C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council Urges Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 1.00 Percent
December 1, 2011 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, the very short-term interest rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, at 1.00 percent at its next announcement on December 6, 2011. The risks that Europe’s fiscal problems pose to the international financial system and the world economy are so severe that the MPC called for the Bank’s overnight rate to stay at 1.00 percent through the end of 2012.
Opening Statement of a presentation by Daniel Schwanen, Associate Vice-President, Trade and International Policy, C.D. Howe Institute, presented at the invitation of the Standing Committee on International Trade of the House of Commons.
THE CETA NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION: A STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR CANADA
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the committee.
Leading economist Don Drummond lays out “palatable” options to improve Canada’s healthcare system, with broad public support, in a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In "Therapy or Surgery? A Prescription for Canada’s Health System," Mr. Drummond, Senior Fellow at the Institute and the Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy at Queen’s University, provides a diagnosis, prognosis and prescription for reform of the healthcare system, with a focus on Ontario.
When Is a Business Alliance a Criminal Cartel?
November 10, 2011 – The Competition Bureau should better define and clarify its legal view on when ordinary business practices or strategic alliances will be treated as offences and subject to civil review or criminal prosecution, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. Otherwise, businesses may be inhibited in their ordinary activities, or inclined to avoid entering strategic agreements with competitors that would be of benefit to Canadian consumers.
Report of the C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council
October 20, 2011 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, the very short-term interest rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, at 1.00 percent at its next announcement on October 25, 2011. The Council further recommended holding the target at 1.00 percent at the following announcement on December 6, 2011, and called for a continued target of 1.00 through April 2012, followed by an increase to 1.50 percent by October 2012.
October 20, 2011 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, the very short-term interest rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, at 1.00 percent at its next announcement on October 25, 2011. The Council further recommended holding the target at 1.00 percent at the following announcement on December 6, 2011, and called for a continued target of 1.00 through April 2012, followed by an increase to 1.50 percent by October 2012.
The Bank of Canada should place less emphasis on the “core” Consumer Price Index (CPI) in explaining its policy choices, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In, “Core, What is it Good For? Why the Bank of Canada Should Focus on Headline Inflation,” authors Philippe Bergevin and Colin Busby say that core CPI, an inflation measure which strips out from the consumer price basket some of the most volatile items and which the Bank uses as an operational guide, has diverged from total CPI and may give misleading signals about future inflation.
September 1, 2011 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight interest rate, the very short-term money-market rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, at 1.00 percent at its next announcement on September 7, 2011. The Council further recommended holding the target rate at 1.00 percent at the following announcement on October 25, 2011, followed by increases that would take it to 1.25 percent in March 2012 and 1.75 percent in September 2012.
July 14, 2011 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada raise its target for the overnight interest rate, the very short-term money-market rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, to 1.25 percent at its next announcement on July 19, 2011. The Council further recommended holding the target rate at 1.25 percent at the following announcement on September 7, 2011, followed by increases that would take it to 1.75 percent in January 2012 and 2.25 percent in July 2012.