce help for self-employed workers hit by the coronavirus shutdown.
Bloomberg - Divya Balji and Aoyon Ashraf (2020-03-26)
Canada’s stock market surged for a second day, putting it on the cusp of a bull market, as investors saw hope that government spending plans will bolster a global economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Bloomberg - Chris Dolmetsch (2020-03-26)
Royal Bank of Canada is using the coronavirus pandemic to seize a large portfolio of assets at rock-bottom prices, a New York real estate investment trust claims.
Bloomberg - Jack Farchy, Elena Mazneva, and Mark Burton (2020-03-26)
From South Africa’s ultra-deep mine shafts to vaults underneath London, from metals traders in New York skyscrapers to main-street sellers of coins: the global gold market is being tested like never before.
Insurance-Portal.ca - IIJ (2020-03-26)
Last week, life and health insurers clarified that out-of-country medical coverage would continue uninterrupted for commercial truckers covered by workplace, or group insurance policies.
Insurance-Portal.ca - IIJ (2020-03-26)
"March 2020 has turned out to be a month like no other in Canada's economic history," said Ted Mallett, CFIB's vice-president and chief economist. "Small business sentiment has never been this low in the Business Barometer's 32-year history, including during the 2008 and 1990 recessions."
Investment Executive - Maddie Johnson (2020-03-26)
Dedicated relief measures include tailored programs for both small and medium-sized businesses, which may include payment deferrals on loans, lines of credit and access to additional working capital.
G&M - CP (2020-03-26)
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is expanding its insured mortgage purchase program to $150 billion as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis.
G&M - Rob Carrick (2020-03-26)
Guaranteed investment certificates are the investing world’s version of the Keep Calm and Carry On sign.
FP - Peter Tertzakian (2020-03-26)
Oil markets worldwide are under extreme stress. First, there’s the price war waged by The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — a deluge of barrels thrown into markets opportunistically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-26)
Short-time work is a form of state aid that allows employers to switch employees to shorter working hours during an economic downturn to keep them on the payroll. It has been widely used by industry, including Germany’s car sector, but not by banks.
G&M - James Bradshaw (2020-03-26)
Canada’s largest banks are fielding a deluge of requests to defer payments on mortgages as businesses suffer from efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus and job losses multiply.
G&M - Patrick Brethour (2020-03-26)
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is tripling the size of its program to buy insured mortgage pools to $150-billion, more than double the amount the Crown corporation bought during the 2008 financial crisis.
G&M - Bill Curry, James Bradshaw (2020-03-26)
The federal government is in talks with banks to find ways to alleviate the burden of credit-card interest rates for Canadians facing financial stresses caused by COVID-19, the Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday.
FP - Zane Schwartz (2020-03-26)
When the S&P 500 closed at a record high on February 19, Canada’s major pension plans, with more than a quarter of their investments in stocks, were in a comfortable position in spite of the looming coronavirus pandemic.
Reuters - Dan Burns (2020-03-26)
The Fed’s total balance sheet size exploded by more than half a trillion dollars in a single week, roughly twice the pace of the next-largest weekly expansion in the financial crisis in October 2008. As of Wednesday, the Fed’s stash of assets totaled $5.3 trillion, according to data released on Thursday.
Reuters - Chris Prentice, Divika Krishna Kumar (2020-03-26)
On Friday, the CFTC said it would temporarily exempt a U.S. bank from a requirement to register as a “Major Swap Participant” even though its growing energy swaps exposure would technically require it to do so by the end of the next quarter.
WSJ - Tom Fairless, Laurence Norman (2020-03-26)
The European Central Bank sent a powerful signal to investors that it will aggressively support Italy and other indebted eurozone countries that are battling the coronavirus, starting purchases under a new €750 billion ($812 billion) bond-buying program.
WSJ - Julie Steinberg (2020-03-26)
U.K. regulators gave listed companies an extra two months to publish audited annual financial reports amid uncertainties caused by the new coronavirus.
WSJ - Ben Dummett (2020-03-26)
The Dutch lender said it will take a $200 million net loss after a U.S. client of its clearing division couldn’t meet a margin call on a loan, the latest evidence of how the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic is spreading through the financial system.
WSJ - WSJ (2020-03-26)
The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
FT - James Pickford, Nicholas Megaw, Jim Pickard, Stephen Morris (2020-03-26)
Banks are pressing for a full suspension of the housing market after the UK government told buyers and sellers to delay transactions because of the coronavirus outbreak. In talks between lenders and ministers, banks have expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on valuations.
FT - Eric Platt and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson (2020-03-26)
n October SoftBank injected $1.5bn of cash into WeWork as part of an emergency bailout that gave it control of the group.
FT - Carson Block (2020-03-26)
Many of these big companies — let us call them corporate socialists, or CorpSocs — surely understand that the vast majority of selling during this market rout has been from investors with long positions. It is almost amusing to those of us in the short-seller community that anybody thinks we have enough capital to put real selling pressure on the market.
Better Dwelling - Daniel Wong (2020-03-26)
The effective rate of interest paid by households is dropping very quickly. The rate fell to 3.24% for the week ending March 22, down 12.43% from the month before This represents a decline of 18.79% from last year. If that seems like a big drop, it is – we haven’t seen something like this outside of a global financial crisis.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-26)
In this year’s rankings of global competitiveness, Toronto dropped 12 spots, falling to 23 from 11 last year.
G&M - Eric Atkins (2020-03-25)
The COVID-19 pandemic has slashed airline revenues by US$250-billion as governments close borders and ground most international air travel, said Alexandre de Juniac, head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), who called on governments to “act and act quickly.”
G&M - James Bradshaw, Christine Dobby (2020-03-25)
One of Canada’s largest banks and the country’s export credit agency are rolling out targeted relief for small- and medium-sized businesses amid mounting calls for help coping with the intensifying economic fallout from the new coronavirus.
BOC - BOC (2020-03-25)
Learn about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bank’s actions to support the Canadian economy and financial system.
OSFI - OSFI (2020-03-25)
One of these requirements was the creation of the Domestic Stability Buffer (DSB) requirement for domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs). The DSB’s countercyclical design enables D-SIBs to use the capital they have built up during good times when it may be needed most.
CBC - Aaron Saltzman (2020-03-25)
Canadians couldn't get answers on mortgage deferrals at Canada's biggest bank because information and eligibility requirements kept changing almost by the hour, a source who works for RBC tells CBC News.
G&M - Ian McGugan (2020-03-24)
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s promise of unprecedented support for debt markets wasn’t enough to lift global stock markets on Monday, as a stimulus bill stalled in Congress and cases of the novel coronavirus continued to mount.
G&M - James Bradshaw (2020-03-24)
Toronto-Dominion Bank will pay one-time bonuses worth up to $1,000 to staff who work in branches, call centres and other operations that put them at greater risk of exposure to the new coronavirus.
G&M - Rachelle Younglai (2020-03-24)
A major mortgage processing system in Canada was hit by a cyberattack last week, temporarily halting loan applications from brokerages already under immense pressure after the central bank slashed interest rates.
G&M - David Milstead (2020-03-24)
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. chief executive officer Bruce Flatt says his company is moving away from private assets and buying publicly traded debt and stocks – including its own – in the recent market carnage.
CBC - Reuters (2020-03-24)
The stock market slide deepened on Monday as the rapidly spreading coronavirus forced more U.S. states into lockdown, overshadowing unprecedented moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve to shore up credit across the economy.
Bloomberg - Shelly Hagan (2020-03-24)
Some of Canada’s largest banks are revising down their growth forecasts once again as industry shutdowns and layoffs suggest the recession will be deeper than originally expected.
Bloomberg - Michelle F Davis (2020-03-24)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. froze hiring across most of the firm as millions of people stay at home to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter.
Better Dwelling - Daniel Wong (2020-03-24)
The balance of loans secured by residential real estate actually fell in the month. The credit outstanding stood at $303.08 billion in January, down 0.31% from the month before. Compared to the same month last year, this is a 1.82% increase. Yes, negative growth for the month, and annual growth is negative in real terms. The point worth noting in this report is, households had already begun to cool on borrowing against their home prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Investment Executive - Maddie Johnson (2020-03-24)
Winnipeg-based Canada Life Assurance Company temporarily suspended contributions, transfers and redemptions for its Canadian real estate investment funds on Friday.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-24)
In particular, the outlook revisions reflect both a “significant deterioration in the Canadian operating environment” and uncertainty about how long the negative economic effects may last, Fitch said.
Investment Executive - Christopher Rugaber (2020-03-24)
The Fed’s announcement Monday removes any dollar limits from its plans to support the flow of credit through an economy that has been ravaged by the viral outbreak. The central bank’s all-out effort has now gone beyond even the extraordinary drive it made to rescue the economy from the 2008 financial crisis.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-03-24)
A report published yesterday by Rosenblatt Securities forecast that the Covid-19 effect would have a devastating impact on fintech valuations. The analyst note estimated that a protracted downturn could wipe $76 billion of Unicorn market value and spur a wave of M&A activity in the sector. Marketplace lenders, digital wealth management firms and challenger banks would all be in the firing lines the report stated.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-24)
Nearly one million Canadians applied for unemployment benefits in the past week, as sweeping COVID-19-related business shutdowns deliver an unprecedented blow to the country’s work force.
G&M - Sajata Rao (2020-03-24)
Canada’s main stock index jumped on Tuesday, as hopes of further stimulus measures from major economies, after U.S. Federal Reserve offered unlimited bond buying, helped shore up demand for riskier assets.
G&M - Bill Curry, Robert Fife (2020-03-24)
The Liberal government announced late Monday that it has agreed to change draft legislation that proposed to grant itself wide-reaching new powers to tax and spend without parliamentary approval until Dec. 31, 2021, through an emergency spending bill.
American Banker - John Reosti (2020-03-24)
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, restructured loans at banks topped $140 billion at the end of 2011. Clearly, regulators are hoping to head off a similar surge due to the coronavirus outbreak.
FT - FT (2020-03-24)
Regulators scrambled to strengthen the banking system after the 2008 financial crisis.
FT - Madison Darbyshire (2020-03-24)
Share prices of UK investment trusts have fallen to their steepest discount to underlying asset values since the financial crisis after a bruising market sell off.
FT - Robert Armstrong (2020-03-24)
Real estate investment trusts that specialise in buying mortgage-backed securities are playing a prominent role in the current market turmoil, dumping their holdings in response to margin calls by their banks. The mortgage Reits entered the coronavirus crisis owning an estimated $500bn of bonds backed by property loans and have come under pressure because they use short-term borrowings to squeeze higher returns from their holdings.
FT - Brendan Greenley (2020-03-24)
While the Federal Reserve has promised to pump trillions of dollars through large banks to keep financial markets moving, and rolled out support for large company debt, perhaps the most serious economic aspect of the coronavirus crisis is yet to be solved: how to get funds all the way to families and small businesses bearing the brunt of the shutdowns across America.
FP - Zane Schwartz (2020-03-24)
“We share computers, we share chairs, our desks are all squished in together,” Kinza Hanif, a former RBC adviser at the bank’s Meadowvale campus in Mississauga, Ont., told The Logic.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis and Erik Hertzberg (2020-03-24)
The Bank of Canada said it will start acquiring provincially-issued money market securities, the latest in a series of steps to smooth friction from the nation’s financial system.
Bloomberg - Joanne Taylor (2020-03-24)
As in any time of transition, internal communication is key. AFC leaders need to reiterate the scenarios in which AFC approvals are needed—such as for transactions to proceed—and that these approval requirements still stand regardless of Covid-19’s impact. This mitigates the risk that a deal maker within an organization will decide to bypass normal approval channels.
G&M - Tavia Grant, Matt Lundy (2020-03-23)
Canada has never seen anything like this before.
G&M - David Milstead (2020-03-23)
Canadian pension plans have seen their funding crater in recent weeks amid falling interest rates and a meltdown in stock markets, leaving some with shortfalls just weeks after being fully funded. Consulting firm Mercer Canada Ltd. said its pension health index closed 2019 at 112 per cent -- a reading that suggests the plans were over-funded, with more assets than obligations -- up 10 percentage points over the course of the year. It was 103 per cent on Feb. 29, but had fallen to 89 per cent on Monday, March 16.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-23)
A half-million Canadian workers filed for Employment Insurance benefits in the past four days alone, as evidence of the deep job losses related to COVID-19 quickly piled up and companies from a wide range of industries announced even more layoffs.
CBC - Aaron Saltzman (2020-03-23)
Canadians couldn't get answers on mortgage deferrals at Canada's biggest bank because information and eligibility requirements kept changing almost by the hour, a source who works for RBC tells CBC News..
CBC - Colin Butler (2020-03-23)
Employees at TD Bank say hundreds of people are working less than a metre apart in some cases, while sharing the same desks, equipment, kitchens, eating areas and washrooms, making their workplace a potential "breeding ground" for the coronavirus.
FP - Vanmala Subramaniam (2020-03-23)
At CIBC, an internal email sent by management to some employees on Thursday morning, stated that employees not in a “critical or vital” role would have to ensure that they are logged off CIBC systems by 9:30 a.m. ET and take a “flexible approach” to work that involves using “remote access only prior to 9:30 a.m. ET and after 5 p.m. ET to access documents, then work offline during the day.”
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2020-03-23)
“This action is being taken in order to support (domestic systemically important banks’) ability to supply credit to the economy during an expected period of disruption related to COVID-19 and market conditions,” OSFI said in a news release, adding that the release of the buffer would support more than $300 billion of extra lending capacity by the big banks.
Reuters - Tim McLaughlin (2020-03-23)
The bank repurchased securities from its two funds on Thursday after investors withdrew a net $8.1 billion from them during a four-day stretch, according to the disclosure.
Reuters - David Lawder, Andrea Shalal (2020-03-23)
Mnuchin has closely followed the financial crisis playbook used by Paulson when he led the Treasury Department in 2008, reactivating Federal Reserve credit market backstops and asking Congress for $1 trillion to prop up companies and consumers as the economy grinds to a halt due to the spread of the virus.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-23)
“We may be materially adversely affected by a protracted downturn in local, regional or global economic condition,” the bank said in its annual report.
Bloomberg - Eric Schatzker (2020-03-23)
Real estate billionaire Tom Barrack said the U.S. commercial-mortgage market is on the brink of collapse and predicted a “domino effect” of catastrophic economic consequences if banks and government don’t take prompt action to keep borrowers from defaulting.
Bloomberg - Divya Balji and Paula Sambo (2020-03-23)
One month into an historic rout that has wiped nearly C$1 trillion ($690 billion) off Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index, investors are struggling to make sense of what just happened -- let alone where we go from here.
Bloomberg - Charles Daly (2020-03-23)
An investigation paid for by Swedbank AB into allegations of financial crime found that client transactions totaling 36.7 billion euros ($40 billion) represented a “high risk” of money laundering.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-03-23)
Wall Street’s biggest banks continued to seek far less temporary liquidity from the Federal Reserve on Friday than the central bank was willing to provide.
WSJ - Telis Demos (2020-03-23)
There may be increasing pressure on property-and-casualty insurers whose policies on face don’t cover pandemic risk to pay up, but overall they are standouts among financials.
WSJ - Nick Timiroas (2020-03-23)
The Federal Reserve is likely to significantly boost its government-bond purchases beyond the $500 billion minimum it committed Sunday to buy amid market strains that sent interest rates higher in recent days.
FT - James Politi and Lauren Fedor (2020-03-23)
The negotiations hit an impasse on Sunday after Democrats on Capitol Hill said that the proposed deal offered big business an overly generous bailout with limited conditions and scant oversight.
FT - Joe Rennison, Robert Smith (2020-03-23)
Filings show that at the end of last year, 60 per cent of the fund was invested in “legacy” residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), which were first sold to investors before the last financial crisis began in 2008.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-23)
The Big Six banks, along with Canadian Western Bank and Laurentian Bank, and the large insurers (Canada Life, Manulife and Sun Life) announced that they’ve secured a joint court order that will enable them to hold their annual meetings electronically.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-23)
The rating agency said that CI’s assets under management (AUM) have “declined meaningfully over the past several weeks,” and that it expects this to continue thanks to the recent market turmoil.
G&M - Howard Schneider (2020-03-23)
“It’s their bazooka moment,” said Russell Price, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial Services in Troy, Michigan. “It’s their ‘we’ll do whatever it takes’ moment which should be a sign to financial markets and investors that the Fed will provide any and all liquidity necessary to support the economy through this period.”
CBC - Aaron Saltzman (2020-03-23)
Canadians couldn't get answers on mortgage deferrals at Canada's biggest bank because information and eligibility requirements kept changing almost by the hour, a source who works for RBC tells CBC News.
FP - David Rosenberg (2020-03-23)
I find it fascinating that so many pundits are willing to tell their clients to stay the course after more than a 30-per-cent market meltdown. They have been saying the same thing the whole way through, and my wager is that they will tell you the same claptrap through the next 30 per cent decrease.
FP - James McLeod (2020-03-23)
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to force drastic social distancing measures, the economic ramifications continue to unfold. Financial Post technology reporter James McLeod is maintaining a liveblog of market updates and key developments for Canadian business.
Bloomberg - Shelly Hagan (2020-03-23)
Some of Canada’s largest banks are revising down their growth forecasts once again as industry shutdowns and layoffs suggest the recession will be deeper than originally expected.
Bloomberg - Aoyon Ashraf and Michael Bellusci (2020-03-23)
Canadian stocks plunged to their lowest level in almost nine years as investors digested a slew of bad news that signaled a massive slowdown in economic growth for the year.
G&M - Greg Mcarthur (2020-03-23)
A regulatory panel has ordered TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. to pay a $4-million fine for disclosure errors in the quarterly statements of 175,000 client accounts, raising concerns about “possible systemic weakness” in the investment firm’s governance systems.
Yahoo Finance - Estaban Duarte (2020-03-23)
TD, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, issued C$10 billion ($6.9 billion) of floating-rate covered bonds maturing in 1.5 and 3 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of Nova Scotia priced C$.5.5 billion of 2-year fixed-rate and 3-year floating-rate covered bonds, the data show.
Huffington Post - Lydia O'connor (2020-03-23)
Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, made the rounds on cable news Monday morning pushing that narrative. “The president is right,” he said on Fox News. “The cure can’t be worse than the disease, and we’re going to have to make some difficult tradeoffs.” Later on CNBC, he said, “At some point, you have to ask yourself whether the shutdown is doing more harm than good.”
G&M - Robert Fife, Emma Graney (2020-03-20)
One senior Alberta source said the province is expecting Ottawa to provide $15-billion in relief to an industry that has been hammered by the COVID-19 crisis and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has cratered oil prices and energy-company stocks.
G&M - Clare O'Hara (2020-03-20)
The Bank of Canada is “strongly” urging retailers to stop refusing cash payments to ensure all Canadians have access to the necessary goods and services they need.
FP - Nichola Saminather (2020-03-20)
“Open houses are quickly becoming extinct,” said Phil Soper, chief executive of brokerage Royal LePage, although agents are still showing homes to individuals and small groups.
Reuters - Jamie Freed, David Shepardson (2020-03-20)
Conditions include provisions that loans may convert to government equity stakes, while U.S. airlines cannot increase executive pay or provide “golden parachutes” for two years. Air New Zealand’s (AIR.NZ) bailout also depends on the company suspending its dividend and paying interest rates of 7% to 9%.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-20)
“We may be materially adversely affected by a protracted downturn in local, regional or global economic condition,” the bank said in its annual report.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-20)
Dimon has been closely involved in many of the bank’s high-profile decisions during the past few weeks as the coronavirus pandemic roiled global markets, said the source, who requested anonymity because Dimon’s plans have not been formalized.
Bloomberg - Jacqueline Thorpe, Natalie Obiko Pearson, and Sandrine Rastello (2020-03-20)
A week into a pandemic that has forced a swath of Canada’s economy to shut down and wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off the nation’s stock market, a Vancouver mansion sold for C$150,000 ($105,000) over the asking price.
Bloomberg - Shelly Hagan (2020-03-20)
Markets are certain the Bank of Canada will be forced to cut interest rates to near zero in coming weeks, and even days, to support an economy tumbling into recession. What happens after that is open to debate.
WSJ - Jennifer Calfas, Margherita Stancati and Chuin-Wei Yap (2020-03-20)
California ordered its 40 million residents to stay at home except for essential activities beginning Thursday night in the largest such lockdown in the U.S., as the nation’s total coronavirus cases rose to more than 14,000 and an intensifying outbreak in Europe pushed State Department officials to advise citizens not to travel abroad.
Better Dwelling - Daniel Wong (2020-03-20)
Canada’s population is growing at the fastest pace in decades, according to estimates. The population hit 37.89 million people as of Q1 2020, up 0.26% from the previous quarter. Compared to the same quarter last year, this is a 1.56% increase. The annual increase is the highest since Q1 1990 – three decades ago.
Bloomberg - Claire Boston, Olivia Raimonde, and Alex Harris (2020-03-20)
Investors withdrew an unprecedented $35.6 billion from U.S. funds that buy up investment-grade debt this week as the global market rout from the spreading coronavirus intensified. At the same time, a record $249 billion poured into U.S. government money-market funds.
FT - Laura Noonan (2020-03-20)
Fears that the coronavirus will lead to widespread unemployment and a spike in consumer defaults have wiped more than two-thirds from the value of US credit card lenders and left executives contemplating cutting credit limits for some customers.
FT - Matthew Vincent (2020-03-20)
Britain’s financial regulator told insurance companies on Thursday that they must be flexible in how they treat customers who are having to change travel and work plans because of the coronavirus pandemic. In new guidance to the providers and buyers of travel, motor, home and medical policies, the Financial Conduct Authority said it “would not expect to see a customer’s ability to claim affected by circumstances over which they have little control”.
FT - Robin Wigglesworth (2020-03-20)
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FT - Olaf Storbeck (2020-03-20)
Two former London bankers were found guilty of tax evasion in the first German trial to rule on the legality of a controversial set of share trades that authorities claim robbed them of billions of euros of revenues.
American Banker - Kate Berry (2020-03-20)
Lenders were having trouble with staffing long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic because low interest rates had led to a stampede of borrowers seeking to refinance. Now emergency action by the Federal Reserve has dropped rates to nearly zero, and more homeowners want to lower their mortgage payments as businesses, according to one estimate, lay off or cut back on hours for nearly 1 in 5 workers.
CBC - Aaron Saltzman (2020-03-20)
"My wife called the 1-800 number for Bank of Montreal, talked to an adviser on the line to see what we are eligible for," said Evan McFatridge of Dartmouth, N.S., whose family is down to a single income because his wife has been laid off from her job at a restaurant.
G&M - Robert Fife (2020-03-19)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a sweeping emergency-aid package Wednesday aimed at helping Canadian workers and businesses survive the severe economic downturn caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.
G&M - Joe Castaldo (2020-03-19)
Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are closing all North American factories amid safety concerns stemming from the novel coronavirus, as global business continues to grind to a halt.
G&M - David Berman (2020-03-19)
Stocks fell sharply, while bonds and gold failed to offer any support, in a widespread rout amid ongoing uncertainty over the economic downturn tied to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving cash as the sole asset in high demand.
CBC - Pete Evans (2020-03-19)
The price of a barrel of Canadian oilsands crude oil fell to its lowest level ever on Wednesday, and the Toronto Stock Exchange sold off heavily as a result.
FP - Victor Ferreira (2020-03-19)
China will feel the pain first — and most brutally — as its GDP growth declines to -40 per cent in the first quarter. The U.S. and the Euro area will begin to feel that shock in the first quarter as well with four per cent and 15 per cent contractions respectively, Kasman wrote.
FP - Chris Flood and Attracta Mooney (2020-03-19)
BlackRock’s flagship high-yield ETF, known widely by its ticker HYG, and its most direct competitor, State Street’s JNK, have both suffered large asset declines this month.
Reuters - Marius Zaharia (2020-03-19)
Policymakers in the United States, Europe and Asia have slashed interest rates and opened liquidity taps to stabilise economies left almost comatose, with quarantined consumers, broken supply chains, paralysed transportation and depleted shops.
Bloomberg - Daniel Moss (2020-03-19)
One of the biggest repercussions from the Covid-19 outbreak in Australia ought to be the end of its island mentality. A near three-decade expansion fed a myth of invincibility that now seems to be coming to an end. Luckily, central bank chief Philip Lowe never fully bought into this hype, and has rightly accelerated plans that he'd been considering for some time to restore the economy. Let’s hope he’s not too late.
Bloomberg - John Authers (2020-03-19)
On one thing it seems that everyone agrees. The world has changed in the last two months, and by the time the pandemic subsides, it will have changed utterly. The Archbishop of Canterbury (who started his career as an oil executive before going into the church), has likened the impact to a nuclear explosion — “the initial impact is colossal but the fallout last for years and will shape us in ways we can’t even begin to predict at the moment."
Better Dwelling - Kaitlin Last (2020-03-19)
Canadian real estate sales were significantly higher last month, compared to last year. There were 38,161 sales in February, up 40.32% from a month before. Compared to the same month last year, this represents a 26.89% increase. This is massive growth – but there’s a couple of notes on that.
FT - Martin Arnold (2020-03-19)
The European Central Bank has unveiled plans to buy an extra €750bn of bonds and issued a “no limits” commitment to defend the eurozone on Wednesday night in response to the worsening economic and financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
FT - James Politi (2020-03-19)
The US Federal Reserve increased its efforts to shore up financial markets late on Wednesday by setting up a facility that would make loans to banks secured by assets from money market mutual funds.
Canadian Underwriter - Greg Meckbach (2020-03-19)
“Insurers do not see themselves having exposure to COVID-19 when writing event cancellation insurance,” said Ben Rossington, Toronto-based entertainment and sports account manager at Hub International. This is because of the bad news: event cancellation policies normally exclude communicable disease.
Canadian Underwriter - CP (2020-03-19)
Guilbault says due to the risk of contamination, the province won’t open shelters for those affected by flooding as they did last year when thousands were forced from their homes.
Insurance-Portal.ca - IIJ (2020-03-19)
AM Best’s outlook for the U.S. life/annuity market segment has been revised to negative from stable, due to financial market volatility created by the COVID-19 virus.
Bobsguide - Bobsguide (2020-03-19)
At its meeting on March 12, the Governing Council of the ECB unleashed new, unconventional monetary policy measures to support the liquidity of banks and credit to households and businesses. The new package includes, among other things, changes to the current longer-term auctions (TLTROs) and introduces new weekly auctions (LTROs) to steer banks towards the June TLTRO auction. The new conditions applied to transactions are quite complex: this article highlights the possible strategic responses of banks to maximise the benefits of the measures.
The Paypers - CET (2020-03-19)
Several Canadian outlets, citing health concerns, are declining to take cash. For instance, coffee store chain Second Cup said that its outlets would only accept debit, credit, gift cards and mobile payments.
Forbes - Donna Fuscaldo (2020-03-19)
In a press release Square said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. voted to conditionally approve Square’s application and that it received charter approval from Utah Department of Financial Institutions. Square is aiming to launch a bank in 2021 called Square Financial Services. The bank will be supervised by the FDIC and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions.
Business Daily - John mutua (2020-03-19)
Banks on Wednesday made a U-turn on ignoring the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) directive to remove transaction costs for customers who move money between their mobile wallets and bank accounts.
G&M - Robert Fife, Daniel Leblanc, Bill Curry (2020-03-18)
The federal government will unveil nearly $30-billion of emergency financial aid on Wednesday to help struggling Canadians and businesses cope with the economic fallout from the new coronavirus crisis, sources say.
G&M - KONRAD YAKABUSKI (2020-03-18)
Central banks, at least the ones that could, have moved with unprecedented speed to slash interest rates in the past two weeks as countrywide shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic drive the global economy to the brink of recession.
CBC - John Paul Tasker (2020-03-18)
Canadian snowbirds are being advised to return home as the COVID-19 pandemic advances in the U.S. — and access to out-of-country medical insurance comes to an end for some travellers.
CBC - CP (2020-03-18)
Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 0.2 per cent to $56.1 billion in January. The agency says it was the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
CBC - Sarah Rieger (2020-03-18)
WestJet Airlines says it will suspend all international flights — including to the U.S — for 30 days, beginning this Sunday March 22.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-03-18)
After the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by a half-point on March 4, I wrote that the timing of its next move would be determined by oil prices. If I had thought to check the central bank’s measure of commodity prices, I might have been less surprised by the second cut nine days later.
Reuters - Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise (2020-03-18)
HSBC has appointed Noel Quinn as chief executive officer, handing the insider and interim boss the reins of Europe’s biggest bank and ending months of speculation an external candidate could get the role.
Reuters - Credit Suisse (2020-03-18)
Credit Suisse sharply lowered its forecast for Mexico’s economic performance this year and now expects a 4.0% contraction, according to a note sent to the bank’s clients on Tuesday, adding to a series of downgrades since the coronavirus spread.
Bloomberg - Michelle Jamrisko (2020-03-18)
With the dollar more integrated into the world economy than ever before, its gains are an added stress for businesses and governments as they brace for soaring costs on their dollar debt. The dilemma for emerging market central banks is that as they slash interest rates to support growth, they risk destabilizing their currencies as well if they cut too much.
Bloomberg - Paula Sambo (2020-03-18)
The Bank of Canada has escalated its efforts to make sure the country’s banks can still lend during the coronavirus crisis. It’s working, according to a CIBC strategist.
WSJ - Xie Yu, Anna Isaac (2020-03-18)
WSJ - Andrew Ackerman (2020-03-18)
NY Times - Erin Schaff (2020-03-18)
The Federal Reserve took a series of steps on Tuesday to prop up the American economy, saying first that it would begin buying up a type of debt that companies issue for short-term cash and then, later in the day, establishing a lending program meant to help the banks at the core of the financial system function smoothly.
CNBC - Kate Rooney (2020-03-18)
As the number of cases tick up in the U.S., some are going cashless to avoid potential hygiene issues around handling banknotes. Regardless of whether there’s a proven risk, the “psychological factor” of people thinking of cash as “unclean” could change how they choose to pay, according to Bain & Co. partner, Thomas Olsen.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-18)
“Global economic policymakers face an unprecedented combination of challenges including a health crisis, economic disruption, severe financial market dislocation, changes in investor sentiment, exchange-rate volatility and a commodity price shock,” Fitch said.
Washington Examiner - Spencer Neale (2020-03-17)
In 2017, the World Bank designed a new way to raise money: Pandemic Emergency Financing bonds. Over $425 million worth of such bonds, which bet against a global outbreak of infectious diseases and will default if WHO declares the coronavirus a pandemic, were sold by the World Bank in its first-ever issuance of catastrophe bonds. In the event of no pandemic, investors would be paid a healthy annualized return. Meanwhile, the World Bank could use the bonds to insure itself against the risk of a global outbreak.
G&M - Gordon Pape (2020-03-17)
A reader sent in a very relevant question last week: “If we head towards negative interest rates like some parts of the world, where does one invest their money to earn a decent return?”
G&M - Streetwise (2020-03-17)
Bank of Canada unveils new measures to support financial system, mortgage markets: The Bank of Canada unveiled new measures to keep Canada’s financial system flowing and support mortgage markets, as central banks step up efforts to avert a liquidity and lending crunch amid tumultuous markets. (David Parkinson)
G&M - Sean Silcoff (2020-03-17)
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will temporarily shut 206 locations – more than 20 per cent of its banking centres – to the public in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the bank announced late Monday evening.
Reuters - Lewis Kraskopf (2020-03-17)
Forecasters at Goldman Sachs and other banks are now projecting a steep economic contraction in at least the second quarter as governments in the United States and Europe start shutting restaurants, closing schools and calling on citizens to stay home.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2020-03-17)
Canadian policy makers are escalating their efforts to backstop the nation’s financial system and ensure banks have plenty of room to continue lending through the coronavirus crisis.
Insurance Business - Lyle Adriano (2020-03-17)
Public consultations with the FSRA will be performed online and will continue, however. FSRA is also reviewing upcoming licensing, filing and other requirements across the regulated sectors in light of the pandemic-driven disruption. And while certain credit unions and Ontario-incorporated insurers are required to hold annual general meetings, the FSRA has urged them to instead hold digital conferences.
G&M - Patrick Brethour (2020-03-16)
The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking emergency action to buoy the American economy, as the disruption caused by the novel coronavirus raises fears of recession and a credit freeze in financial markets.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-16)
Minutes after the Bank of Canada slashed its key policy interest rate for the second time in nine days on Friday – with quite likely more cuts to come – Governor Stephen Poloz was asked in a press conference what more he could do to stimulate a threatened economy, with rates rapidly approaching zero.
G&M - Christine Dobby (2020-03-16)
As Canadian businesses begin to deal with the fallout of the novel coronavirus, many are evaluating whether their commercial contracts could be broken by force majeure clauses that cover events outside the parties’ control.
G&M - Clare O'Hara (2020-03-16)
Some major Canadian insurers will no longer cover emergency medical expenses related to the novel coronavirus for travellers who visit countries with high-level travel advisories.
G&M - Rita Trichur (2020-03-16)
During a conference call back in February, 2016, there was a terse exchange between a long-time analyst and executives at National Bank of Canada that typified how this country’s banking industry bungled investor relations during the last oil price rout.
G&M - Matt Lundy, Mark Rendell, Andrew Willis (2020-03-16)
Exports are bound to weaken – not only because of a big drop in oil prices, but softening demand from key trading partners. Household spending is tightening as consumers restrict their purchases to the essentials. And debt-laden businesses are finding themselves under financial pressure as their revenues take a hit.
CBC - Pete Evans (2020-03-16)
The Bank of Canada has made an unexpected rate cut, cutting the central bank's benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.75 per cent.
CBC - John Paul Tasker (2020-03-16)
Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Friday that the government will establish a $10 billion credit facility to lend money to businesses under stress as a result of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
FP - Victor Ferreira (2020-03-16)
“In the financial crisis, air travel didn’t come to a halt, borders weren’t being closed, we weren’t talking about quarantines and self-isolation,” said Rosenberg, now the chief economist of Rosenberg Research and Associates Inc. “In the financial crisis, people weren’t scared to leave their homes. We’re talking about palpable fear and when people get fearful, they withdraw from economic activity…. The reality is the financial crisis did not come with a mortality rate.”
FP - Craig Torres, Rich Miller (2020-03-16)
The central bank also announced several other actions, including letting banks borrow from the discount window for as long as 90 days and reducing reserve requirement ratios to zero percent. In addition, it united with five other central banks to ensure dollars are available around the world via swap lines.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-16)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday he was ordering restaurants, bars and cafes to only sell food on a take-out or delivery basis. He also said he would order nightclubs, movie theaters, small theater houses and concert venues to close.
Reuters - Lewis Krauskoff (2020-03-16)
“This is an indication that the central bank is very scared about the environment we’re in,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut. “The policy response is so strong, it’s likely to spook investors.”
Reuters - Imani Moise (2020-03-16)
New York-based banks Citigroup Inc (C.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) both reported on Friday that they have employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Bloomberg - Jeff Kearns (2020-03-16)
The U.S. economy will contract sharply in late March and April as consumers and businesses slash spending, with the short downturn likely be officially deemed as being a recession, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Bloomberg - Daniel Moss (2020-03-16)
The coronavirus pandemic is giving birth to a new doctrine in central banking. What matters most isn't transparency or forecasts, but the ability to move quickly.
WSJ - Anna Hirtenstein, Chong Koh Ping (2020-03-16)
WSJ - Megumi Fujikawa (2020-03-16)
The Bank of Japan said it would double stock purchases and help companies get loans in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but the move failed to impress investors, who drove stocks down 2.5%.
WSJ - David Benoit (2020-03-16)
The biggest U.S. banks put share buybacks on hold and pledged to put their capital to use helping consumers and businesses struggling with the rapid economic slowdown caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
WSJ - Sarah McFarlane (2020-03-16)
An important corner of trade finance is becoming riskier for banks and traders dealing with fallout from the coronavirus-inspired market rout and the recent crash in oil prices.
FT - Don Weinland and Xinning Liu (2020-03-16)
The official data — some of the worst official figures ever reported by China — suggest President Xi Jinping’s attempts to expedite an economic recovery in late February have not yet had the desired effect.
FT - Jennifer Ablan and Ortenca Aliaj, Kruppa (2020-03-16)
The founder of the world’s largest hedge fund has admitted his Bridgewater Associates was caught wrongfooted during this month’s coronavirus-led market turmoil, as its flagship fund dropped about 20 per cent for the year following sharp reversals in stocks, bonds, commodities and credit.
FT - Rana Foroohar (2020-03-16)
Today, it is not Wall Street financial institutions, but companies in a variety of industries that are stressed, as a simultaneous supply and demand shock means they need to tap credit lines to pay their bills.
Insurance Journal - IIJ (2020-03-16)
Subject to the approval of securityholders, Fidelity is also proposing the termination of Fidelity Global Telecommunications Fund and Fidelity Global Telecommunications Class. Investors will be able to switch into other Fidelity mutual funds or redeem their securities. The Global Telecom Funds will be generally closed to new purchases by new investors as of the close of business on March 26, 2020.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-03-16)
The Financial Conduct Authority agreed to suspend trading in Finablr today after shares in the company fell by nearly 10%.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-03-16)
The decision to delay was made following feedback from the Swift community about the impending deadline. While institutions have an extra year of system co-existence initially, the ultimate deadline for decommissiong the legacy Swift MT standard remains in place as 2025.
Paymentsource - Kate Fitzgerald (2020-03-16)
Cobranded travel credit cards — including some of the most popular and profitable in the payment card industry — are looking at darker skies because of COVID-19.
Business Insider - Eleni Digalaki (2020-03-16)
Most banks (80%) are highly aware of the potential benefits presented by AI...
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-16)
The Bank of Canada unveiled new measures to keep Canada’s financial system flowing and support mortgage markets, as central banks step up efforts to avert a liquidity and lending crunch amid tumultuous markets.
G&M - Nichola Samanther (2020-03-16)
Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia said on Monday they would reduce their prime rates by 50 basis points to 2.95 per cent, the lowest level since August 2017, passing on to borrowers in full the Bank of Canada’s second interest rate cut this month.
G&M - Mark Rendell (2020-03-16)
Canadian banks, telecommunications companies and utilities are offering relief to customers affected by the spread of novel coronavirus, waiving fees and providing flexibility on certain payments.
G&M - Fergal Smith (2020-03-16)
Canada’s main stock market index tumbled nearly 10 per cent and the Canadian dollar hit a four-year low, as Ottawa limited entry into the country to help fight the spreading coronavirus and measures taken by global central banks failed to calm investors.
G&M - Matt Lundy, David Parkinson (2020-03-16)
Canadian policy makers moved on Monday to shore up the financial system and cushion the economy against a downturn that is virtually without precedent as businesses close down, workers stay home and travel bans intensify.
CBC - Pete Evans (2020-03-16)
Stock markets in Toronto and New York plunged anew on Monday as investors continued to digest news of the coronavirus and ran for the exits.
CBC - CBC (2020-03-16)
The average price of a Canadian home that sold in February was $540,000, a figure that rose by 15.2 per cent in the previous 12 months, the group that represents Canadian realtors says.
FP - Victor Ferreira (2020-03-16)
The Dow Jones Industrial average lost more than 12 per cent and closed down 2,997 points — a record drop — and has now lost 31 per cent since reaching its 52-week high in February. The S&P wiped out its gain in 2019 and is now down almost 30 per cent from its all-time high. It was the biggest rout on Wall Street since 1987. The S&P/TSX Composite Index, meanwhile, lost more than 1,355 points or nine per cent.
WSJ - Margot Patrick, Patricia Kowsmann (2020-03-16)
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-16)
To address the Covid-19 outbreak, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is suspending in-person hearings until the end of April, along with a variety of other operational changes.
Investment Executive - IE (2020-03-16)
Under the revised Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP), the government will purchase up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the CMHC said in a release on Monday.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-16)
Efforts by the world’s central banks to ensure that global financial markets continue to function, despite the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak, provide banks with time and space to adjust to fast-changing conditions, says Fitch Ratings.
CNBC - Kate Rooney (2020-03-16)
The coronavirus outbreak is prompting second thoughts about reaching for cash.
Central 1 - Central 1 (2020-03-16)
With growing concerns and impacts of COVID-19, I wanted to provide you with an update on Central 1’s response and actions to date and our commitment to you going forward. These are unprecedented and challenging times for everyone, and the health and well-being of our employees, members, clients, and communities are a top priority for Central 1.
Bloomberg - Ferdinando Giugliano (2020-06-20)
Nevertheless, Lagarde and her colleagues would be wise to read the staff paper closely. Among all the carefully worded language, one can clearly see the contours of a monetary framework that would work for the ECB’s third decade. These include changing the inflation target to 2%, and maintaining all of the instruments — asset purchases, long-term loans to the banking system and negative interest rates — that the central bank used throughout the presidency of Lagarde’s predecessor, Mario Draghi.
The argument for a symmetric inflation target is rooted in the power of expectations. The ECB at the moment aims to reach an inflation rate “close to but below 2%.” This means that, as price pressures start climbing toward 2%, investors and consumers expect the ECB to react aggressively, tightening monetary policy to push inflation back. The authors believe this served the ECB well during its first decade, when it had to establish its reputation and fight off inflationary forces.
However, the objective has been less useful in today’s era of persistently low inflation. It may even be counterproductive. Consumers and investors don’t expect the central bank to act so decisively to counter deflation.
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2020-03-26)
Lenders had dropped rates to historic lows this month as the central bank twice cut its key interest rate, ultimately lowering it to 0.75 per cent, one of the lowest levels on record. But starting last week, mortgage lenders across the country began hiking again, according to James Laird, co-founder of mortgage comparison website RateHub.ca and president of brokerage CanWise Financial.
Reuters - Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Patricia Zengerle (2020-03-26)
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously backed a $2 trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries hurt by the coronavirus epidemic, as well as providing billions of dollars to buy urgently needed medical equipment.
Reuters - William Schomberg (2020-03-26)
The Bank of England is expected to say on Thursday that it is ready to take further radical action to prop up the economy and Britain’s finance minister will announce help for self-employed workers hit by the coronavirus shutdown.
Bloomberg - Chris Dolmetsch (2020-03-26)
Royal Bank of Canada is using the coronavirus pandemic to seize a large portfolio of assets at rock-bottom prices, a New York real estate investment trust claims.
G&M - CP (2020-03-26)
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is expanding its insured mortgage purchase program to $150 billion as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-26)
Short-time work is a form of state aid that allows employers to switch employees to shorter working hours during an economic downturn to keep them on the payroll. It has been widely used by industry, including Germany’s car sector, but not by banks.
G&M - Patrick Brethour (2020-03-26)
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is tripling the size of its program to buy insured mortgage pools to $150-billion, more than double the amount the Crown corporation bought during the 2008 financial crisis.
Reuters - Dan Burns (2020-03-26)
The Fed’s total balance sheet size exploded by more than half a trillion dollars in a single week, roughly twice the pace of the next-largest weekly expansion in the financial crisis in October 2008. As of Wednesday, the Fed’s stash of assets totaled $5.3 trillion, according to data released on Thursday.
WSJ - Tom Fairless, Laurence Norman (2020-03-26)
The European Central Bank sent a powerful signal to investors that it will aggressively support Italy and other indebted eurozone countries that are battling the coronavirus, starting purchases under a new €750 billion ($812 billion) bond-buying program.
FT - James Pickford, Nicholas Megaw, Jim Pickard, Stephen Morris (2020-03-26)
Banks are pressing for a full suspension of the housing market after the UK government told buyers and sellers to delay transactions because of the coronavirus outbreak. In talks between lenders and ministers, banks have expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on valuations.
Better Dwelling - Daniel Wong (2020-03-26)
The effective rate of interest paid by households is dropping very quickly. The rate fell to 3.24% for the week ending March 22, down 12.43% from the month before This represents a decline of 18.79% from last year. If that seems like a big drop, it is – we haven’t seen something like this outside of a global financial crisis.
BOC - BOC (2020-03-25)
Learn about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bank’s actions to support the Canadian economy and financial system.
OSFI - OSFI (2020-03-25)
One of these requirements was the creation of the Domestic Stability Buffer (DSB) requirement for domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs). The DSB’s countercyclical design enables D-SIBs to use the capital they have built up during good times when it may be needed most.
G&M - Sajata Rao (2020-03-24)
Canada’s main stock index jumped on Tuesday, as hopes of further stimulus measures from major economies, after U.S. Federal Reserve offered unlimited bond buying, helped shore up demand for riskier assets.
G&M - Bill Curry, Robert Fife (2020-03-24)
The Liberal government announced late Monday that it has agreed to change draft legislation that proposed to grant itself wide-reaching new powers to tax and spend without parliamentary approval until Dec. 31, 2021, through an emergency spending bill.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis and Erik Hertzberg (2020-03-24)
The Bank of Canada said it will start acquiring provincially-issued money market securities, the latest in a series of steps to smooth friction from the nation’s financial system.
Reuters - David Lawder, Andrea Shalal (2020-03-23)
Mnuchin has closely followed the financial crisis playbook used by Paulson when he led the Treasury Department in 2008, reactivating Federal Reserve credit market backstops and asking Congress for $1 trillion to prop up companies and consumers as the economy grinds to a halt due to the spread of the virus.
Bloomberg - Eric Schatzker (2020-03-23)
Real estate billionaire Tom Barrack said the U.S. commercial-mortgage market is on the brink of collapse and predicted a “domino effect” of catastrophic economic consequences if banks and government don’t take prompt action to keep borrowers from defaulting.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-03-23)
Wall Street’s biggest banks continued to seek far less temporary liquidity from the Federal Reserve on Friday than the central bank was willing to provide.
WSJ - Nick Timiroas (2020-03-23)
The Federal Reserve is likely to significantly boost its government-bond purchases beyond the $500 billion minimum it committed Sunday to buy amid market strains that sent interest rates higher in recent days.
FT - James Politi and Lauren Fedor (2020-03-23)
The negotiations hit an impasse on Sunday after Democrats on Capitol Hill said that the proposed deal offered big business an overly generous bailout with limited conditions and scant oversight.
FT - Joe Rennison, Robert Smith (2020-03-23)
Filings show that at the end of last year, 60 per cent of the fund was invested in “legacy” residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), which were first sold to investors before the last financial crisis began in 2008.
G&M - Howard Schneider (2020-03-23)
“It’s their bazooka moment,” said Russell Price, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial Services in Troy, Michigan. “It’s their ‘we’ll do whatever it takes’ moment which should be a sign to financial markets and investors that the Fed will provide any and all liquidity necessary to support the economy through this period.”
Huffington Post - Lydia O'connor (2020-03-23)
Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, made the rounds on cable news Monday morning pushing that narrative. “The president is right,” he said on Fox News. “The cure can’t be worse than the disease, and we’re going to have to make some difficult tradeoffs.” Later on CNBC, he said, “At some point, you have to ask yourself whether the shutdown is doing more harm than good.”
G&M - Robert Fife, Emma Graney (2020-03-20)
One senior Alberta source said the province is expecting Ottawa to provide $15-billion in relief to an industry that has been hammered by the COVID-19 crisis and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has cratered oil prices and energy-company stocks.
FP - Nichola Saminather (2020-03-20)
“Open houses are quickly becoming extinct,” said Phil Soper, chief executive of brokerage Royal LePage, although agents are still showing homes to individuals and small groups.
Reuters - Jamie Freed, David Shepardson (2020-03-20)
Conditions include provisions that loans may convert to government equity stakes, while U.S. airlines cannot increase executive pay or provide “golden parachutes” for two years. Air New Zealand’s (AIR.NZ) bailout also depends on the company suspending its dividend and paying interest rates of 7% to 9%.
Bloomberg - Jacqueline Thorpe, Natalie Obiko Pearson, and Sandrine Rastello (2020-03-20)
A week into a pandemic that has forced a swath of Canada’s economy to shut down and wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off the nation’s stock market, a Vancouver mansion sold for C$150,000 ($105,000) over the asking price.
Bloomberg - Shelly Hagan (2020-03-20)
Markets are certain the Bank of Canada will be forced to cut interest rates to near zero in coming weeks, and even days, to support an economy tumbling into recession. What happens after that is open to debate.
Better Dwelling - Daniel Wong (2020-03-20)
Canada’s population is growing at the fastest pace in decades, according to estimates. The population hit 37.89 million people as of Q1 2020, up 0.26% from the previous quarter. Compared to the same quarter last year, this is a 1.56% increase. The annual increase is the highest since Q1 1990 – three decades ago.
American Banker - Kate Berry (2020-03-20)
Lenders were having trouble with staffing long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic because low interest rates had led to a stampede of borrowers seeking to refinance. Now emergency action by the Federal Reserve has dropped rates to nearly zero, and more homeowners want to lower their mortgage payments as businesses, according to one estimate, lay off or cut back on hours for nearly 1 in 5 workers.
G&M - Robert Fife (2020-03-19)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a sweeping emergency-aid package Wednesday aimed at helping Canadian workers and businesses survive the severe economic downturn caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.
Reuters - Marius Zaharia (2020-03-19)
Policymakers in the United States, Europe and Asia have slashed interest rates and opened liquidity taps to stabilise economies left almost comatose, with quarantined consumers, broken supply chains, paralysed transportation and depleted shops.
Bloomberg - John Authers (2020-03-19)
On one thing it seems that everyone agrees. The world has changed in the last two months, and by the time the pandemic subsides, it will have changed utterly. The Archbishop of Canterbury (who started his career as an oil executive before going into the church), has likened the impact to a nuclear explosion — “the initial impact is colossal but the fallout last for years and will shape us in ways we can’t even begin to predict at the moment."
Better Dwelling - Kaitlin Last (2020-03-19)
Canadian real estate sales were significantly higher last month, compared to last year. There were 38,161 sales in February, up 40.32% from a month before. Compared to the same month last year, this represents a 26.89% increase. This is massive growth – but there’s a couple of notes on that.
FT - Martin Arnold (2020-03-19)
The European Central Bank has unveiled plans to buy an extra €750bn of bonds and issued a “no limits” commitment to defend the eurozone on Wednesday night in response to the worsening economic and financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
FT - James Politi (2020-03-19)
The US Federal Reserve increased its efforts to shore up financial markets late on Wednesday by setting up a facility that would make loans to banks secured by assets from money market mutual funds.
Bobsguide - Bobsguide (2020-03-19)
At its meeting on March 12, the Governing Council of the ECB unleashed new, unconventional monetary policy measures to support the liquidity of banks and credit to households and businesses. The new package includes, among other things, changes to the current longer-term auctions (TLTROs) and introduces new weekly auctions (LTROs) to steer banks towards the June TLTRO auction. The new conditions applied to transactions are quite complex: this article highlights the possible strategic responses of banks to maximise the benefits of the measures.
G&M - Robert Fife, Daniel Leblanc, Bill Curry (2020-03-18)
The federal government will unveil nearly $30-billion of emergency financial aid on Wednesday to help struggling Canadians and businesses cope with the economic fallout from the new coronavirus crisis, sources say.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-03-18)
After the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by a half-point on March 4, I wrote that the timing of its next move would be determined by oil prices. If I had thought to check the central bank’s measure of commodity prices, I might have been less surprised by the second cut nine days later.
G&M - Gordon Pape (2020-03-17)
A reader sent in a very relevant question last week: “If we head towards negative interest rates like some parts of the world, where does one invest their money to earn a decent return?”
G&M - Streetwise (2020-03-17)
Bank of Canada unveils new measures to support financial system, mortgage markets: The Bank of Canada unveiled new measures to keep Canada’s financial system flowing and support mortgage markets, as central banks step up efforts to avert a liquidity and lending crunch amid tumultuous markets. (David Parkinson)
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-16)
Minutes after the Bank of Canada slashed its key policy interest rate for the second time in nine days on Friday – with quite likely more cuts to come – Governor Stephen Poloz was asked in a press conference what more he could do to stimulate a threatened economy, with rates rapidly approaching zero.
CBC - Pete Evans (2020-03-16)
The Bank of Canada has made an unexpected rate cut, cutting the central bank's benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.75 per cent.
CBC - John Paul Tasker (2020-03-16)
Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Friday that the government will establish a $10 billion credit facility to lend money to businesses under stress as a result of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
FP - Craig Torres, Rich Miller (2020-03-16)
The central bank also announced several other actions, including letting banks borrow from the discount window for as long as 90 days and reducing reserve requirement ratios to zero percent. In addition, it united with five other central banks to ensure dollars are available around the world via swap lines.
Reuters - Lewis Krauskoff (2020-03-16)
“This is an indication that the central bank is very scared about the environment we’re in,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut. “The policy response is so strong, it’s likely to spook investors.”
Bloomberg - Daniel Moss (2020-03-16)
The coronavirus pandemic is giving birth to a new doctrine in central banking. What matters most isn't transparency or forecasts, but the ability to move quickly.
WSJ - Megumi Fujikawa (2020-03-16)
The Bank of Japan said it would double stock purchases and help companies get loans in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but the move failed to impress investors, who drove stocks down 2.5%.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-16)
The Bank of Canada unveiled new measures to keep Canada’s financial system flowing and support mortgage markets, as central banks step up efforts to avert a liquidity and lending crunch amid tumultuous markets.
CBC - CBC (2020-03-16)
The average price of a Canadian home that sold in February was $540,000, a figure that rose by 15.2 per cent in the previous 12 months, the group that represents Canadian realtors says.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-16)
To address the Covid-19 outbreak, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is suspending in-person hearings until the end of April, along with a variety of other operational changes.
Investment Executive - James Langton (2020-03-16)
Efforts by the world’s central banks to ensure that global financial markets continue to function, despite the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak, provide banks with time and space to adjust to fast-changing conditions, says Fitch Ratings.
Bloomberg - Shelly Hagan (2020-03-13)
The Bank of Canada said Thursday after the closing bell that it plans to inject billions of dollars into markets to shore up stability, just eight days after it slashed interest rates by half a percentage point.
WSJ - Paul Vieira (2020-03-13)
The central bank said it was broadening its programs aimed at ensuring there is enough cash in the country’s financial system as the benchmark stock index posted one of its biggest one-day declines in decades.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-03-13)
The New York Fed’s shock announcement Thursday that it was willing to offer up to $1.5 trillion in fresh short-term loans to big banks may have captured the most attention simply for the radical size of the number.
WSJ - Tom Fairless (2020-03-13)
The European Central Bank announced a package of bond purchases and cheap loans aimed at mitigating the economic shock of the pandemic and supporting the region’s banks.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-12)
The Bank of Canada will have to slash its key interest rate by another three-quarters of a percentage point in its next rate decision in mid-April, Bank of Montreal says, as plunging oil prices and mounting coronavirus fears prompt economists to rewrite their economic and rate forecasts.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-03-12)
The New York Fed said it was raising to $175 billion the maximum amount of its overnight repurchase agreements that banks can collectively access.
Bloomberg - Michael Bellusci (2020-03-12)
Canadian stocks were flirting with the biggest drop since 1940 on Thursday after plunging at the opening on concerns about the spreading economic impact of the coronavirus.
Macleans - Leah McLaren (2020-03-11)
None of it is likely to hurt him in his new UN role, nor back home in Ottawa. Having been sneered at in a right-wing tabloid like the Daily Mail will only help Carney’s project if he does plan to take his long-rumoured run for the Liberals.
FP - David Milliken and Paul Sandle (2020-03-11)
In what amounts to a choreographed double-barrelled stimulus program, the BoE announced its unanimous emergency rate cut as London markets were opening and before Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government sets out its spending plans after midday.
Bloomberg - John Ainger and Greg Ritchie (2020-03-10)
U.K. bond issuance is set to surge to the highest level in nine years with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government expected to unveil a significant increase in budget spending.
Sales of gilts will rise to 166 billion pounds ($218 billion) in the 2020-2021 financial year, according to the median forecast of 13 bond dealers surveyed by Bloomberg.
The nation’s budget announcement on Wednesday coincides with an unprecedented bond rally that sent yields on short-term U.K. benchmark bonds below zero for the first time this week. If rates remain negative, investors may end up paying the government for the privilege of holding its bonds.
OSFI - OSFI (2020-03-10)
We will refine our regulatory frameworks for capital and liquidity to align with international reforms and tailor these for the Canadian market. We will also revise our regulatory and supervisory approaches to better suit small and medium-sized institutions. We will continue to prepare for the implementation of new financial and accounting reporting standards as well as regulatory returns and monitoring metrics where appropriate. We will assess institutions’ corporate governance practices to judge whether they are meeting our revised Corporate Governance Guideline. We will work with our federal partners to strengthen our crisis preparedness framework. We will explore threats associated with climate change and catastrophic events to determine appropriate regulatory and supervisory actions.
FSRA - FSRA (2020-03-09)
Since its launch, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has taken significant steps towards regulatory transformation that will reduce regulatory burden and protect the public interest.
WSJ - Eric Uhlfelder (2020-03-09)
Economist Henry Kaufman earned the sobriquet of “Dr. Doom” for his gloomy but accurate forecasts of rising interest rates in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
G&M - James Bradshaw (2020-03-06)
Canada’s banks are in increasingly close contact with governments and regulators about contingency plans to prepare the financial sector to withstand potential outbreaks of COVID-19.
CBC - Reuters (2020-03-06)
"The Canadian economy has demonstrated good resilience in the past couple of years. That resilience could be seriously tested by COVID-19, however, depending on the severity and duration of its effects," he told a Toronto business audience.
Reuters - Manoj Kumar, Aftab Ahmed, Nupur Anand (2020-03-06)
State Bank of India (SBI.NS), the country’s largest lender, is exploring a wide range of rescue options for struggling Yes Bank Ltd (YESB.NS) including a complete buyout of its private-sector rival, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis, Erik Hertzberg, and Shelly Hagan (2020-03-05)
“We need a little bit of fiscal stimulus as well to at least support the economy through what is likely to be a bit of a rough patch through the spring,” Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, said by phone from Toronto. “It does make it more powerful if you’ve got both oars pulling at the same time. That can reinforce the message and help support the economy.”
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-03-05)
Big banks’ demand for central bank cash remained very strong on Wednesday, leading the Federal Reserve Bank to add a fresh $100 billion to the financial system.
G&M - Ian McGugan (2020-03-04)
The flagship S&P 500 Index of big U.S. stocks provided the most obvious gauge of money managers’ drum-tight nerves over the economic effects of the coronavirus. The market benchmark jumped after the Fed announced it was chopping the federal funds rate by half a percentage point, to between 1 per cent and 1.25 per cent.
CBC - Don Pittis (2020-03-04)
Economists' earlier hopes of a V-shaped recovery — a sharp rise back to normal after a sharp decline — are fading fast as evidence increases that the global effects of the virus on consumers and businesses are widening.
FP - Naomi Powell (2020-03-04)
Poloz is widely expected to cut Canada’s current benchmark interest rate of 1.75 per cent by 25 to 50 basis points on Wednesday.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-03-03)
Expectations of a Bank of Canada interest-rate cut this week have rapidly moved from unlikely to imminent as global governments and central banks begin to respond en masse to the escalating economic threat from the COVID-19 virus.
Bloomberg - Erik Hertzberg (2020-03-03)
Poloz, however, is due to speak on Thursday at 1 p.m. in Toronto and could take the opportunity to elaborate on the central bank’s thinking.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-03-02)
Goldman, which last week had already increased its forecast for Fed easing in response to the coronavirus outbreak, took it up a notch in its revised forecast on Sunday, which came out shortly before financial futures markets resumed trading for the week ahead. U.S. equity index futures were down by 1.3% and Treasury futures were higher as investors sought safety in government bonds.
G&M - Reuters (2020-02-28)
Banks and their regulators should be ready to share information across borders in an effective way as the coronavirus epidemic evolves, the Basel Committee of banking regulators said on Thursday.
Bloomberg - John Ainger (2020-02-28)
Investors aren’t buying the idea that central banks’ wait-and-see approach to the coronavirus will last, ramping up bets on interest-rate cuts that could start within months.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-02-27)
But with global financial markets plunging for a fourth day as COVID-19 spread to Europe and Iran, and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to prepare for an outbreak, a few questions on what the Canadian central bank is thinking about all this were unavoidable.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2020-02-27)
A top Fed official says it is too early to tell whether the coronavirus outbreak will force the central bank to resume rate cuts in the coming months.
OSFI - William Francis Morneau (2020-02-27)
During 2018-19, we implemented a new strategic planning framework that included new governance, processes and tools. A key component of this framework is the OSFI Strategic Plan, which charts a path for our future that builds on the many achievements and learnings of the past.
BOC - Timothy Lane (2020-02-27)
Canadians are well-served by the existing payment ecosystem, so we believe there is no need for the Bank of Canada to issue its own digital currency at this time. But the world can change very quickly, so we need to get ready in case one is needed.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-02-27)
Carney says that financial markets are uniquely placed to help support the transition required by amplifing changes in attitudes, consumer preferences and climate policy.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-02-26)
The Bank of England told banks on Wednesday to accelerate their efforts to ditch the use of Libor if they want to avoid facing more punitive terms when borrowing from the central bank.
Bloomberg - Michelle F Davis (2020-02-26)
Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, another target of environmentalists, has said climate change will be solved with government policy.
“I’ve always thought it was a problem,” Dimon said at the bank’s investor day earlier Tuesday. “We should acknowledge the problem and start working on it.”
Financial firms often include dozens of disclaimers about potential risks in their annual 10-K filings, but JPMorgan’s have typically focused on those more directly related to the economy, regulation and competition. Meanwhile, economists at the firm have been warning clients about the potential for climate change to threatenthe global economy and even the human race.
G&M - Andrew Willis, Robert Fife (2020-02-25)
Alberta’s Premier privately urged Teck Resources Ltd. to move forward with the Frontier oil-sands mine project, despite the company’s fear it was becoming mired in intractable climate-change controversy.
FP - Martin Pelletier Martin Pelletier (2020-02-25)
Manufacturing sales have posted their fourth consecutive negative reading, retail sales were stagnant to end 2019 and signs are that GDP growth is stalling and may actually be negative when accounted for on a per-capita basis.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-02-25)
The FCA says that it inadvertently published the data in plain view on its Website in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Invezz - Ali Raza (2020-02-25)
At a recent conference organized by Ukraine’s central bank, several central banks, including the Canadian central bank, were against the need for CBDCs. In their opinion, blockchain technology is not better than other digital alternatives, and they wouldn’t want to change anything to that effect now.
American Banker - Neil Haggerty (2020-02-24)
Observers say a Sanders presidency could lead to a reversal of Trump regulatory relief initiatives, turnover at the top of the regulatory agencies, and a newfound focus on both enforcement actions and proposals that Sanders has supported in Congress to overhaul the banking industry's structure.
Jeffrey Naimon, a partner at Buckley LLP who defends financial services companies in enforcement matters, said that his clients are starting to consider the impact of a Sanders presidency.
“We are starting to see both banks and other financial services companies get interested because Sen. Sanders would represent a significant policy pivot, and obviously, federal policy has a great effect on the industry," Naimon said. "They are starting to consider what the possible ramifications might be, what initiatives they might take, and the kind of things they may not do.”Others say there is no cause for panicking just yet. Sanders, a democratic socialist, has jumped out to a sizable lead in delegates after strong showings in early state contests, including a commanding victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday. But it is still early in the Democrats' nominating process, and the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday could offer more clarity.
Some analysts and bank representatives say they believe President Trump would have the advantage going into a general election against Sanders. And even if Sanders won, many said the GOP is still likely to hold the Senate and he would face other hurdles to enacting reforms detrimental to the industry.
“I think very few see him as the president of the United States and I think that’s why the market is pretty sanguine about the election so far,” a banking industry source said on the condition of anonymity. “They see it either being Trump or [former New York City Mayor Mike] Bloomberg, or a couple of others. … If Bernie becomes the nominee, they think it is much more likely that Trump will stay president.”
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate, has long been one of the harshest critics of Wall Street in Congress, advocating for sweeping reforms such as breaking up the big banks and reinstating Glass-Steagall, among other things.
In May 2019, Sanders along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced a bill to cap credit card interest rates at 15%, though it is viewed as dead on arrival in the current Republican-controlled Senate.
The previous October he introduced a bill that would cap a financial institution’s total exposure at 3% of the nation’s GDP, saying at the time that "the four largest financial institutions in this country are on average 80% larger than they were before we bailed them out” in the financial crisis.
Some commentators have declared that the Democratic race is Sanders' to lose. But several analysts still doubt his chances.
As of Sunday, FiveThirtyEight's projection model ranked the odds of Sanders winning a majority of pledged delegates the same as that of no candidate winning a majority. The latter scenario could result in a contested convention.
“Sanders has a strong base, but one that is hard to expand,” Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group, said in a note Thursday. “It is why we still see a moderate winning the nomination, though it is becoming a closer call.”"A new president won’t have the immediate opportunity to change the chair of the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, or the chairman of the Fed, but would have to wait until their terms expired," Naimon said.
To be clear, Sanders isn’t the only progressive Wall Street critic in the Democratic primary. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has heavily criticized the Trump administration's financial regulators, Wells Fargo and other large banks, and was the architect of the CFPB.
"From my perspective, I think that a lot of the proposals that [Sanders] has put forward … are not entirely dissimilar from the proposals that Sen. Warren has put forward," Naimon said.
But Warren’s rhetoric on the presidential campaign has been viewed as less worrisome for banks.
“Elizabeth Warren reiterated that she’s a capitalist,” the industry source said. “Bernie talks about a revolution and Sen. Warren talks about using government to help those who have been left behind.”
Industry representatives say banks' fears will grow if Sanders becomes president and tries to make his policy proposals a reality.
“I think an outcome that we would be most concerned about ... is that our business models would cease to exist,” the industry source said. “I think the bigger concern is anything else that he does to fundamentally alter this idea of a banking and securities industry that work together and are combined under one entity. … You could do that by massively raising capital requirements for large financial institutions. You could do that through certain Fed rules.”
And it is not just larger financial institutions raising concern about Sanders’ policy positions.
Paul Merski, group executive vice president for congressional relations and strategy for the Independent Community Bankers of America, said many of the policies Sanders supports would likely be detrimental to the sector, although the ICBA will not endorse or oppose any presidential candidates.
G&M - MARWA RASHAD AND FRANCESCO CANEPA (2020-02-24)
Finance chiefs of the world’s top 20 economies vowed to monitor the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global growth and act if needed, as they said loose monetary policy and easing trade tensions would prompt a pick-up in 2020 and 2021.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-02-24)
“Private equity in Quebec is important for the Caisse,” Emond, who oversees the assets of the Quebec Pension Plan and 40 other provincial funds, told reporters in Montreal on Feb. 20, when CDPQ released its 2019 results.
FP - Jesse Snyder and Julia Mastroianni (2020-02-19)
A coalition of 39 industry associations wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling on him to “work urgently” with First Nations and police to bring the blockade to a peaceful end.
Reuters - Karen Freifeld (2020-02-19)
U.S. prosecutors overlooked apparent violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran by HSBC Holdings in exchange for the British bank’s cooperation with a government investigation of Huawei Technologies, lawyers for the Chinese telecoms giant said.
IE - James Langton (2020-02-19)
The central bank, which is taking over as administrator of the interest rate benchmark from Refinitiv Benchmark Services (UK) Ltd., will start providing the benchmark for free on its website on June 15.
BOC - Press Release (2020-02-19)
The Bank of Canada will take over the responsibility for publishing the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA), effective Monday, June 15, 2020.
American Banker - Neil Haggerty (2020-02-19)
The former New York City mayor surprised many in the industry with a comprehensive financial policy plan that would reinstate post-crisis rules that have been weakened or eliminated in the Trump administration, but would also enact additional reforms that echo the platforms of Elizabeth Warren and even Bernie Sanders.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-02-19)
Why? Rita Trichur, one of the better chroniclers of Bay Street, offered a plausible answer. “If you’re wondering why OSFI is suddenly considering fiddling with the stress test as froth builds in the Vancouver and Toronto housing markets, household debt remains high and consumer insolvencies are rising, look no further than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his waning political fortunes,” she said in the Globe and Mail on Feb. 13.
G&M - Andrew Willis (2020-02-17)
The federal Liberals are mulling a reboot of the Canada Infrastructure Bank over frustrations with what the government perceives as a failure to execute at the $35-billion investment fund.
Reuters - Karen Freifeld (2020-02-13)
U.S. prosecutors on Thursday accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets and helping Iran track protesters in its latest indictment against the Chinese company, escalating the U.S. battle with the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker.
Bloomberg - Divya Balji, Michael Bellusci, and Robert Tuttle (2020-02-13)
Protests against a natural gas pipeline are crippling Canada’s railways -- key economic arteries in the sprawling, trade-dependent nation -- and prompting cries of “insanity” and “ecoterrorism” from business leaders.
Canadian National Railway Co., the country’s largest rail provider, has canceled 400 trains in the past week and said on Thursday that it will shut down its operations in Eastern Canada, possibly leading to temporary layoffs. Via Rail, which operates passenger train service across the nation, is canceling all services effective immediately.
The cancellations mark the most severe fallout yet from protests that have spread across Canada in recent days, disrupting shipments of oil, grain, propane, lumber and consumer goods. Environmental and indigenous-rights activists are blockading rail lines, ports and other infrastructure to show solidarity with portions of the Wet’suwet’en Nation that are protesting construction of TC Energy Corp.’s planned C$6.6 billion ($5 billion) Coastal GasLink pipeline through their territory in British Columbia.
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2020-02-12)
However, “a slowly developing economic scenario, like 5/30, represents the greatest threat to the financial condition” to CMHC’s business, the report suggests, since it could drive its mortgage insurer capital adequacy ratio below an industry-wide target set by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
G&M - ELMIRA ALIAKBARI AND ASHLEY STEDMAN (2020-02-11)
When he leaves the Bank of England in March, Mark Carney will take up the post of United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance, where he will push financial institutions and banks to adopt new measures that account for climate risk. In a recent BBC radio interview, Mr. Carney stated, “Financial services have been too slow to cut investment in fossil fuels, a delay that could lead to a sharp increase in global temperatures.”
Reuters - Anna Saphir (2020-02-11)
That assessment would echo the formal report the Fed submitted to the U.S. Congress on Friday, which repeated the central bank’s view that its current target range for short-term borrowing costs, between 1.5% and 1.75%, is “appropriate” to keep the expansion on track.
FT - Clare Jones (2020-02-11)
$414bn is a big number – even if you’ve got the right to print as many dollars as you like.
FP - Gabriel Friedman (2020-02-10)
The Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) on Wednesday named six SNC-Lavalin entities to its list of companies that are ineligible to bid on public contracts, known as RENA.
Reuters - Balazs Koranyi, Francesco Canepa, Frank Siebelt (2020-02-10)
A greater emphasis on consensus has boosted the Governing Council’s role and given more voice to critics like Germany whose support may be vital whenever the next downturn comes, most of the sources, all with direct knowledge of the inner workings of the ECB, said.
WSJ - Anna Isaac and Caitlin Ostroff (2020-02-10)
A sharp move in the British pound last month in the minutes ahead of a crucial central-bank decision wasn’t a unique occurrence, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
WSJ - JULIA-AMBRA VERLAINE (2020-02-10)
Fannie and Freddie said they will soon accept mortgages based on the secured overnight financing rate, or SOFR, an alternative rate created by a Fed committee of regulators, banks and asset managers.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-02-10)
"Unfortunately, the Equifax hack fits a disturbing and unacceptable pattern of state-sponsored computer intrusions and thefts by China and its citizens that have targeted personally identifiable information, trade secrets, and other confidential information."
Finextra - Finextra (2020-02-07)
"Given the growing role of nonbank technology players in payments, a review of the nation’s oversight framework for retail payment systems could be helpful to identify important gaps," she says. "A good place to start may be contrasting the US oversight framework for retail payment systems with other jurisdictions. Many foreign central banks, for example, have explicit authority for general retail payments oversight. Moreover, most jurisdictions require that payment systems obtain a license and/or registration before commencing operations."
G&M - Greg Mcarthur (2020-02-07)
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government has launched a review of how it polices the securities industry, appointing a high-profile committee with a mission of creating a “more flexible regulatory approach.”
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-02-06)
I wasn’t planning to write a two-part series on productivity this week, but then again, I wasn’t counting on so much high-profile help in making the case that it’s way past time for Canada to start taking the subject seriously.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis and Erik Hertzberg (2020-02-06)
Canadian policy makers need to look beyond monetary policy to reverse the long-term trend of slowing growth and low interest rates in the face of aging demographics and falling productivity, Bank of Canada’s No. 2 official said.
Bloomberg - Lionel Laurent (2020-02-06)
Last month, Irelandâs finance minister Paschal Donohoe, whose ruling party Fine Gael is struggling in opinion polls ahead of Saturdayâs general election, raised this red flag as one of several global risks threatening the small, trade-reliant country of 4.9 million people. As the international loopholes allowing elaborate tax-dodging schemes â made famous by the likes of Starbucks Corp., Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. â gradually get closed, and as countries around the world start to overhaul the way taxes are collected, Donohoe warned that Ireland should budget for an estimated 500 million-euro hit every year from 2022. His country has been a magnet for the âtax-optimizingâ plans of international companies via its 12.5% corporate tax rate and other perks.
WSJ - Rebecca Ballhaus, Natalie Andrews (2020-02-06)
G&M - Brent Jang (2020-02-04)
Canadian softwood producers are getting a surprise break from the United States.
Gowling WLG - Gowling (2020-02-03)
Digital currency is simply (or perhaps not so simply) currency held in a digital representation but which remains the same as sovereign currency in paper (or polymer) bill form. This differs from virtual or crypto currencies which are alternatives to money. Digital currency might be exchanged using electronic transfers or by cards. A significant portion of the funds in our money supply is already effectively maintained electronically in accounts. A digital currency changes the physical methods by which currency can be exchanged by individuals and businesses.
AA.com - Cindi Cook (2020-02-03)
Eight West African countries announced their intent to cease using the CFA franc, a France-backed currency used by former colonies in the region, beginning July 1, and renamed a common currency, the Eco.
G&M - Mark Rendell (2020-02-03)
The Canadian Securities Exchange, home to dozens of small-cap and U.S.-focused cannabis companies, will soon be under increased scrutiny from securities regulators. The British Columbia Securities Commission announced on Friday that it will start overseeing the junior exchange alongside the Ontario Securities Commission – the current regulator.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2020-01-31)
The Fed could decide by the middle of the year to change its policy-setting approach. This raises some questions.
G&M - Michael Babad (2020-01-30)
Bank of Nova Scotia believes the central bank could trim interest rates this year faster than it did during the SARS crisis of 2003.
CBC - AP (2020-01-30)
The Fed's statement was nearly identical to the one it issued after its December meeting, though it described consumer spending as rising at only a "moderate" rather than at a "strong" pace. That change likely reflects relatively modest spending by Americans over the winter holidays.
Reuters - Moira Warburton (2020-01-30)
Ottawa should require U.S. tech companies such as Netflix (NFLX.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Facebook (FB.O) to collect the same taxes as Canadian companies and also be subject to the same requirements for supporting domestically produced content, a Canadian government-mandated panel recommended on Wednesday.
TheDiciplinedInvestor.com - Andrew Horowitz (2020-01-30)
Back in September, there was a mini-crisis within the Repo Market. We discussed the details of what occurred in the 4th Quarter 2019 Economic Commentary. Since then there has been a concerted effort by the Fed to ensure that the end-of-quarter and end-of-year liquidity requirements would be sufficient. As a result, the Fed has embarked on a rather aggressive plan that has continued to push funds into the short-term lending markets. To be clear, the term “aggressive” doesn’t quite describe the lengths that they have gone to over the past few months.
FP - Reuters (2020-01-29)
Ottawa must decide by end-February if Teck Resources Ltd can build the $20.6 billion (US$15.7 billion) Frontier mine in northern Alberta, capable of eventually producing 260,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Reuters - Leika Kihara (2020-01-29)
The danger of committing to an inflation target and difficulty of managing expectations were debated in earnest at the Bank of Japan a decade ago, showed transcripts released on Wednesday, as U.S. and European central bankers grapple with similar topics.
Bloomberg - Michelle Davis (2020-01-29)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to dismiss several hundred workers from its consumer unit as the lender seeks to rein in costs, according to people briefed on the matter.
The bank intends to notify affected employees on Feb. 6 and cuts will be scattered across the division, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The consumer unit, which houses the deposit, credit-card, home and auto lending businesses, contributes nearly half of the firm’s revenue.
Banks around the world have
cut thousands of jobs as they slash costs to weather a slowing economy and adapt to shifts in consumer behavior and in digital technology. At JPMorgan, the cuts are part of a broader review of operations as customers increasingly access banking services through mobile phones or digital platforms.
A JPMorgan spokeswoman declined to comment. The planned cuts represent about 1% of employees in the unit and workers will be given the chance to apply for other roles in the firm, another person said.
Bloomberg - Paul Gordon (2020-01-29)
The European Central Bank’s former vice president has weighed into the institution’s review of its inflation target, saying two of the key ideas on the table don’t stand up to scrutiny.
FP - Barbara Shecter (2020-01-28)
Maureen Jensen’s decision to leave the Ontario Securities Commission nearly a year before her term as chairperson expires is reviving debate over the relationship between Canada’s largest capital markets watchdog and the government that oversees it.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-01-28)
The Select Committee of Financial and Regulatory Technology, established in September, is undertaking a review of Australia's innovation sectors, for which it has received 123 submissions.
IE - Rudy Mezzetta (2020-01-28)
On Friday, Prosper Canada submitted a proposal to the Department of Finance Canada asking Ottawa for $20.7 million over five years to fund its Financial Empowerment Champion (FEC) program, which supports community organizations that provide financial education, tax-filing assistance and money management coaching to “financially vulnerable” Canadians.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2020-01-27)
As part of their contingency planning for the next recession, the Fed is looking at a stimulus scheme the U.S. last used during and after World War II.
Yahoo Finance - Ben Werschkul (2020-01-27)
"What folks don't really understand is we have several trusts funds in really imminent danger," Goldwein says in an interview with Yahoo Finance’s “On the Move.” "We don't need to save Social Security for our grandkids, we actually need to save it for our grandparents.”
CBC - AP (2020-01-27)
Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has brushed off criticism and mockery from the U.S. Treasury chief, saying Friday his comments have "of course no effect" on her and fellow campaigners.
G&M - Sean Silcoff (2020-01-24)
The federal government has enticed Mastercard Inc. to open a technology research and development centre in Vancouver with $49-million in incentives through its Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).
Bloomberg - Chris Fournier and Erik Hertzberg (2020-01-24)
A more dovish than expected tone from Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is intensifying focus on incoming economic data, with Friday’s retail sales numbers now in the crosshairs.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-01-24)
The UK central bank says it requires "an experienced partner to assist in design, construction and assurance of a modern, fit for purpose cloud environment."
Insurance Portal - IIJ (2020-01-24)
In a statement, the J5 said the action took place as part of a series of investigations in multiple countries into an international financial institution located in Central America, whose products and services are believed to be facilitating money laundering and tax evasion for customers across the globe.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-01-23)
In case you had any doubt, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz stated it in plain English: The door is open for a rate cut. The bigger question now is, what would make the central bank boss walk through it?
G&M - Bill Curry (2020-01-23)
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said weaker economic growth in the fourth quarter is spilling into the early part of 2020 and signalled a possible interest rate cut should that weakness continue.
G&M - Nicole Thompson (2020-01-23)
German automotive giant Volkswagen AG was ordered Wednesday to pay a $196.5-million fine to the Canadian government after pleading guilty in an emissions-cheating scandal.
FP - Esteban Duarte (2020-01-23)
Debt due in two decades would help Canada insulate its finances against higher interest rates down the road, but it would also allow asset managers to better pair similarly dated liabilities with government bonds. That’s the view of Randall Malcolm, Toronto-based senior managing director of fixed income at SLC Management, which oversees $227 billion (US$173.8 billion).
G&M - Joseph Groia (2020-01-23)
Do most Ontarians know that there is more than $100-million of public money sitting in a bank account at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) just waiting to be spent on health care, education or legal aid? Unfortunately, they may not as the OSC is badly behind on its statutory corporate-governance obligations (ironically for our capital markets regulator). It is also not clear what Queen’s Park plans to do about it.
G&M - Luke Baker (2020-01-23)
France and the United States agreed on Thursday how to press ahead with a global rewrite of cross-border tax rules for the digital era, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.
Bloomberg - Bloomberg (2020-01-22)
In public appearances since October, including a number from Poloz, officials have sought to accentuate the positive, highlighting the nation’s strong jobs market and on-target inflation. At the same time, they’ve been reluctant to put much stock in weaker indicators they say are transitory.
Last month, Deputy Governor Timothy Lane defended the Bank of Canada’s decision to buck the global easing trend, saying the nation’s resilient economy is allowing it to “chart its own course in monetary policy.”
G&M - James Bradshaw (2020-01-21)
The federal government can make longer-term mortgages more attractive to banks and their customers by loosening a stress test for borrowers if they choose terms of 10 years or longer, according to the C.D. Howe Institute.
Finextra - Finextra (2020-01-21)
The group - comprising The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank, together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - will assess CBDC use cases; economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability; and the sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies.
G&M - Greg Mcarthur (2020-01-21)
Ontario Securities Commission chair and CEO Maureen Jensen is resigning almost a year before her term expires amid tensions with the Progressive Conservative government.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-01-20)
The Bank of Canada will be weighing deteriorating economic numbers against an improving global trade climate, as it prepares this week to issue its first interest-rate decision and economic projections of 2020.
G&M - Josh O'Kane (2020-01-20)
Sitting in a sun-splashed office on the edge of the Rhine River that once belonged to West German presidents, Andreas Mundt leans his elbows on a table and nods to a yellow and blue experimental painting by the artist Maiken Bardeschi. It’s called Frei, he says – the German word for free. “I like that a lot,” he says. “Competition law is a lot about freedom. It’s about choice. And this matters a lot to me.”
FP - Geoff Zachodine (2020-01-20)
The country’s chief statistician on Tuesday said the traditional ways of collecting information have become less effective in a more digital world, and that Statistics Canada is prepared to start harnessing more “alternate” sources of data.
CBC - Jason Proctor (2020-01-20)
More than a year after Meng Wanzhou's arrest at Vancouver International Airport, the first formal phase of the Huawei executive's extradition hearing begins Monday in B.C. Supreme Court.
WSJ - Dylan tokar (2020-01-20)
Donville Inniss, a former minister of industry for Barbados, was convicted of laundering bribes he allegedly received from an insurance company that was seeking to renew a public contract.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-01-20)
As the Federal Reserve added $52.6 billion in short-term liquidity to the financial system Friday to aid money markets, central bank officials debated the program that has been in place since September.
BOC - BOC (2020-01-20)
Results from the winter Business Outlook Survey suggest that business sentiment is broadly positive except in the Prairies, where indicators remain weak. In aggregate, firms’ outlook is supported by expectations of healthy domestic and foreign sales.
OSFI - OSFI (2020-01-20)
OSFI is revising its capital requirements for operational risk applicable to deposit-taking institutions (DTIs) to reflect the final Basel III reforms published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in December 2017Footnote1.
FP - Esteban Duarte (2020-01-17)
The top rated nation issued a US$3 billion of bonds at 6 basis points over the U.S. Treasury yield, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s equivalent to a yield in loonies of around 1.91 per cent and compares with 1.60 per cent for Canada’s five-year bonds denominated in the country’s own currency, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
G&M - ANA SWANSON AND ALAN RAPPEPORT (2020-01-16)
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an initial trade deal with China on Wednesday, bringing the first chapter of a protracted and economically damaging fight with one of the world’s largest economies to a close.
FP - Terence Corcoran (2020-01-16)
I have some welcome news for Canada’s fossil fuel industry. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, soon to be the UN envoy on climate finance, will not be joining the fossil fuel divestment movement. “I absolutely disagree with divestment campaigns,” Carney said in an email to an FP Comment column reader in Calgary.
FP - TEGAN HILL, JAKE FUSS (2020-01-15)
Sound fiscal policy is crucial for a healthy economy. A key component of sound policy is the appropriate size and role of government (i.e. government spending and regulations). Higher spending comes at the expense of higher taxes, levied now or in the future through larger deficits and greater debt accumulation, all of which can influence economic growth and social progress. This issue is particularly relevant today, as 2019 marks the highest level of federal government spending in Canadian history.
FP - John Constable (2020-01-15)
Mark Carney is using his final days as governor of the Bank of England to intimidate institutional financial managers by suggesting that investments in conventional energy are high-risk adventures requiring special justification.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-01-15)
WSJ - Phil Gramm (2020-01-15)
WSJ - Editorial Board (2020-01-15)
G&M - Bill Curry (2020-01-14)
Finance Minister Bill Morneau says fiscal policy such as increased government spending will need to play a larger role in the event of an economic downturn because central banks can do little with global interest rates near historic lows.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2020-01-13)
This is important because the case that the Canadian economy is in trouble is based on a set of data that is blind to much of the wealth that’s being generated in the digital realm. For example, Bank of Nova Scotia’s real-time forecast of gross domestic product, which is based on historical patterns of high-frequency data, dipped into negative territory after StatCan reported on Jan. 7 that merchandise exports declined in November.
G&M - CP (2020-01-10)
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says the central bank is working on plans for a new $5 bill.
CBC - Don Pittis (2020-01-10)
In fact, Poloz maintained that not only has the economy improved on his watch but that it continues to do very well, and that's despite a period of global uncertainty of the type that has led to this week's crash of a Ukrainian passenger aircraft in Iran that killed all 176 people on board.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2020-01-10)
“It is understandable that companies are reluctant to make big investments in this setting,” Poloz said in prepared remarks provided to reporters. “On the surface, there has been some improvement on this front lately, although it remains to be seen whether this will lead to a recovery of trade and investment.”
Finextra - Finextra (2020-01-09)
American Express has taken another step towards entering the massive Chinese payments market after the country's central bank accepted the US firm's application to start a bank card clearing business.
FT - Katrina Manson (2020-01-08)
Donald Trump moved away from a military confrontation with Iran, saying Tehran “appeared to be standing down” after attacking two Iraqi bases hosting US troops in retaliation for the killing of its top general.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2020-01-08)
The Bank of Canada is about to introduce an important new addition to Canada’s suite of economic indicators – one that focuses on the Canadian consumer at what could be a key juncture for a huge and critical segment of the economy.
Yahoo Finance - Pedro Febrero (2020-01-07)
In November last year, Coin Rivet reported that the US Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has called for tighter regulations on stablecoins and digital assets.
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2020-01-07)
The chief executive of Canada’s biggest bank says the federal government need to exercise caution as it considers adjusting the mortgage stress test that has loomed over the housing market and rankled the real-estate industry.
G&M - QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA AND ZEINA KARAM (2020-01-03)
The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump.
G&M - Reuters (2020-01-03)
About 400 people were arrested in New Year’s Day protests in Hong Kong after what started as a peaceful pro-democracy march of tens of thousands spiralled into chaotic scenes with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowds.
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2020-01-03)
The new head of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is promising the federal regulator will be much more active as it prepares to enforce new consumer-protection measures and tries to keep an evolving banking sector in line.
Reuters - Reuters (2020-01-03)
The second source said that under the plan the central bank would transfer any profits it earned from the sale of Sberbank to the state budget. A third source, a well-placed financial market insider, said the same.
Bloomberg - Elisa Martinuzzi (2020-01-03)
Europe’s reputation on financial crime took another battering in 2019. Several of the region’s biggest lenders, including ABN Amro Bank NV and Swedbank AB, were tarred by allegations that they let criminals move around their cash unhindered, a reminder that Danske Bank A/S’s mammoth money-laundering failings weren’t isolated.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-01-03)
The power of Federal Reserve governors has withered and needs to be restored to help the central bank be more democratically accountable and make monetary policy effectively, new research says.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2020-01-03)
After navigating a quiet end to money-market trading in 2019—greased by a massive wave of central bank liquidity—the Federal Reserve Bank of New York injected a modest amount of money into financial markets.
WSJ - Patricia Kowsmann Giovanni Legorano (2020-01-03)
A cluster of recent bailouts of ailing European lenders shows how governments are getting around post-financial crisis rules meant to make sure investors and shareholders take losses as a condition of receiving taxpayer funds.
CBC - AP (2019-12-23)
Treasury chief Sajid Javid, who announced the appointment Friday, said Bailey was the "clear front-runner" to replace Canadian Mark Carney. By the time Carney leaves on March 15, he will have been at the helm for nearly seven action-packed years.
Reuters - Reuters (2019-12-23)
Riyadh’s criminal court pronounced the death penalty on five individuals, whose names have not yet been released, “for committing and directly participating in the murder of the victim”.
Bloomberg - Rafael Gayol, Harumi Ichikura, Cynthia Li, Chris Middleton, Barbara Sladkowska, and Kyungjin Yoo (2019-12-23)
Reuters - George Hay (2019-12-20)
Saudi Arabia’s Plan A for its crown jewel hasn’t gone to plan. The kingdom’s original goal of selling 5% of energy giant Saudi Aramco in an initial public offering to foreign investors at a $2 trillion valuation got downsized to a 1.5% offload to largely domestic punters at $1.7 trillion. That implies Saudi’s Public Investment Fund might only get about a quarter of the $100 billion it originally envisaged to help diversify the country away from oil
Bloomberg - David Goodman and Jess Shankleman (2019-12-20)
Bloomberg - Mark Gongloff (2019-12-20)
Sweden’s Riksbank, zigging while the rest of the world zags, just raised interest rates, despite anxiety about the economy and sluggish inflation. It’s a bit of desperation central banking, Mohamed El-Erian explains. Rates around the world are at or below rock bottom, without supercharging growth. Meanwhile savers and banks suffer, which may defeat the purpose of low rates, and wild gambling with cheap money fosters zombie companies and boosts the odds of a blow-up.
Ferdinando Giugliano suggests Sweden is panicking about negative rates for nothing. There’s no proof they’re doing real damage yet, he argues. Hiking rates, meanwhile, could definitely hurt the economy, forcing the Riksbank to reverse its decision.
NBC - NBC (2019-12-20)
British lawmakers on Friday finally voted to back a plan to withdraw from the European Union.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-12-19)
The Bank of Canada will need to watch how fast it raises interest rates given the higher sensitivity among borrowers and how consumer insolvencies have spiked.
G&M - Staff (2019-12-19)
But look a bit closer. Mr. Morneau’s extra helping of red ink comes with a very large asterisk. These expected higher federal deficits are not about a collapse in revenues, or a sudden spike in spending. What’s at work here is an actuarial adjustment, caused by historically low interest rates.
G&M - Campbell Clark (2019-12-19)
The magic trick of Liberal fiscal policy is that deficits and the debt burden are always going down, but never actually get lower.
Bloomberg - Marcus Ashworth (2019-12-19)
Bloomberg - Alberto Gallo (2019-12-19)
CTV - CP (2019-12-19)
Canada has asked the United States not to sign any final trade agreement with China until two Canadians detained in China have been released, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a French-language TV network.
G&M - Bill Curry (2019-12-18)
A prolonged slump in oil prices has hurt government finances and increased unemployment in the three energy-producing provinces.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-12-18)
As The Globe and Mail’s Bill Curry reports, the Liberal budget deficits are under pressure from a hefty adjustment to pension and benefit costs, plus the government’s tax changes.
Finextra - Finextra (2019-12-18)
The Bank of England's Biennial Exploratory Scenario (BES) will cover multiple scenarios that cover climate as well as macro-variables: to test the resilience of the UK’s financial system against the physical and transition risks in three distinct climate scenarios. These range from taking early, late and no additional policy action to meet global climate goals.
Finextra - Finextra (2019-12-18)
"Stablecoin networks at global scale are leading us to revisit questions over what form money can take, who or what can issue it, and how payments can be recorded and settled," she says. "Stablecoins aspire to achieve the functions of traditional money without relying on confidence in an issuer—such as a central bank—to stand behind the 'money'. For some potential stablecoins, a close assessment suggests users may have no rights with respect to the underlying assets or any issuer.
FP - Theophilos Argitis (2019-12-17)
The projections from Finance Minister Bill Morneau show the nation is on track to run a $26.6 billion deficit this year and a $28.1 billion gap in 2020, higher than what was outlined in the spring budget. Morneau said lower interest rates forced the government to revalue what it needs to put aside for future pension obligations â adding about $28 billion in spending over five years.
Reuters - EDWARD HADAS (2019-12-17)
Do you believe in magic? That might be the right first question for whoever succeeds Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England. The newly mandated government of Boris Johnson is expected to name a successor to the Canadian in the next few days. The list of possible candidates is extensive enough, but with no obvious frontrunner.
WSJ - Mark Maurer (2019-12-17)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s planned changes to auditor independence rules would give firms more discretion in assessing conflicts of interest in their relationships with companies they audit, people familiar with the matter say.
Reuters - Reuters (2019-12-16)
The Chinese officials breached security at a base in Virginia this fall, and only stopped driving after fire trucks were used to block their path, the Times said.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2019-12-16)
It’s only a coincidence Monday’s meeting took place a few days after Stephen Poloz announced he won’t seek a second term as governor of the Bank of Canada. But Carney either hired or worked with most of the top candidates during the five years he ran the Canadian central bank before taking the reins of U.K. monetary policy in 2013.
BNN Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2019-12-16)
The government is currently on track to run a deficit of $26.6 billion this year and $28.1 billion in 2020, according to a fiscal update released Monday in Ottawa by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. That’s above the $19.8 billion and $19.7 billion deficits projected in the government’s last budget. Deficits in the five years between 2019 and 2023 will exceed projections by about $35 billion.
G&M - Matt Lundy (2019-12-15)
The national debt burden is a closely watched metric of Canadians’ financial health, inspiring no shortage of concern as it steadily increased through much of the decade. In recent years, however, the ratio has levelled off – and in some quarters, actually decreased – after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates and tougher mortgage lending conditions went into effect.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-12-15)
The new paper is based on remarks he made in September at the annual Spruce Meadows Changing Fortunes Roundtable, a discrete gathering of carefully selected members of the global elite in Calgary. Poloz imagines where Canada could end up years from now as digital technology, protectionist politics, and unprecedented levels of debt converge to generate forces that will be unfamiliar to executives, investors and policy makers. The point of the exercise is to suggest that the future should turn out fine, if different, provided we don’t get hung up on what Barack Obama might call “stupid shit” along the way.
OSFI - OSFI - Video (2019-12-13)
Watch Superintendent Jeremy Rudin's video message for OSFI's annual report.
G&M - PAUL WALDIE (2019-12-13)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won a stunning electoral victory, defying expectations and clearing the way for Britain to leave the European Union next month.
CBC - AP (2019-12-13)
The bank's new president said at her first news conference Thursday that she will lead a top to bottom review of how the institution sets monetary policy, looking at everything from how it defines success in fighting inflation to whether it can play a role financing the fight against global warming.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2019-12-13)
“Perhaps the recent tendency for inflation to run below target in many countries has fostered a degree of complacency,” Poloz said. “The risk of a surprise outbreak in global inflation is low, but it seems to be that the combination of elevated household and government indebtedness and populist politics holds inflationary potential for some countries.”
Bloomberg - Ferdinando Giugliano (2019-12-13)
As Lagarde has acknowledged, there will be a tension between communicating rigorously and talking to a broader public. She asked reporters not to over-interpret her messages when she talks to people who lack technical expertise. But will this really be possible? She’s the president of the ECB, after all, and investors will be listening for hints of the central bank’s next moves every time she speaks. There’s a risk that she could create confusion, or even that market players could stop paying so much attention to her.
Reuters - JOHN REVILL (2019-12-12)
Swiss lawmakers are preparing a campaign that would make targeting climate change one of the policy objectives of the Swiss National Bank, alongside the traditional monetary targets of ensuring price stability and fostering economic growth.
FT - Don Weinland (2019-12-12)
A flurry of Chinese banks are being forced to buy back shares to stabilise their stock prices following a series of bank bailouts and mounting pressure on the country’s financial system.
CBC - CBC (2019-12-12)
CBC News has learned he told his caucus the news today and will make an announcement in the House of Commons.
G&M - Robert Fife (2019-12-11)
Parliament will set up a special committee to review all aspects of Canada’s strained relationship with China amid a prolonged diplomatic and trade dispute with its second-largest trading partner.
G&M - Eric Reguly (2019-12-11)
Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg has handed his role as United Nations climate envoy to Mark Carney, thrusting the Canadian governor of the Bank of England to the forefront of the global effort to prepare companies and lenders for potentially catastrophic climate change.
G&M - James Bradshaw (2019-12-11)
Since last December, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has gradually increased its “domestic stability buffer,” or DSB, citing “elevated” risks to the banking sector from high household and corporate indebtedness, as well as imbalances in housing markets. The buffer is a capital requirement that OSFI imposes over and above other elements used to set minimum capital ratios.
Reuters - Howad Schneider (2019-12-11)
The U.S. Federal Reserve holds its last policy meeting of 2019 on Wednesday, having completed a year-long U-turn that saw it abandon a tightening cycle and lower borrowing costs three times in response to the global trade war.
NY Times - NY Times (2019-12-11)
Remembering Paul Volcker, the Fed chair “willing to be unpopular”
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-12-11)
To say the U.S. Federal Reserve has abruptly shifted its rate policy into neutral would be an understatement. It has put rates in park, shut off the engine and chucked the keys off the nearest bridge.
Bloomberg - Brian Chappatta (2019-12-11)
OSFI - OSFI (2019-12-11)
This year’s report provides more detail on each fee, such as the type and rate of adjustment, the service standard and the performance result. This information provides additional context on each fee, in the spirit of open and transparent fee management.
CBC - Reuters (2019-12-10)
Volcker, who Zima said had been suffering from prostate cancer, was the first to bring celebrity status to the job of U.S. central banker, serving as chairman of the Fed from 1979 to 1987. As with the man who succeeded him, Alan Greenspan, Volcker could soothe or excite financial markets with just a vague murmur.
FP - Esteban Duarte (2019-12-10)
The buy-back strategy, including terms and amounts, is still under analysis, according to Jerrica Goodwin, an Edmonton-based spokeswoman at Alberta’s finance ministry said. The plan, which may start as soon as the next fiscal year beginning in April, won’t reduce overall debt outstanding but could allow Alberta to spread out maturities over the longer term, she said.
FP - Huw Jones (2019-12-10)
While still only “nascent” in most countries, Big Tech in countries like China has brought financial services within reach of underserved communities, the FSB, which is chaired by Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles, said in the report.
Reuters - Joseph Sipalan, Krishna N. Das, Matthew Tostevin (2019-12-10)
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is hopeful of reaching an out-of-court settlement with Goldman Sachs (GS.N) over the 1MDB scandal soon, but that compensation of “one point something billion” dollars offered by the bank was too small.
G&M - Christopher Neal (2019-12-09)
Mark Carney, recently tapped by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be UN Special Envoy for Climate Change, is no stranger to big challenges.
CBC - CP (2019-12-09)
The Bank of Canada says Stephen Poloz won't seek a second term as governor when his seven years in the job expire next year.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-12-09)
Now that Stephen Poloz has announced he will step down as Bank of Canada Governor after his seven-year term ends in June 2020, attention turns to the possible candidates who might replace him. Here are six possibilities.
CBC - CP (2019-12-06)
The Canadian economy remains resilient despite the global uncertainty caused by the trade war between the United States and China, a senior Bank of Canada official said Thursday.
Reuters - David Lawder (2019-12-06)
The World Bank on Thursday adopted a plan to aid China with $1 billion to $1.5 billion in low-interest loans annually through June 2025, despite the objections of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
NY Times - Adam Nossiter (2019-12-06)
The streets of French cities were filled with anti-government demonstrators, tear gas and police officers on Thursday as Emmanuel Macron again faced what has become an emblem of his presidency: social unrest. This time it was a general strike over his plans to overhaul the country’s pension system.
WSJ - Kim Mackrael (2019-12-06)
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-12-06)
Finextra - Finextra (2019-12-06)
In a statement, they acknowledge some of the potential benefits of stablecoins but also warn about risks, including on consumer protection, privacy, taxation, cyber security, money laundering, terrorism financing, market integrity, governance and legal certainty.
G&M - Mark Mackinnon (2019-12-05)
“He’s two-faced,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Trudeau when asked if he had seen the video, which was recorded by an ABC News cameraman on Tuesday evening during a reception for NATO leaders at Buckingham Palace.
Bloomberg - Daniel Moss (2019-12-05)
Blame inflation. The RBI cited concerns about rising prices, given that headline inflation breached its 4% medium-term target in October. Food prices have skyrocketed as a result of heavy rainfall, with the cost of onions up 45% in September and a further 20% the following month, according to the central bank’s statement.
With India’s economy crumbling all around him, it strikes me as a bit short-sighted that RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is getting caught up in vegetables. Gross domestic product increased just 4.5% in the third quarter, government figures showed last week. Little more than a year ago, India was notching an expansion of more than 8%. If demand is sliding then price increases ought to subside. There's little inflation in a graveyard.
CBC - Sarah Rieger (2019-12-04)
Alberta's credit rating has been downgraded by Moody's, with the agency citing the volatility in the province's dependence on oil and continued fiscal pressures.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2019-12-04)
Poloz to maintain wait-and-see approach.
G&M - LEIKA KIHARA AND TETSUSHI KAJIMOTO (2019-12-03)
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday he saw no need to expand monetary stimulus now, underscoring the central bank’s preference to save its dwindling ammunition in case the economy takes a bigger hit from heightening overseas risks.
G&M - Isla Binnie (2019-12-02)
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will lead a push by the United Nations to make the financial sector take full account of the risks posed by climate change, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-12-02)
About 40 central banks worldwide have eased up this year, but the Bank of Canada isn’t one of them and isn’t expected to join them this week.
FP - Paula Sambo and Sandrine Rastello (2019-12-02)
“The conflict between China and the United States is not going away anytime soon,” the 66-year-old told reporters after a speech in Montreal. “I think it is going to change some global trading patterns, it is potentially going to change some important things around the evolution of technology, 5G.”
OSFI - OSFI (2019-11-29)
InfoPensions includes announcements and reminders on matters relevant to federally regulated private pension plans and pooled registered pension plans. It includes descriptions of how the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) applies various provisions of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, their regulations, directives and OSFI guidance. Plan administrators should obtain appropriate professional advice on how the legislation and guidelines affect their particular pension plan.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-11-28)
Mr. Poloz’s seven-year term as Bank of Canada governor expires at the beginning of next June. While the rules do allow a sitting governor to apply to return to the job for a second term, one-and-done has become the norm. The Bank of Canada hasn’t had anyone re-enlist since Gerald Bouey 40 years ago.
NY Times - Jeanna Smialek (2019-11-26)
Federal Reserve officials have increasingly acknowledged that the labor market might have more room to run, and Chair Jerome H. Powell made the point in perhaps the plainest way yet during a Monday evening speech.
Reuters - Marwa Rashad (2019-11-25)
“We are monitoring all indicators on a daily basis and if there is any squeeze on liquidity, definitely we’ll be injecting liquidity but so far ... everything is assuring,” he said.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-11-25)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York added $80.6 billion in temporary liquidity to the financial system on Friday. It also bought $7.50 billion in Treasury bills.
G&M - Cassandra Garrison (2019-11-24)
Argentina is once again buckling under the weight of its sovereign debts, which total around US$100-billion, and Mr. Fernandez needs to urgently agree a deal with creditors to ease the burden and give his government space to try to revive the economy.
G&M - PIERRE L. SIKLOS AND MICHAEL D. BORDO (2019-11-24)
In the coming months, the Bank of Canada‘s mandate to target inflation is coming up for review. Some have suggested that the mandate should be expanded to include responsibility for financial stability, defined as heading off the imbalances that could trigger a severe financial crisis, such as what the world experienced just more than a decade ago. In a recent C.D. Howe Institute report, we argue, marshalling historical and empirical evidence, that granting the Bank an explicit mandate to target financial stability is not a good idea, and that doing so would create a conflict with its tried and true mandate for price stability.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-11-22)
A report earlier this year from the International Monetary Fund estimated that removing interprovincial trade barriers would add nearly 4 per cent to Canada’s gross domestic product – “a much larger gain than expected from recently signed international trade agreements,” the IMF said. The estimated economic gains amount to about $80-billion annually, or more than $2,000 per Canadian.
CBC - CP (2019-11-22)
The report by Miguel Molico, senior research director at the bank's Financial Stability Department, notes that carbon-intensive sectors like oil and gas could be negatively affected by significant changes in pricing in a transition away from a carbon economy.
OSFI - OSFI (2019-11-20)
During the 2018-2019 fiscal year, OSFI commissioned Sage Research Corporation, an independent research firm, to conduct a confidential consultation with deposit-taking institution Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers and other senior executives, to help OSFI monitor its effectiveness in discharging key elements of its mandate. OSFI has commissioned consultations with senior members of the financial community to obtain their assessment of OSFI's effectiveness as a regulator and supervisor since 1998.
OSFI - OSFI (2019-11-20)
The total number of active RPP members increased steadily from 5.9 million in 2007 to 6.3 million in 2017, an increase of 7% over the last 10 years.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-11-20)
After a first term in the Finance Minister’s office that featured a few strong steps, some stumbles and too much foot-dragging, Bill Morneau has plenty of unfinished business to address as he returns for another term. If he wants to make the most of his second chance, the top of that to-do list should be tackling Canada’s badly eroded competitiveness.
CBC - Peter Zimonjic (2019-11-20)
The full list of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's new cabinet sworn today at Rideau Hall in Ottawa:
G&M - Howard Schneider (2019-11-19)
U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met at the White House on Monday in their second meeting since Powell started the job in February 2017, and soon became the target of criticism from the president who appointed him.
G&M - Mohamed A. El-Erain (2019-11-19)
This year, I didn’t attend the October annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, DC. Instead, I paid close attention to reports of the gathering and talked to people who were there whom I respect. What emerged is depressing for the wellbeing of the global economy. In particular, the prospect of continued weakness and fragmentation pressures will compound the challenges to the credibility and effectiveness of multilateral institutions.
G&M - Mohamed A. El-Erain (2019-11-19)
Even more worryingly, the Fund’s policy recommendations – especially those pertaining to the advanced economies – have little impact (to put it politely). One need only look at the widening gulf between what IMF officials have said and the bland, repetitive language of the IMFC communiques. The policy insights fall on more deaf ears when finance ministers and central bankers are back in their national capitals, underscoring the current ineffectiveness of what once was a key opportunity for improving win-win policies.
G&M - David Lawder (2019-11-19)
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced the decision at the Fund’s and World Bank’s annual meetings, saying that the initiative will provide confidence that the IMF can adequately support member countries as they deal with slowing global growth.
FP - Barbara Shecter (2019-11-19)
Businesses regulated in Ontario’s capital markets will save close to $8 million a year following implementation of a swath of new “burden reduction” reforms to be unveiled Tuesday by the Ontario Securities Commission.
G&M - TEGAN HILL, JAKE FUSS AND JASON CLEMENS (2019-11-18)
During last month’s federal election campaign, many in the media – and in the Liberal Party – lauded the strength of Canada’s economy.
WSJ - Andrew Ackerman (2019-11-18)
The Federal Reserve identified elevated asset prices and historically high debt owed by U.S. businesses as top vulnerabilities facing the U.S. financial system, according to the latest central bank financial-stability report.
G&M - Alexandra Posadzki (2019-11-15)
The Bank of Canada is proposing a new liquidity facility that would provide loans to financial institutions that are suffering temporary shocks as a result of incidents such as cyberattacks, system failures and natural disasters.
G&M - Patrick Brethour (2019-11-15)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney contends that withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan would return billions of dollars a year to the province, but experts question how large the savings would be from going it alone.
G&M - Reuters (2019-11-14)
The U.S. government recorded a $134 billion budget deficit in October, the first month of the new fiscal year, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
Bloomberg - Niclas Rolander (2019-11-14)
G&M - Video (2019-11-14)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is asking Congress to tackle the growing budget deficit.
BNN - Erik Hertzberg (2019-11-14)
Justin Trudeau is starting his second term in worse fiscal shape than expected, meaning Canada’s finances will likely be pushed further into the red.
Bloomberg - Tim Duy (2019-11-12)
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-11-12)
The New York Fed added $111.909 billion to financial markets on Tuesday.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-11-12)
Eric Rosengren warned on Monday many top central banks have a limited tool kit to deal with the next downturn, and added efforts to roll back regulations on banks may be exacerbating risks to the financial sector.
FP - Andy Blatchford (2019-11-07)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says there’s a “compelling case” to be made for his province to exit the half-century-old Canada Pension Plan — an idea sure to face increasing scrutiny over the coming months.
FP - Geoff Zachodine (2019-11-06)
The tax cut and other measures were part of a mini-budget that showed the Ontario government’s projected deficit for the current 2019-20 fiscal year is now $9 billion, down from the $10.3 billion estimated in the actual budget earlier this year.
NY Times - Jeanna Smialek (2019-11-06)
For decades, the central bank has raised rates to guard against coming price increases. Now, it seems to be raising that hurdle.
NY Times - Jim Tankersley (2019-11-06)
The Treasury Department says the Obama-era regulations are unnecessary after the 2017 tax overhaul.
FP - FP (2019-11-04)
In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its maximum employment objective and its symmetric 2 percent inflation objective. This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments.
Bloomberg - Lionel Laurent (2019-11-04)
States dabbling in blockchain technology, or planning to issue their own digital currencies, isn’t flattery – it’s competition. Some 70% of central banks surveyed by the Bank for International Settlements are examining their options in this area. In places like Sweden, rapidly going cashless, electronic “fiat” money is seen as a path to easier payments. If that works out, stateless crypto coins would lose one of their selling points.
Bloomberg - Sandy Hendry, Natasha Doff (2019-11-04)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting on a pledge to shrink the role of the U.S. dollar in international trade. Jean-Claude Juncker, outgoing president of the European Commission, says it’s “absurd” that Europe uses the greenback for 80% of energy imports. Chinese President Xi Jinping has railed against economic “hegemonism.” Can the mighty dollar retain its global dominance when attacked from so many sides? Don’t count it out yet.
WSJ - James Mackintosh (2019-11-04)
When one part of the economy stumbles and another does rather well, the perfect policy would be support the laggard while holding back the rest to keep growth balanced. But the Federal Reserve doesn’t have that luxury.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-11-04)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York added $104.583 billion in temporary liquidity to financial markets Friday, when it also added permanent reserves to expand its balance sheet.
The Fedâs intervention came in two parts. One was through repurchase
CBC - Don Pittis (2019-10-31)
Like a spooky planetary alignment, the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve both unmasked their monetary policy on the day before Halloween. But they had eerily discordant messages.
G&M - Geoffrey York (2019-10-30)
South Africa’s Finance Minister has revealed that the country’s debt is soaring much faster than expected, triggering a plunge in its currency and sparking fears of another downgrade in its credit rating.
G&M - Reuters (2019-10-30)
The Canadian dollar weakened to a near two-week low against the greenback on Wednesday as expectations rose that the Bank of Canada would cut interest rates after the central bank expressed greater concern about global trade uncertainty.
CBC - CBC (2019-10-30)
In his opening statement during a meeting with members of the media, Poloz said the "worsening global situation" is the primary issue for the Canadian economy.
CBC - Don Pittis (2019-10-29)
It is easy to forget that when oil prices crashed just five years ago, the Canadian economy lost what at the time was its single major economic engine. In the years before that, Canada's old industrial economy outside the oil and gas sector had been smashed, only slowly recovering from a loonie rising on the back of petroleum exports to an oil-hungry United States.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-10-29)
Markets largely expect another quarter-percentage-point rate cut. It is the Fed’s next step that is uncertain, and investors will closely watch for clues.
G&M - PAUL WALDIE (2019-10-29)
Britain is heading for an election on Dec. 12 and it will now be up to voters to try and resolve the Brexit conundrum that has bedevilled the country for more than three years.
G&M - Reuters (2019-10-29)
President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday as policymakers opened a two-day meeting that was expected to end with a decision to lower interest rates.
G&M - AP (2019-10-29)
Economists and investors who are trying to get a fix on what the Federal Reserve may do in the months ahead have zeroed in on a single phrase in the statement it has issued after its most recent policy meetings.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-10-28)
The Bank of Canada is expected to hold interest rates steady one more time this week – and in doing so, separate itself further from the pack of central banks.
Reuters - Reuters Video (2019-10-25)
Outgoing European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi took his last policy meeting on Thursday. Critics says his eight-year tenure closes in exactly the same place he started: trying to prop up a perpetually ailing currency bloc. David Pollard reports.
CNBC - Jeff Cox (2019-10-24)
Starting Thursday, the repo operation offerings will escalate to $120 billion from the current $75 billion as the central bank continues to calibrate the right amount of funding needed to keep the markets operating properly and to hold the overnight funds rate within its target range.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-10-22)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York injected $58.15 billion in overnight liquidity into financial markets.
Reuters - Fergal Smith (2019-10-22)
“The resulting higher spending and larger deficits may give a temporary lift to growth next year, but will also likely keep the Bank of Canada on hold for longer,” said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-10-21)
Mark McCormick believes the currency market is “underpricing” the possibility of a minority Liberal government propped up by the New Democratic Party.
FP - Robert Hutton and Kitty Donaldson (2019-10-21)
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said one shouldn’t be granted. But EU officials say that despite Macron, who made similar noises before approving a Brexit delay in April, it’s unlikely that he or any other leader would refuse another one, particularly if the U.K. was headed for a general election.
Reuters - Kylie MacLellan, Paul Sandle (2019-10-21)
The British government insisted on Sunday the country will leave the European Union on Oct. 31 despite a letter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced by parliament to send to the bloc requesting a Brexit delay.
WSJ - Kate O'Keeffe (2019-10-21)
Christine Lagarde, who is set to take over as president of the European Central Bank, said in an interview that the U.S. risks diminishing its role as a global leader and warned of dire consequences of its trade war with China.
G&M - David Berman (2019-10-18)
Can voters affect stock prices in Canada? Investors are about to find out.
CBC - Jonathon Gatehouse (2019-10-17)
"These barriers prevent the free flow of people, goods and services across provincial borders. They make it more expensive to run a business. They hurt consumers with higher prices and less competition and they discourage and frustrate big dreaming innovators who want to change the world," Scheer said during a campaign stop in Quebec City. "It should not be easier to trade with other countries than between Canadian provinces. We are one free country. We should have one free market."
Reuters - Reuters (2019-10-17)
Britain clinched a Brexit deal with the European Union on Thursday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, just a few hours before the start of a summit of the bloc’s leaders in Brussels.
Bloomberg - Jess Shankleman (2019-10-15)
More time needed as deal hanging in the balance as of Tuesday.
WSJ - James Mackintosh (2019-10-15)
The Federal Reserve has been clear that its latest Treasury-buying plan shouldn’t be construed as QE, or quantitative easing. They may have a point.
FP - Zane Schwartz (2019-10-15)
The Bank of Canada is considering launching a digital currency that would help it combat the “direct threat” of cryptocurrencies and collect more information on how people spend their money, The Logic has learned.
FT - Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong and Eva Szalay (2019-10-15)
A decade ago, China launched a high-profile challenge to the dominance of the US dollar, projecting a greater role for the renminbi in the global financial system.
FP - Philip Cross (2019-10-11)
Despite a return to deficit spending intended to boost the economy, Canada’s annual real GDP growth over the past four years has remained stuck in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 per cent, where it has been mired for most of the past decade. In a recent paper for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, I summarized how the persistence of mediocre growth for over a decade is a sobering reminder of the failure of extraordinary monetary and fiscal stimulus to lift long-term growth rates.
Reuters - Matt Scuffham (2019-10-11)
Deutsche Bank says it does not have copies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax returns, a U.S. appeals court said on Thursday, closing one possible avenue for the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives to obtain the returns.
NY Times - Jeanna Smialek (2019-10-11)
Lael Brainard, a Fed Board governor, said that while she supported some of the adjustments approved on Thursday, the overall package of changes went too far.
Bloomberg - Jim Bianco (2019-10-09)
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-10-09)
The Federal Reserve will provide new clues about its thinking on where to set interest rates when it releases the minutes of its Sept. 17-18 meeting on Wednesday at 2 p.m. EDT.
FT - Joe Rennison (2019-10-09)
Ten minutes after Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell insisted that the central bank restarting its Treasury purchases was “in no way” the same as the post-financial crisis policy of quantitative easing, one Wall St analyst sent a note to his clients saying that the new strategy “sure sounds like QE”.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-10-08)
“The Liberals would loosen fiscal policy by more than the Conservatives if they won October’s election, but neither party’s plans would seriously transform the economic outlook,” said Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.
Bloomberg - Andreas Kluth (2019-10-08)
WSJ - Avantika Chilkoti, Paul J. Davies (2019-10-03)
The euro has drifted toward its lowest levels against the dollar in years as Europe takes the brunt of a global growth slowdown. Investors are now questioning: How low can it go?
Bloomberg - Brian Chappatta (2019-10-02)
Heading into October, it was clear Federal Reserve officials would face a difficult decision at their meeting at the end of the month. Just one day into October, the challenges have already become even more intense.
NY Times - Amie Tsang (2019-09-30)
FT - Martin Arnold (2019-09-26)
Tensions between the European Central Bank and Germany have again exploded into public view after the resignation of Sabine Lautenschläger, who represented the eurozone’s biggest economy on the central bank’s executive board.
G&M - Video (2019-09-25)
Premier Jason Kenney responds to a Federal Court judge issuing an injunction against Alberta's legislation giving it the power to reduce oil shipments to B.C.
G&M - ROD NICKEL AND NIA WILLIAMS (2019-09-23)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cast himself as a champion in the fight against climate change while pushing to expand an oil pipeline to help struggling producers, a contradiction that may hurt his re-election bid next month.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-09-23)
The Washington Post published an interesting bit of trivia this week. As of Sept. 18, Donald Trump had tweeted or retweeted nasty things about the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, an astonishing 43 times since the end of July.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-09-20)
The Bank of Canada has appointed long-time insider Toni Gravelle as one of its deputy governors, filling the vacancy created over the summer by the retirement of Lynn Patterson.
CBC - Don Pittis (2019-09-20)
A weakening global economy and continued trade fears — and emphatically, he said, not angry words from U.S. President Donald Trump — convinced U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates on Wednesday for the second time this summer.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-09-19)
If you’re a suburban homeowner lying awake at night stressing about how you’ll ever get out from under your mountain of mortgage-infused debt, congratulations. You’re the most important voter in next month’s federal election.
CBC - Don Pittis (2019-09-19)
Despite the fact that the quarter point cut was widely expected, the move had an immediate effect on the Canadian dollar which fell promptly after Powell's announcement.
CBC - AP (2019-09-18)
Economists do not see the action as a signal about where the Fed plans to move its key policy rate, known as the federal funds rate, but rather as a technical exercise to keep the rate in the range set by the central bank.
G&M - Ian McGugan (2019-09-18)
Pity Jerome Powell. The chair of the United States Federal Reserve has just been called a bonehead by his boss. Now he faces the unenviable task of explaining the Fed’s latest interest-rate decision to increasingly baffled investors, while dealing with the aftermath of an unexpected squeeze in short-term funding markets.
Bloomberg - Ferdinando Giugliano (2019-09-17)
G&M - MARTIN EICHENBAUM AND CHARLES MOSKOS (2019-09-16)
Canadian monetary policy is the legal responsibility of exactly one person, the Governor of the Bank of Canada. This single decision-maker structure is unique among the central banks of advanced economies. The last review of the bank’s governance structure was conducted by a parliamentary subcommittee in 1992 (known as the Manley Committee). It is time to assess the structure governing monetary policy decisions at the Bank of Canada once again.
CBC - Don Pittis (2019-09-16)
With last week's declaration that the very smart people at the Federal Reserve are "boneheads," U.S. President Donald Trump has become perhaps the world's highest profile prognosticator of a North American crisis.
WSJ - David Harrison and Paul Hannon (2019-09-13)
The European Central Bank’s decision Thursday to lower its key interest rate further below zero while relaunching an asset-purchase program means monetary policy in Europe is now even more stimulative than in the U.S.
WSJ - Jon Sindreu (2019-09-13)
ECB President Mario Draghi’s emphasis on fiscal policy is an admission that further monetary stimulus can do little for the economy.
CBC - Reuters (2019-09-13)
As Draghi's eight-year mandate nears its close, the ECB cut rates deeper into negative territory and promised bond purchases with no end-date to push borrowing costs even lower, hoping to kick-start activity nearly a decade after the bloc's debt crisis.
G&M - Robert Fife (2019-09-11)
Former justice minister and attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould met with RCMP investigators this week to discuss political interference in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., and is calling on the Trudeau government to waive cabinet confidentiality for her and all other witnesses to allow a thorough probe into potential obstruction of justice.
G&M - Howard Schneider (2019-09-11)
“The Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or less, and we should then start to refinance our debt. INTEREST COST COULD BE BROUGHT WAY DOWN, while at the same time substantially lengthening the term,” Trump tweeted. “We have the great currency, power, and balance sheet... The USA should always be paying the … lowest rate. No Inflation!”
G&M - KONRAD YAKABUSKI (2019-09-11)
Jean Boivin wants to be clear about one thing: Neither he, nor his colleagues at the BlackRock Investment Institute, are predicting a global recession any time soon. Which seems incongruous, considering that he has been telling central bankers they need to get ready now for the next big one.
CBC - Catherine Tunney (2019-09-11)
Canadians "have an important choice to make" about their country's future path, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said today as he triggered the official launch of the federal election campaign.
CBC - CP (2019-09-11)
But the most important is the participation to the national debate," Bernier said on Wednesday, the first day of the campaign ahead of the Oct. 21 vote.
G&M - MICHELLE ZILIO, JANICE DICKSON KRISTY KIRKUP MARIEKE WALSH (2019-09-10)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to visit Governor-General Julie Payette on Wednesday morning to kick off the election campaign, Liberal sources said.
FP - Diane Francis (2019-09-10)
The budget predicts deficits of $19.8 billion in 2019-20; $19.7 billion in 2020-21; and $14.8 billion in 2021-22. Not only have they broken promises to adhere to fiscally responsible spending, but they have no timetable to reduce deficits for the near future should they be re-elected.
Bloomberg - Charlotte Ryan and Matthew Boesler (2019-09-10)
G&M - BRENNA HUGHES NEGHAIWI AND JOHN REVILL (2019-09-09)
The U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to act “as appropriate” to sustain the economic expansion in the world’s biggest economy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday in Zurich, sticking to a phrase that financial markets have taken to signal further rate reductions, but declining to be more specific.
Bloomberg - Marcus Ashworth (2019-09-09)
Bloomberg - Mohamed A. El-Erain (2019-09-09)
The European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve will be under even greater scrutiny over the next 10 days as their policy-making committees discuss recent economic developments, update their assessment of prospects and adopt whatever actions and guidance they deem necessary. The outcome will most likely satisfy those looking for the world’s two most influential central banks to further loosen monetary policy.
G&M - FARAI MUTSAKA AND CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA (2019-09-06)
Robert Mugabe, the former leader of Zimbabwe forced to resign in 2017 after a 37-year rule whose early promise was eroded by economic turmoil, disputed elections and human rights violations, has died. He was 95.
G&M - Ann Saphir (2019-09-05)
Trade policy uncertainty driven by the Trump administration’s escalating dispute with China means hundreds of billions of dollars in lost U.S. output and as much as US$850-billion lost globally through early next year, research published this week by the U.S. Federal Reserve suggests.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-09-05)
When the central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, it emphasized that inflation was right at its rough target of two per cent. And the first speech by one of the institution’s leaders since early July was based on, you guessed it, the Bank of Canada’s latest thinking about inflation.
CBC - CP (2019-09-04)
Governor Stephen Poloz is widely expected to hold the overnight interest rate at 1.75 per cent as the bank delivers its first policy announcement — or public commentary of any kind — since early July.
Reuters - Howard Schneider, Ann Saphir (2019-09-04)
The dueling views - from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who called for a half-a-percentage-point rate cut, and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, who saw no immediate need for any move - show the tight spot Fed Chair Jerome Powell finds himself in as the Fed’s next policy-setting meeting approaches.
Bloomberg - Natalie Wong and Paula Sambo (2019-09-04)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to make housing more affordable for first-time buyers. His efforts may be of little help to people in the country’s priciest cities.
WSJ - Natasha Kha, Neil Western (2019-09-04)
In a major concession to protesters, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam plans to withdraw the China extradition bill that sparked months of at times violent street demonstrations.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-09-04)
The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which has recently stopped shrinking, may once again start growing later this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday.
G&M - Nathan Vanderklippe (2019-09-04)
Canada has selected Dominic Barton as its next ambassador to Beijing, moving to end a months-long gap without a top diplomat in the world’s second-largest economy amid a damaging dispute between the two countries.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-09-04)
In the face of a burgeoning international trade crisis and rising global recession fears, the Bank of Canada had a golden opportunity to signal that it is preparing to jump onto the rate-cutting bandwagon that most of the world’s major central banks have already boarded over the summer.
G&M - Roger E. A. Farmer (2019-09-04)
Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers and Anna Stansbury recently cast doubt on the future of central banking, suggesting that the prevailing monetary-policy framework is in dire need of a rethink. I agree and have been calling for a reconsideration of “Old Keynesian economics” for more than a decade, starting with an article I published in 2006, two years before the Great Recession made it fashionable to question the way we think about macroeconomic theory. I am heartened that the narrative and body of research I have developed continues to gain public support.
G&M - Bill Curry (2019-09-04)
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent Wednesday, but said the U.S.-China trade conflict is having a more damaging impact on global growth than previously thought.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2019-09-04)
The BOC resisted pressure from investors to signal it will follow global easing trends.
Bloomberg - Mohamed A. El-Erian (2019-09-04)
Fearing market disruptions, both the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve will most likely take more stimulus measures this month regardless of what their analyses tell them about the potential impact on the economy and financial assets. That has implications for both future economic prosperity and medium-term financial stability, and it adds to the to-do list for policy makers and investors.
G&M - Don Pittis (2019-09-03)
Inevitably, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz must do his job in the shadow of his powerful U.S. equivalent at the Federal Reserve.
Canadian Business - Andy Blatchford (2019-08-30)
Canadians last heard the Bank of Canada’s take on the economy in the early days of summer — and the timing of its next update has the potential to tinge political debate during the federal election campaign.
Since the bank’s most recent public comments in early July, there’s mounting evidence of a slowing global economy mostly due to the escalating U.S.-China trade war — including fresh Chinese tariffs Friday and new threats on Twitter from U.S. President Donald Trump that shook up markets.
The Bank of Canada’s latest message underlined the resilience of the domestic economy, and it appeared in no rush to move its policy even as other central banks were poised to lower rates to respond to the already dimming international outlook.
The next policy meeting is scheduled for Sept. 4, while the election campaign is widely expected to start at some point during the first two weeks of September. The central bank will release a statement with its rate decision, and the following day deputy governor Lawrence Schembri will provide more detail about the governing council’s thinking when he gives a speech and holds a news conference in Halifax.
Bloomberg - Carolina Millan and Jorgelina Do Rosario (2019-08-29)
Hemmed in by an uphill re-election bid and a worsening debt and currency crisis, Argentine President Mauricio Macri will try to cajole creditors into giving the country more time to repay them as he struggles to simply finish his term.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-08-28)
A former Federal Reserve official took the unusual step of calling on the central bank to help prevent President Trump’s re-election by refraining from taking measures to stimulate the U.S. economy.
NY Times - Jeanna Smialek (2019-08-28)
G&M - Mark Mackinnon (2019-08-28)
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, a nominally non-partisan figure who oversees parliamentary proceedings, was among those disturbed by the Prime Minister’s actions. “However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country,” Mr. Bercow said in a statement. “At this time, one of the most challenging periods in our nation’s history, it is vital that our elected Parliament has its say.”
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-08-27)
The world’s central bankers are increasingly worried that President Trump’s tactics to reorder global trade are destabilizing economies in ways that they can’t easily fix.
NY Times - Stephanie Saul (2019-08-27)
CBC - AP (2019-08-26)
Billionaire industrialist David H. Koch, who with his older brother Charles transformed American politics by pouring their riches into conservative causes, has died at age 79.
CBC - AP (2019-08-26)
Federal Reserve officials were widely divided at their meeting last month when they decided to cut rates for the first time in a decade, with some arguing for a bigger rate cut while others insisted the Fed should not cut rates at all.
Reuters - Brendan Pierson (2019-08-26)
Lawyers for U.S. President Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court on Friday to block Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) and Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) from handing the financial records of the president’s family and the Trump Organization to Democratic lawmakers.
CBC - AP (2019-08-21)
The minutes of the July 30-31 discussions released Wednesday show two officials believed the Fed should cut its benchmark policy rate by a half-percentage point, double the quarter-point reduction the central bank eventually agreed upon. On the other end, some Fed officials argued for no rate cut at all, believing that the economy was beginning to improve after a soft patch in the spring.
WSJ - Michael S. Derby (2019-08-21)
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari wants the Fed to make a firmer commitment to getting inflation back up to its 2% target.
WSJ - Gabriele Steinhauser, Thandi Ntobela (2019-08-21)
South Africa’s finance minister stirs controversy, especially in the kitchen.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Argitis (2019-08-21)
Bloomberg - Bloomberg Video (2019-08-21)
Zero interest bond flops.
Bloomberg - Chris Bourke and Michael Heath (2019-08-21)
Australia and New Zealand’s central banks are pondering what until recently seemed unthinkable: deploying the types of extreme monetary policies that were spawned globally by the 2008 global financial crisis. Bond-purchase programs and negative interest rates were for years seen Down Under as the preserve of countries that had gorged on risky derivatives and been reckless with debt. There’s been a sharp change of tune, however. Now, the two central banks are at the forefront of what appears to be a race to the bottom -- where even interest rates at zero may not be far enough.
G&M - STEVE HOLLAND AND LISA LAMBERT (2019-08-20)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration was considering potential tax cuts on wages as well as profits from asset sales, and sought to play down market anxieties that the world’s top economy could be heading for a recession.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-08-19)
FT - Adam Samson and Tommy Stubbington (2019-08-19)
Investors are anticipating a fresh wave of stimulus measures to tackle flagging growth, as the White House said it was considering a new round of tax cuts to boost the economy.
G&M - KONRAD YAKABUSKI (2019-08-16)
From the very start, Mr. Trudeau was poorly served by his own advisers in the PMO and by former Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick. All of them should have known they were playing with fire by seeking to put pressure on Ms. Wilson-Raybould to reconsider her decision not to overturn the Director of Public Prosecutions’ refusal to grant SNC-Lavalin a deferred prosecution agreement that would have spared the Quebec-based engineering giant from facing a trial on fraud and bribery charges.
CBC - Robyn Urback (2019-08-16)
Six months ago, Trudeau told Canadians that a report his office pressured the AG was 'false.' He lied
Finextra - Finextra (2019-08-15)
The impending launch comes after five years of work. The People's Bank set up a research team to investigate a digital currency back in 2014.
G&M - Reuters (2019-08-14)
The Bank of Canada said on Tuesday it plans to buy back up to $500 million worth of bonds from up to nine outstanding issues in a cash management repurchase operation on Aug. 20.
G&M - Jeffrey Frankel (2019-08-14)
The trade war between the United States and China is heating up again, with U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announcing plans to impose a 10-per-cent tariff on the US$300-billion worth of imports from China that he had so far left untouched. The Chinese authorities then allowed their currency, the renminbi, to fall below the symbolic threshold of seven yuan for every U.S. dollar. The Trump administration promptly responded by naming China a “currency manipulator” – the first time the U.S. had done that to any country in 25 years. Pundits declared a currency war, and investors immediately sent global stock markets lower.
Bloomberg - Michael Heath (2019-08-14)
WSJ - Lalita Clozel (2019-08-14)
Federal Reserve officials are weighing whether to use a tool known as the countercyclical capital buffer, which could reduce the risk of a credit crunch in a downturn.
G&M - S.R. Slobodian (2019-08-14)
Canada’s Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau contravened a section of the Conflict of Interest Act by using his position of authority over then-justice-minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to get her to overrule the director of public prosecution’s decision to not negotiate a deal with SNC-Lavalin that would avoid criminal prosecution.
Reuters - Kevin Yao, Ryan Woo (2019-08-13)
China’s yuan is at an appropriate level currently and two-way fluctuations in the currency will not necessarily cause disorderly capital flows, a senior official at the People’s Bank of China told Reuters on Tuesday.
WSJ - Daniel Kruger (2019-08-12)
Federal agencies, banks and investment firms are pushing Wall Street to install their preferred replacement for the London interbank offered rate, the interest-rate benchmark underpinning trillions of dollars in financial contracts.
G&M - Matt Lundy (2019-08-09)
Expectations are mounting the Bank of Canada will be forced to cut interest rates and join a growing number of central banks that have eased monetary policy as the U.S.-China trade war intensifies and recession signals ripple through financial markets.
Reuters - Leika Kihara (2019-08-09)
The Bank of Japan may seek to prevent unwelcome yen rises by tolerating temporary, market-driven falls in long-term interest rates, former BOJ board member Sayuri Shirai said on Friday.
FT - Henry Foy, Max Seddon (2019-08-09)
As pro-democracy protests hit central Moscow this summer, student vlogger Egor Zhukov promoted peaceful resistance to his 100,000 followers on YouTube. Violent clashes on the city’s streets — which have seen armour-clad, helmeted riot police pin down unarmed protesters on stone pavements as their colleagues beat their knees with batons — showed Russia’s security services doling out “political repression”, he said. “Life is a struggle for power,” Mr Zhukov said in a video uploaded last week. “People with no power are fighting to have any at all. People who have any power are fighting for it to be absolute.”
Bloomberg - Tim Duy (2019-08-08)
The Federal Reserve can try to be coy about the chance of an interest-rate cut at the September meeting, but that train has already left the station. Stuck in a negative feedback loop with President Donald Trump and financial market participants, while simultaneously under pressure amid falling global interest rates, policy makers will find themselves left with few options but to further ease short-term rates.
CBC - Reuters (2019-08-06)
But later on Tuesday, China's central bank buttressed the yuan by fixing it at a slightly stronger rate, which ratcheted down the tensions a little.
FT - Kadhim Shubber (2019-08-06)
A US appeals court has bolstered the power of federal prosecutors to grab records from foreign banks even if the transactions at issue did not pass through US accounts. In a ruling released on Tuesday, three appeals court judges in Washington sided with the Department of Justice against a trio of Chinese banks, including one that had received a subpoena under the Patriot Act.
FT - Mure Dickie (2019-08-06)
The departing Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive has backed Bank of England warnings about the impact of a no-deal Brexit, saying that leaving the EU without an agreement would cause some medium-term “pain and anguish”.
G&M - ANDREW GALBRAITH AND WINNI ZHOU (2019-08-05)
The U.S. government has determined that China is manipulating its currency and will engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate unfair competition from Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on Monday.
Reuters - Pete Schroeder (2019-08-05)
The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Monday it planned to develop its own round-the-clock real-time payments and settlement service, with an expected launch in 2023 or 2024.
NY Times - NY Times (2019-08-05)
Not all Fed policymakers agreed to the cuts. Eric Rosengren of the Boston Fed and Esther George of the Kansas City Fed voted against yesterday’s decision, the second and third dissents of Mr. Powell’s tenure. They preferred to leave rates unchanged, saying that the U.S. economy remains strong.
WSJ - William Mauldin, Nick Timiraos and Paul Kiernan (2019-08-05)
The U.S. Treasury labeled China a currency manipulator after the Chinese central bank let the yuan depreciate, capping a day of trade-war escalations that sparked a global fall in financial markets and fears the clash could stall the U.S.’s economic expansion.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-08-02)
Geoff Zochodne talks to FP columnist Kevin Carmichael about the Fed’s first rate hike in a decade and where it goes from here.
Reuters - Ann Saphir, Richard Leong (2019-08-02)
In a series of tweets, Trump said he will slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports starting Sept. 1, saying he was unsatisfied with the pace of trade negotiations between the two superpowers.
G&M - Matt Lundy (2019-07-31)
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008, marking the start of a new phase in monetary policy.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-07-31)
By deciding to cut interest rates, the Federal Reserve has positioned itself as a shield, protecting the U.S. economy from its own government’s worst instincts. But it may have also set itself up to be President Donald Trump’s enabler.
CBC - CP (2019-07-31)
The Bank of Canada sent signals earlier this month that the Canadian economy is very much on its own path and, at least in the short term, has no reason to follow any move by the Fed to lower rates.
WSJ - Greg IP (2019-07-30)
When Federal Reserve policy makers gather in Washington this week to weigh cutting interest rates, a big part of their decision will already have been made—in Frankfurt.
WSJ - Nathaniel Taplin (2019-07-30)
Will the People’s Bank of China follow the Federal Reserve and cut interest rates on Wednesday? Actually, it has found a stealthy way to do that already.
WSJ - Megumi Fujikawa (2019-07-30)
Japan’s central bank said it wouldn’t hesitate to ease monetary policy further should the need arise, an attempt to keep pace with other major central banks that are preparing to cut rates.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-07-29)
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates this week, but a big question is whether markets will be satisfied with what the U.S. central bank does and says.
Reuters - Ann Saphir (2019-07-29)
U.S. central bankers are expected to lower borrowing costs this week for the first time since the depths of the financial crisis more than a decade ago. That’s the easy part.
WSJ - Kate Davidson (2019-07-29)
Borrowing by the federal government is set to top $1 trillion for the second year in a row as higher spending outpaces revenue growth and concern about budget deficits wanes in Washington and on Wall Street.
G&M - DAVID PARKINSON (2019-07-28)
The U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to deliver an interest rate cut this week to safeguard a strong U.S. economy against rising trade-war risks – a move that will heighten questions about whether Canada’s central bank will follow suit to address its own trade worries.
G&M - Jeffrey Frankel (2019-07-28)
The United States Federal Reserve has some reasons to cut interest rates at its July 31 meeting, or subsequently if the U.S. economy weakens. (There is also a case for holding rates steady, if growth remains as strong as it has been over the past year.) But one argument for easing is less persuasive: a perceived imperative to get U.S. inflation up to or above 2 per cent.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-07-28)
Former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said she endorses a quarter-percentage-point cut in the central bank’s benchmark interest rate this week because of worries over global growth and low inflation.
CBC - AP (2019-07-26)
The ECB's rate-setting board left its key interest benchmarks unchanged at a policy meeting Thursday but said it could cut them as its next move. It also said it was telling staff to study ways to restart its bond-buying stimulus program in coming weeks.
WSJ - Tom Fairless (2019-07-26)
The European Central Bank signaled it is preparing to cut short-term interest rates for the first time since early 2016 and possibly restart its giant bond-buying program.
Reuters - Reuters (2019-07-24)
Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane sought to push back against market bets that the central bank’s next move will be an interest-rate cut, saying he would resist lowering borrowing costs unless there was a sharp downturn.
WSJ - Tom Fairless (2019-07-24)
European Central Bank officials are preparing to step up with fresh stimulus, echoing similar signals by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. The question for investors is, when, and how, will the ECB act?
WSJ - PAUL J. DAVIES (2019-07-24)
The ECB has convinced financial markets that it will act. The question is, among its grab bag of possible moves, will it do more than investors expect?
G&M - PAUL WALDIE (2019-07-23)
The Boris Johnson era gets under way Wednesday as the colourful politician becomes Britain’s prime minister and faces the daunting challenge of pulling the country out of the European Union in just three months.
G&M - Nicolas Van Praet (2019-07-23)
he Quebec government is adding its voice to those pressing SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. to execute a quick turnaround, saying the work needed to set the company back on course is “enormous.”
NY Times - David Mueller (2019-07-23)
WSJ - Brent Kendall (2019-07-23)
The Justice Department is opening a broad antitrust review into whether dominant technology firms are unlawfully stifling competition, adding a new Washington threat for companies such as Facebook Inc., Google, Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc.
WSJ - Brian Blackston (2019-07-22)
Central banks around the world are poised to unleash the most synchronized monetary stimulus since the financial crisis one decade ago.
Economist - Economist (2019-07-22)
Central-government officials were quick to respond. A statement on the office’s website said the slogans “insulted the country and its people” and accused the demonstrators of going “well beyond the scope of peaceful protest”. It said they had “seriously challenged the central government’s authority” as well as tested the “bottom line” of what China calls the “one country, two systems” arrangement under which it has ruled Hong Kong since Britain handed the territory back in 1997.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-07-22)
For the next few months or so, some of us here at the Financial Post will be filing dispatches from the trade wars, which arrived in Canada on the last day of May 2018, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned U.S. President Donald Trump’s fire with a volley of retaliatory tariffs on imports worth about $17 billion.
FT - James Politi and Lauren Fedor (2019-07-22)
The White House has struck a two-year deal with Democratic party leaders in Congress to raise America’s $22tn borrowing limit, removing the threat of a US debt default and significantly raising federal spending.
FT - James Politi (2019-07-22)
The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation — the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy — is running at 1.7 per cent year-on-year compared with the central bank’s target of 2 per cent — and inflation expectations have also weakened.
FP - Martin Eichenbaum (2019-07-19)
In sum, powerful forces are working to keep the supply of savings high and the demand for funds to invest low. The net result has been and will continue to be low nominal and real (inflation-corrected) interest rates.
WSJ - Nina Trentmann (2019-07-19)
The U.K. government named a new chief executive for the Financial Reporting Council, a move that comes as the audit and accounting watchdog prepares for a wide-ranging overhaul amid concerns about its effectiveness.
WSJ - Josh Zumbrun, Bojan Pancevski (2019-07-19)
The career of the next European Central Bank chief shows the institution is getting a diplomat and negotiator, not a technocrat or economist. “She is extremely charming and that is part of her style of politics.”
WSJ - Brian Blackstone (2019-07-19)
Central banks in Asia and South Africa lowered their interest rates, joining a global easing bandwagon that started earlier this year in the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to include the U.S. and Europe within weeks.
Reuters - Reuters Video (2019-07-18)
G7 finance ministers and the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday all added to the chorus of concerned voices about Facebook's new cyrptocurrency.
Bloomberg - Shull Ren (2019-07-18)
Yahoo Finance - Leigh Thomas (2019-07-17)
France wants to use its presidency of the two-day meeting in the picturesque chateau town of Chantilly north of Paris to get broad support for ensuring minimum corporate taxation. Facebook's recent announcement of plans to launch a digital coin has met with a chorus from regulators, central bankers and governments insisting it must respect anti-money-laundering rules and ensure the security of transactions and user data.
The Guardian - Paul Karp (2019-07-17)
Australia’s prudential regulator will gain new powers to prevent “inappropriate” directors and senior executives being appointed, the federal government has promised.
FP - Karin Strohecker (2019-07-16)
Debt owed by governments, companies, financial institutions and households across developing economies soared to US$69.1 trillion or 216 per cent of gross domestic product from US$68.9 trillion a year earlier. Debt-to-GDP ratios had risen at the fastest pace in Chile, Korea, Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan and China over the past year, the IIF found.
NY Times - Jack Ewing, Amie Tsang (2019-07-16)
She doesn’t have the typical résumé — no doctorate in economics, no post as a central banker — for running the body that sets monetary policy for one-fifth of the global economy. But investors are betting that Christine Lagarde, the surprise nominee to be the next president of the European Central Bank, will act in much the same way as the bank’s last leader.
WSJ - Dave Michaels, Sam Schechner (2019-07-16)
G&M - James Bradshaw (2019-07-16)
The Bank of Canada will take over as administrator of a key interest-rate benchmark that is undergoing an overhaul as part of global reforms to benchmarks, some of which have been vulnerable to manipulation.
G&M - PETE SCHROEDER AND KATIE PAUL (2019-07-16)
Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Tuesday that Facebook Inc’s history of what they described as untrustworthiness should stand in the way of it launching a digital currency, labelling the plan “delusional” and “crazy” at a Senate hearing.
G&M - STEVE AMBLER AND JEREMY KRONICK (2019-07-15)
The Bank of Canada held its overnight rate constant at 1.75 per cent this week. Markets had completely priced this in, but nevertheless, there are reasons to be surprised by this decision, and perhaps even consider it a missed opportunity.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-07-15)
We're heading toward key central bank meetings that promise to move financial markets.
CBC - CBC (2019-07-15)
But as global trade threats linger, Canada's top central bankers warn that many people who should know better, including stock market investors, seem to think cuts to interest rates can solve all problems.
G&M - Niall McGee (2019-07-15)
The World Bank has ordered Pakistan to pay Barrick Gold Corp. and Chile’s Antofagasta PLC US$5.8-billion in damages stemming from a long-running international arbitration dispute over mine rights for a massive copper gold project.
G&M - David Milstead (2019-07-12)
U.S. policies that force governments to buy certain products from American factories are harming Bombardier Inc.’s railcar factories in Canada, the company says.
CBC - AP (2019-07-12)
Deficit to top $1 trillion US by end of fiscal year, Trump administration projects
CBC - AP (2019-07-12)
France has adopted a pioneering tax on internet giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook despite threats from the U.S.
FP - Reuters (2019-07-12)
RBC, a primary dealer of British government bonds, said in a research note to clients that the BoE will soon have to ditch its main message that rates will need to rise at some point — even if Brexit goes smoothly.
G&M - GIUSEPPE VALIANTE (2019-07-11)
Guilbeault in 1993 helped found a major environmental advocacy group in Quebec called Equiterre. The activist also worked for Greenpeace for ten years before returning to Equiterre as its director and spokesman in 2007.
FT - Adam SamsonMamta Badkar and Matthew Rocco,and Siddarth Shrikanth (2019-07-11)
The Nasdaq Composite, which rose 0.8 per cent, set a new closing high while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which finished up 0.3 per cent, touched a fresh intraday record during the session.
Bloomberg - Matthew Burgess (2019-07-11)
Australia’s prudential regulator has ordered three of the nation’s largest banks to increase their capital holdings after finding weaknesses in risk management akin to those at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
G&M - Fergal Smith (2019-07-10)
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday looks set to raise its second-quarter economic growth forecast and stand pat on interest rates, taking a different tack from some major peers, which are signaling plans for additional stimulus.
Bloomberg - Laura Curtis (2019-07-10)
NY Times - Jeanna Smialek (2019-07-10)
The Federal Reserve’s meeting this month was never going to be an easy one given that officials remain split over when — or whether — to cut interest rates. The last few weeks could set the Fed up for an even more difficult call.
WSJ - Nathan Allen (2019-07-10)
European equities decline
G&M - Bill Curry (2019-07-10)
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and avoided signalling its plans, even as its U.S. counterpart set the stage for a rate cut as soon as this month.
CBC - AP (2019-07-10)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that "many" Fed officials believe a weakening global economy and rising trade tensions have strengthened the case for looser interest-rate policies.
Reuters - Howard Schneider (2019-07-10)
A confidence shock driven partly by the U.S. trade war is at the center of an increasingly persuasive argument for Federal Reserve policymakers seriously considering cutting rates for the first time in a decade
Reuters - David Shepardson (2019-07-10)
“The United States is very concerned that the digital services tax which is expected to pass the French Senate tomorrow unfairly targets American companies,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement announcing the investigation.
Bloomberg - Theophilos Aargitis (2019-07-09)
Bloomberg - Katherine Greifield (2019-07-09)
G&M - Andrew Willis (2019-07-08)
In one of the great contrarian investments of our time, billionaires such as Murray Edwards and Li Ka-Shing are pouring money into Alberta’s oil sands.
FP - Kevin Carmichael (2019-07-08)
Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service offered via Twitter this week to help executives struggling with this question: What is a free trade agreement?
NY Times - Jeanna Smialek (2019-07-08)
Federal Reserve officials worry that the uncertainty caused by the trade war between the United States and China could be constraining business spending and may be contributing to a manufacturing slowdown that is dragging on growth.
CBC - Catharine Tunney (2019-07-08)
"The federal government must put measures in place to ensure that this situation never happens again."
FP - William Watson (2019-07-08)
There is a reductionist economic interpretation of Canadian confederation that says it was all about the British colonies of northern North America getting together so they could borrow more effectively in London’s capital market. Though an economist, I’m not an economics reductionist so I don’t entirely buy that story. Many things motivate people besides more-efficient borrowing.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-07-05)
The “quality” of Canadian jobs is eroding as increases in low- and mid-pay employment far outstrips that of higher-paying positions, CIBC World Markets says.
G&M - Mumal Rathore (2019-07-05)
The Bank of Canada will diverge from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s expected policy easing path and keep interest rates on hold at least through this year, according to economists in a Reuters poll who said however that the risk of a recession has risen.
Finextra - Finextra (2019-07-04)
In a letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, democrats on the House Financial Services Committee demanded an immediate moratorium on the implementation of Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency and digital wallet, Libra and Calibra..
G&M - Joseph E. Stiglitz (2019-07-04)
Facebook and some of its corporate allies have decided that what the world really needs is another cryptocurrency – and that launching one is the best way to use the vast talents at their disposal. The fact that Facebook thinks so reveals much about what is wrong with 21st-century American capitalism.
G&M - Michelle Zilio (2019-07-04)
U.S. President Donald Trump pressed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the cases of two Canadians detained by China in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a Chinese telecom executive on an American arrest warrant, Canadian sources say.
CBC - Geoff Leo (2019-07-04)
In December 2015, the Crown filed a series of charges against Wang and Cui, accusing the married couple of receiving payments from Chinese nationals seeking permanent residency in Canada in exchange for securing them job-offer letters, often for positions that didn't actually exist.
G&M - PAUL WALDIE (2019-07-04)
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has emerged as a leading candidate to take over as head of the International Monetary Fund, one of the most important positions in the global economy.
G&M - Johnson Lai (2019-07-03)
China’s government strongly backed Hong Kong’s beleaguered administration on Tuesday, saying pro-democracy protesters who occupied and vandalized the city’s legislature committed “serious illegal acts” that endangered the social order.
G&M - Rob Nickel (2019-07-03)
An Indigenous-led group plans to offer to buy a majority stake in the Trans Mountain oil pipeline from the Canadian government this week or next, a deal that could help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mitigate election-year criticism from environmentalists.
Bloomberg - Robert Tuttle (2019-07-03)
G&M - Matthew McClearn (2019-07-02)
A federal review of Export Development Canada has exposed serious shortcomings at the Crown corporation, noting its disclosure practices fall far short of other financial institutions, and that the agency is not legally obligated to consider the environmental or human-rights impact of the financial support it provides to exporters.
WSJ - James Glynn (2019-07-02)
The Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the second time in as many months, moving to bolster the resource-rich economy against an increasingly murky global outlook, and drive faster job creation locally.
WSJ - Tim Fairless (2019-07-02)
Mario Draghi is teeing up some of the boldest policy moves of his eight-year term as European Central Bank president only four months before he steps down, potentially binding the hands of his successor for years.
CBC - Peter Zimonjic, Hannah Thibedeau (2019-06-26)
A Canadian government official, who spoke to CBC News on the condition they not be named, confirmed the CFIA notified its Chinese counterparts it had uncovered faked veterinary certificates for some Canadian meat products.
FP - Larysa Harapyn - video (2019-06-26)
Mark Warner of MAAW Law speaks with the Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about the upcoming G20 summit in Japan.
WSJ - Spencer Jacob (2019-06-26)
Pundit Stephen Moore didn’t get onto the Federal Reserve Board, but he has joined a “decentralized central bank” that hopes to tame cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
WSJ - Vibhuti Agarwal (2019-06-26)
The Reserve Bank of India’s deputy governor stepped down on Monday, reigniting a debate on the independence of monetary policy in the world’s biggest democracy.
FP - Geoff Zochodne (2019-06-26)
Judith Robertson was named on Tuesday as the next commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, a job that has been vacant after the term of the organization’s previous leader expired earlier this month.
G&M - KANISHKA SINGH (2019-06-25)
Three large Chinese banks could lose their access to the U.S. financial system after a judge found them in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas in a probe into violation of North Korean sanctions, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
CBC - CBC (2019-06-25)
But Matt Stoller, a former financial policy advisor to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, says this move would take the company out of the business world and into the realm of a sovereign nation.
FP - Victor Ferreirra (2019-06-25)
Each time the price of gold poked its head above a technical level of US$1,350 an ounce, speculators would immediately take profits and slam it back down, he said. The last three times prices hovered above that level in intraday trading, they couldn’t hold it until close.
BNN Video - Ed Devlin-Video (2019-06-25)
BNN Bloomberg asked economists and analysts whether the Bank of Canada can afford to not follow the Fed if it indeed cuts rates. Here’s what they had to say.
NY Times - Powell speech (2019-06-25)
Discusses concerns with global economy and policy decisions.
fsim.ca - Mark Sibthorpe (2019-06-25)
This report is a scorecard I designed in order to rank the performance of the current Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau. I do regular rankings because, otherwise, I cannot measure the performance in a meaningful way. The scoring is based on a variety of metrics as detailed on the ‘score-table’ on page 3.
BNN - BNN Video (2019-06-24)
The Bank of Canada is facing a meaningfully different macroeconomic environment, so I do not believe they will be in lockstep with the Fed.
G&M - Janet McFarland (2019-06-24)
The chief executive of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) has overseen a transformation of the Crown corporation since 2014, shifting CMHC’s focus from its long-time role as Canada’s largest mortgage insurer to a new role as the front-line administrator of the Liberal government’s National Housing Strategy, a program of loans and grants to fund housing for vulnerable groups.
G&M - Michael Babad (2019-06-24)
“There are too many reasons to be gloomy about the Canadian dollar to forecast a sharp appreciation, and our forecast essentially looks for it to underperform others as the U.S. dollar finally corrects in the face of a slowing economy.”
Mr. Juckes, global fixed income strategist, projected the loonie would be at slightly over 75 US cents by December, just shy of 76 by next March, and almost 77 by June, 2020.
CBC - Don Pittis (2019-06-24)
A law that would force Hong Kong courts to send people charged with crimes under Chinese law to mainland China to face penalties has the two groups worried for different reasons, and this time business is weighing in. And it appears at least some factions within the Chinese political establishment are listening, even as Beijing blames the forces of foreign capitalism for instigating the massive protests.
Bloomberg - Alistair Marsh (2019-06-24)
CBC - CBC (2019-06-20)
The U.S. central bank has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate right where it is, in a range between 2.25 and 2.5 per cent.
WSJ - Greg IP (2019-06-20)
Like it or not, the Fed is the world’s central bank. Thus, it is now signaling it will likely cut rates in coming months, not because the U.S. is headed into recession, but because shadows are growing over the rest of the world.
G&M - Adrian Morrow (2019-06-20)
U.S. President Donald Trump is vowing to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on Canada’s behalf over Beijing’s detention of two Canadians in apparent retaliation for Ottawa’s arrest of a Chinese telecom executive.
G&M - HALLIE GU AND DOMINIQUE PATTON (2019-06-19)
China will block pork imports from a third Canadian firm after a shipment was found to contain the banned feed additive ractopamine, the customs agency said on Tuesday, deepening a trade and diplomatic dispute with Canada.
WSJ - Mike Bird (2019-06-19)
In the rally currently roaring through the global bond market, Japan is being left behind, exposing the key flaws in its unique monetary policy platform.
G&M - Geoffrey York (2019-06-18)
In Djibouti, two superpowers have built heavily guarded bases only a few kilometres apart, watching the crossroads between Asia, Africa and the Middle East in an increasingly tense standoff for global supremacy. What could possibly go wrong?
G&M - Barrie McKenna (2019-06-17)
Depending on who’s talking, Canada’s farm export sector is either on the cusp of greatness or headed for disaster.
G&M - David Luggren (2019-06-17)
Ottawa looks set to approve a hotly debated plan to expand an oil pipeline this week, people familiar with the process told Reuters, but the move is unlikely to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuild flagging support ahead of an October election.
BBC - BBC (2019-06-17)
The scenes are reminiscent of 2003 - when half a million people protested against proposed national security legislation. The unpopular chief executive at the time, Tung Chee-hwa, resigned months later. Critics have said the legislation would expose people in Hong Kong to China's deeply flawed justice system and lead to further erosion of the city's judicial independence.
WSJ - Nick Timiraos (2019-06-17)
Sometimes the Fed cuts rates as a form of insurance, because the risk of bad things happening has gone up: For parallels to questions the Fed faces, analysts point to two rate cuts from the 1990s.
WSJ - Akane Otani (2019-06-17)
Markets are sending conflicting signals about how big a threat the global trade rift presents, underscoring the difficulty investors face in sizing up the fallout from the U.S. and China’s spat.
NY Times - Neil Irwin (2019-06-17)
They want it known they’re basing their decisions on sound economics rather than political considerations. They wish not to be pushed around by what traders in financial markets and cable news pundits want. Or even by the president of the United States.
WSJ - Lawrence Norman (2019-06-17)
Iran said it would exceed limits on its enriched-uranium stockpiles before the end of this month, as the U.S. said it would send an additional 1,000 troops to the Mideast in response to “hostile behavior” by Tehran.
WSJ - WSJ (2019-06-17)
Chinese regulators made fresh attempts to calm frayed nerves in the country’s financial sector, as bank liquidity remained tight by some measures three weeks after authorities took over a struggling city lender.
FP - Philip Cross (2019-06-13)
It is no surprise that of all the former governors of the Bank of Canada, only John Crow had the gravitas and legacy to write a book about his tenure. By comparison, the current governor, Stephen Poloz, whose seven-year term has just entered its final year, barely has accomplishments, never mind a legacy. That is, unless one counts a track record of subpar growth, two near-recessions, monumental bubbles in Canada’s two largest housing markets and a substantial devaluation of the currency. But he did put the face of a female civil-rights activist on the $10 bill.
G&M - Nathan Vanderklippe (2019-06-12)
Protesters crowded onto the streets of downtown Hong Kong Wednesday morning, installing barriers on roads and snarling traffic as they prepared for a day of action to protest a bill that would make it easier for authorities in China to extradite people from the city.
G&M - MATTHEW MCCLEARN, GEOFFREY YORK (2019-06-11)
In Latin America, billions of dollars in Canadian government-backed loans have been funnelled to two of the region’s most notorious oil companies: the state-owned petroleum corporations of Mexico and Brazil, each riddled with frequent reports of bribery, bid-rigging and inflated contracts.
WSJ - Brian Blackston (2019-06-11)
As the global economy slows, central bank policies won’t follow the same path as a decade ago.
WSJ - Vivian Salama (2019-06-11)
President Trump said that the Federal Reserve has given China a competitive advantage over the U.S. with its monetary policy, adding that it is clear some officials haven’t listened to his advice to cut interest rates.
Reuters - Clare Jim, Kane Wu (2019-06-11)
Hong Kong geared for more protests, including strikes, transport go-slows and even picnics, against a proposed extradition law that would allow people to be sent to China for trial, even as the city’s leader vowed on Tuesday to push ahead with the bill.
NY Times - Ben Dooley (2019-06-10)
Spend big and never mind the deficit. That’s what proponents of modern monetary theory, the unorthodox set of economic ideas that has inspired politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, see as the winning formula for American prosperity.
