A basic principle of good governance in Canada is that governments set mandates for crown corporations and regulatory authorities and those arm’s-length institutions then make use of the tools at their disposal to design actual policies. This principle is under threat on the campaign trail as politicians weigh in on one of the issues voters care most about these days, housing affordability.
All parties have put out ideas and plans for taming Canada’s housing markets. They all acknowledge the need to increase supply — which at the end of the day is the only real long-term fix — while trying to free up extra cash for people to make a down payment on a home in their desired neighbourhood. But in the blizzard of proposals there…
Statistics Canada’s latest gross domestic product release contained at least two surprises. The first was that real GDP fell at an annualized rate of one per cent in the second quarter. That made headlines. With all the stimulus and rising optimism about recovery from the COVID recession, why the setback?
But a second surprise was that nominal spending — measured in the dollars that actually changed hands, before adjustment for price changes — rose at an eight per cent annualized rate. That raised eyebrows. The difference between a one-per cent real fall and an eight-per cent nominal rise is nine per cent higher prices. Real activity slipped a little. The value of our money slipped a lot.
We already knew that consumer…
La partie ne sera pas facile, mais les régulateurs ont commencé à serrer la vis au Bitcoin, à ses milliers de cousins cryptos et aux infrastructures qui gravitent dans cet univers opaque et apatride.
La Financial Conduct Authority du Royaume-Uni, incapable de superviser adéquatement Binance, la plus grande Bourse de cryptomonnaies au monde, interdit ses activités sur son territoire. La plateforme n’a pas répondu aux questions de base posées par le régulateur, qui estime que ses « produits complexes et à haut risque » font courir des « risques significatifs » aux investisseurs.
Binance, incorporée dans les îles Caïman, n’a pas de siège social. Chaque mois, il se négocie sur cette Bourse immatérielle des…
