Federal Budget 2023…Press the Snooze Button

General Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 28 Mar

Federal Budget 2023…Press the Snooze Button As promised, there would be nothing much in this year’s budget for fear of stimulating inflation. The federal government faces a challenging fiscal environment and a weakening economy. Ottawa promised it would err on the side of restraint. Instead, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced a $43 billion increase in […]

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Housing Market Could Be Poised For A Spring Rebound

General Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 15 Mar

Housing Market Could Be Poised For A Spring Rebound The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in February bounced 2.3% from the previous month. Homeowners and buyers were comforted by the guidance from the Bank of Canada that it would likely pause rate hikes for the first time in a year. The Canadian aggregate […]

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Bad News Is Good News for the Bank of Canada

Latest News Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 28 Feb

Bad News Is Good News for the Bank of Canada Statistics Canada released the real gross domestic product (GDP) figure for the final quarter of 2022 this morning, showing a marked slowdown in economic activity. This will undoubtedly keep the central bank on the sidelines when they announce their decision on March 8. The Bank […]

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Further Decline in Inflation in January Affirms Bank of Canada Pause in March

Latest News Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 21 Feb

Further Decline in Inflation in January Affirms Bank of Canada Pause in March Canadian inflation decelerated meaningfully in January despite the continued strength in the economy. Labour markets remain very tight, and retail sales continue strong. Nevertheless, the Bank of Canada’s jumbo rate hikes over the past eleven months have tempered inflation from a June […]

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December Housing Data Ended 2022 on a Weak Note

Latest News Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 15 Feb

December Housing Data Ended 2022 on a Weak Note The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in January were the lowest for the month since 2009 and fell 37.1% from a year ago. The Canadian housing market has been sliding for eleven consecutive months as the unprecedented rise in interest rates–up from 25 basis […]

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Red Hot Labour Market Despite Rate Hikes

Latest News Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 10 Feb

Red Hot Labour Market Despite Rate Hikes Today’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) for January was much stronger than expected, once again calling into question how long the Bank of Canada’s rate pause will last. This report showed no evidence that the labour market is slowing in response to the vast and rapid runup in interest rates. […]

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The Bank of Canada Slowed the Pace of Monetary Tightening

Latest News Wing Kei (Winson) Lam 26 Oct

The Bank of Canada Slowed the Pace of Monetary Tightening The Governing Council of the Bank of Canada raised its target for the overnight policy rate by 50 basis points today to 3.75% and signalled that the policy rate would rise further. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening (QT), reducing its holdings […]

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