Op-Eds
Suddenly, inflation is in the news. In Canada and abroad, spending is surging and COVID-impaired production is struggling to keep up. Key commodities – oil, lumber and metals – are expensive.
It is front-of-mind in financial markets as well. The yield on the federal government’s 30-year bonds, which was below 0.9 per cent last August, topped 2.0 per cent last week – well above its pre-pandemic level.
Do these headlines and fears represent overreactions to rogue statistics and possible minor tactical shifts by central banks? Or is something more fundamental happening? Will politicians who won’t stop spending more than they tax end up forcing central banks to print money to cover the difference?
Current indicators and…
Quand le vent souffle fort, même les dindes peuvent voler. Pour un temps. À preuve les titres boursiers gonflés à l’hélium par l’action coordonnée de petits investisseurs.
L’appréciation aussi artificielle que spectaculaire d’une poignée d’actions soulève des questions importantes sur les causes profondes et sur les conséquences de ce phénomène, encore trop récent pour être pleinement compris.
Résumons d’abord les faits essentiels, sans entrer dans les détails de la plomberie financière.
Aux États-Unis, des milliers d’investisseurs novices, surtout de jeunes hommes, se sont coordonnés dans un forum du réseau social Reddit pour acheter une douzaine d’entreprises mal aimées, notamment GameStop, AMC et BlackBerry,…
A couple of weeks back, Jack Mintz warned Financial Post readers that governments that think low interest rates will let them keep borrowing big are on a dangerous path. As he pointed out, the presumption that deficits are sustainable depends on the rate of growth of the economy exceeding the interest rate. Drilling down, if a government borrows to pay all its interest, its debt will grow at the interest rate. If the economy grows faster than that, the government’s debt-to-GDP ratio can fall even if it also borrows to pay for some of its program spending. But if the interest rate is greater than the rate of economic growth, the government must cover all its program spending with taxes, and then some. Otherwise, its debt grows…
Last week the Bank of Canada decided not to change its target for the “overnight rate” of interest at which lending takes place among large financial institutions. It was a non-move that had extra significance in light of recent speeches by members of the bank’s Governing Council. Statements by Gov. Tiff Macklem and Deputy Gov. Paul Beaudry before Christmas had led to speculation about the possibility of a “micro-cut,” a cut in the target overnight rate of less than 25 basis points, if weak economic conditions warranted such a move. With the bank now predicting negative economic growth this quarter, such a cut might have seemed justified.
But it didn’t happen. To us, this time, that was the right call. Here’s why.
First,…
Along with much of the world, Canada’s economy has suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and other events in 2020, notably the shock to global oil markets. How badly? An examination of the immediate data and longer trends indicates significant damage, with a lengthy recovery period ahead.
Let’s start with labour markets, where there are signs of recovery but also growing evidence of damage. The unemployment rate exploded to nearly 14 per cent from 6 per cent during the shutdown from March to May. The rate has dropped steadily since as many displaced workers have been re-engaged, but the second pandemic wave and renewed shutdowns in many provinces have meant more job losses. Employment fell by 63,000 in December, and…
