Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Nov 01, 2024
Canadian policy makers are worried about potential weakness in the economy due to higher interest rates. One of the biggest challenges facing Canadians is the increase in monthly payments that comes with higher rates. Although there have been four Bank... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Oct 25, 2024
The Bank of Canada made a jumbo rate cut, its fourth cut to the benchmark interest rate. The 50 basis points cut brought the policy rate to 3.75 percent. The justification for such a large cut is that CPI inflation has dropped below the target of 2 percent... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Oct 18, 2024
The U.S. election on November 5 2024 is touted as a major event, as the policy and style differences between the two candidates are unusually large. Given how close the polls are — within the margin of error — there is a high degree of uncertainty and... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Oct 11, 2024
Canadian physicist Geoffrey Hinton and three other scientists received Nobel Prizes this week for work related to advances in artificial intelligence. Their discoveries have the potential to revolutionize mankind’s ability to cure disease. But these advances... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Oct 04, 2024
Canada is falling behind the U.S. in economic growth. Up until a few years ago, Canada and its huge neighbour to the south grew by about the same annual rate. But since 2022 Canada is falling behind by most measures. What happened? The Economist wrote... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Sep 27, 2024
China entered full panic mode, announcing stimulus measures to counteract the deflationary impact of weak property prices. But those policies may not be enough to lift the economy to the 5 percent growth target. This week China announced several measures... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Sep 20, 2024
On Wednesday September 18, 2024, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut 50 basis points off its benchmark rate, making the first move to lower rates in four years. History shows that economic cycles and stock market outcomes after the first cut are divided. Either... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Sep 13, 2024
China continues to experience a significant collapse in its property sector, which is weighing heavily on Chinese families. Numerous attempts at stimulating the sector have failed. When will China’s property sector start to recover? There is a view suggesting... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Sep 06, 2024
A weakening trend for the economy in the U.S. was confirmed on Friday. A recession is likely, although the official notification of recession will not come until 2025. The Federal Reserve will start to cut interest rates later in September after declaring... Read more Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Aug 30, 2024
A massive glut of condominium apartments in Toronto threatens to sink the housing market. Condominiums were gobbled up by aggressive, highly levered speculators as a way of participating in the housing boom with minimal capital outlay. But now those apartments... Read more