ECON "Dossier" 295-761
Antoine Tardif 260440232
To professor, DR. John Saba Tuesday, 6:05 pm class
Due and submitted on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 "Dossier" ECON 295-761
Antoine Tardif 260440232
To professor, DR. John Saba Tuesday, 6:05 pm class
Due and submitted on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 Week 1: Monday, January 3rd to Sunday, January 9th 6 Janvier, La Presse Affaires, Page 3 Pousse salutaire de l'emploi dans le secteur Public Rsum : Cet article fait un rsum du march de l'emploi dans le secteur public. Il cite entre autre que le secteur public a contribu largement la tenue de plusieurs emplois au pays depuis 2007. On parle de 228 200 emplois au Canada et 37 500 au Qubec provenant de ce secteur. Cependant, le gouvernement qui lutte prsentement contre le dficit tentera sans aucuns doutes d'avoir un contrle serr des dpenses de programmes. Ce qui entrainera invitablement une ascension un peu plus lente du secteur d'emploi public. On parle aussi du fait que la population vieilli et que le secteur public devra se concentr d'avantage remplacer les effectifs qui partent pour la retraite que d'essayer d'accrotre ce secteur. Au Qubec, le ministre des finances, Raymond Bachand souhaite retourner en situation d'quilibre budgtaire en 2013-2014. Un tableau de comparaison en bas de l'article nous fait part d'une dmonstration de l'emploi selon les secteurs au Qubec et au Canada. Analyse : L'article dmontre une analyse de surface sur ce qui se passe rellement au Canada et au Qubec selon moi. On parle dans l'article vaguement de certains secteurs publics mais sans donner beaucoup de dtails. En, gnral, on dmontre que le secteur public s'est vu tre un secteur d'emploi qui aura offert beaucoup d'emploi au Canada et au Qubec durant la rcession de 2008. Cependant, on nous avertis que dans les annes venir, alors qu'autant au Provincial qu'au Fdral nous tenterons de retourner en situation d'quilibre, le march du secteur public se verra trs conservateur afin de rduire certaines dpenses et esprer revenir l'quilibre pour 2013-2014 au Qubec et 20152016 au Canada.
January 7th, Globe and Mail, Page B1 All eyes on Canada, U.S. unemployment numbers Summary: This article is doing a little comparison of Canada and United States and also a table shows the jobless rates across Canada. It also states that all the jobs lost in Canada
during the recession were recouped, showing a much faster speed of repair than expected. Like it stated in the previous article, the public sector which is usually strength is expected to slow down as governments at all levels tighten the belts. During this time, the private sector is being cautious in its hiring processes. A survey states that fourteen percent of business owners plan to add full time staff while 14 percent expect to cut position. On a positive note, 250,000 jobs should be created this year in the Prairies. Analysis: It is clear that we are doing better in Canada compared to the United States in getting our people working again. As the article says, we recouped most of the jobs lost during the recession. However we need to consider that some of those jobs have been recouped but by part-time jobs which does not really give back the worker the same salary as they had before but at least it's a step forward. With the government tightening the belt we can see that they have an objective in mind now; that people get to be back work; bringing back the GDP on the predicted curve! I thought it would also be good to mention that according to the table in the article, Manitoba is the province that has the lowest jobless rate at 5.1%.
Week 2: Monday, January 10th to Sunday, January 16th January 11th, The Gazette, Page B5 Global Opportunity knocking Summary: This is an article from The Gazette that refers to a report from the McKinsey Global institute that was brought up lately. The main lines of the text are that there is about to have a big investment boom that will take place in Asia, Latin America and even Africa. It suggests that Canada should be adopting a strategy to participate in this investment boom. However, to do so they will need to be organized and this is why the author states that we should set up a special branch of government to quarterback such an initiative. Analysis: I agree with the fact that the Canadian government should seize this opportunity and adopt a proactive plan to make sure we are not left aside. Of course there are many things to take into consideration before investing money into a foreign market. However, we do have a lot of professionals that would be willing to go work abroad for the government of Canada. On the other side, we need to take care of our buildings and improving our own country before we think about going overseas to help other countries
improve theirs. Maybe some arrangement could be made with those foreign governments so that they eventually invest into our Country as a result of us sending some workers into their cities.
15 Janvier, La Presse, Page A4 L'endettement proccupe la Dame de fer Rsum : Cet article porte sur l'endettement des Qubcois ainsi que des Canadiens en gnral. C'est une entrevue effectue auprs de Mme Monique Jrme-Forget, ancienne ministre des Finances. Elle fait ressortir certaines questions par rapport la facilit d'obtenir du crdit au Canada et au Qubec. Parlant entre autre, d'une faible mise de fond de 5% qui est demande lorsque quelqu'un fait l'acquisition d'une maison ainsi que d'une statistique peu loquente qui stipule que le Canada arrive en tte du crdit la consommation dans le monde. Analyse : Je suis en accord avec les propos de Mme Jrme-Forget mis dans cet ouvrage. Nous ne voulons pas que le Canada plonge dans une crise comme celle aux tats-Unis alors n'offrons pas des taux la banque qui encourageront l'endettement. Je trouve trs ridicule que certaines banques offrent une remise en argent quivalente aux 5% que le particulier devrait dposer en mise de fond afin que celui-ci se fasse financer par cette institution bancaire. En bout de ligne c'est comme si le particulier tait financer 100%. Je sais que selon les dbats conomiques, des faibles taux peuvent favoriser l'conomie Canadienne. Cependant, il faut prendre en considration l'indiscipline de certains Canadiens face au crdit et s'assurer que ceux-ci ne s'endettent pas trop.
Week 3: Monday, January 17th to Sunday, January 23rd January 18th, The Gazette, Page B1 First-time buyers will feel pinch Summary: This article was written due to new mortgage rules announced by the Conservative government on January 17th, 2011. Those new rules are mainly stating that now, Canadians will only be able to borrow against the value of their homes to 85% compared to 90% before. New rules also states that Canadians from now on will not be allowed to mortgage a house over 30 years if they cannot make a 20-per-cent down payment on the home. Serge Bizien, executive sales director for Groupe Cholette states that those new regulations will not help considering most people buy a house to resell it within ten years. Analysis: I am in favor of those new regulations adopted from the government. It is not a major change but it will probably discourage some people who would not have been able to buy the house at first. Because let's not kid ourselves here; If you cannot afford to pay the difference in the payments of your house over 30 years instead of 35, then this house was probably too expensive for you anyway. However, I am against Mr. Bizien's statement which states that the new regulations "Will not help!" I am sure it will withdraw some people from buying homes they can't afford and at the same time lower the number of Canadians that are indebted.
19 janvier, La Presse Affaires, Page 16 Dangereuse, l'augmentation du prix du ptrole? Rsum : Cet article se veut tre un questionnement sur les impacts de l'augmentation du prix du ptrole sur la reprise conomique mondiale. Au Canada, certains conomistes sont venus aux conclusions que la hausse qu'a connue le baril de ptrole dernirement n'est pas alarmante pour notre pays puisque nous sommes un pays consommateur mais aussi producteur de cette matire premire. videmment qu'une hausse au-del de 100$ par baril pourrait causer un ralentissement conomique au Canada mais pour l'instant 91,38$US le baril le Canada est dans une bonne zone. Analyse :
Je suis en accord avec les analyses dcrites par les conomistes de la Caisse Desjardins ainsi que de la Banque Laurentienne. Ceux-ci affirment, tout comme les compagnies de ptroles, qu'il n'y a pas besoin de paniquer pour l'instant. Cependant, je comprends l'inquitude que les Canadiens peuvent avoir face cette hausse. La plupart des citoyens commencent juste voir la lumire au bout du tunnel et voil qu'on parle d'importantes augmentations du prix du ptrole. tant un pays exportateur, il faut prendre le temps d'analyser la situation des deux cts de la mdaille.
Week 4: Monday, January 24th to Sunday, January 30th January 25th, The Gazette, Page B1 Corporate tax cuts a go, Tories say Summary: This article talks about the plan the Conservative government is putting forward in lowering the corporations' tax. They do not actually say that those will be tax cuts for all corporations; they say they will be tax cuts for "job-creating businesses". Those new tax tables should be up sometime in February or March. In the budget, the finance minister will be laying out a series of economic proposals, of fiscal measures, to sustain job creation and economic growth. By reducing taxes to businesses, they believe business will run better and hire more people which will be good for employment. The opposition however does not agree with this initiative because they say it will only augment the Canadian debt which is already $56-billion under. Analysis: I believe this initiative could be beneficent on the short run GDP, however, if the Canadian government really has a $56-billion deficit already, I do not see how this action plan will help paying back that large amount of money. I do think it is a good idea to lower tax for companies so that companies can keep operating and do not have to put the lock in the door. I don't think there are reasons to panic here as Canada faced this crisis pretty strongly since the beginning and I trust in the Conservative government that this corporate tax cut will benefit the Canadian economy as companies will start to invest more again.
January 26th, La Presse, Page 1 et 4 L'inflation devient difficile pister Rsum : Un article fort intressant sur certaines statistiques qui dmontrent que le Canada est prsentement en priode prospre puisque la majorit des compagnies ont commenc augmenter leurs prix. En excluant l'essence, l'indice des prix la consommation (IPC) aurait progress de 1,8% de novembre dcembre. Cependant, plusieurs conomistes se montrent prudents face ces statistiques qui sment beaucoup de confiance la population. Ces derniers citent que certains facteurs, comme le fait que les analystes ont oubli de prendre en considration qu'en 2009, il y avait eu un important recul des prix viennent videmment jouer en faveur de la plus rcente donne du (IPC). Analyse : Je crois qu'il est vrai que l'indice du (IPC) dmontre qu'il y a matire inflation au Canada, cependant je suis aussi en accord avec les conomistes qui disent que ces donnes sont quelque peu biaises. Je crois que nous sommes dans la bonne direction mais encore loin de la predicted GDP curve . Il est vrai que l'anne 2010 aura t une bonne anne conomiquement pour le Canada par rapport 2009 mais il faut simplement garder en tte que nous ne sommes pas compltement sortis de cette crise qui nous a frappe il y a deux ans.
Week 5: Monday, January 31th to Sunday, February 6th February 1st, The Gazette, Page B2 Torries too quick to declare win over recession, NDP says Summary:
An article stating that it is too fast to say we are done with the present recession. As a matter of fact, this month, the International Monetary Fund downgraded the growth forecast for Canada to 2.3 percent. With that new forecast from the IMF, Canada can no longer say that they are leading the pack among major advanced economies in terms of growth outlook for 2011. As for the unemployment rate, it is now at 7.6% and Flaherty says it could take a while before the unemployment rate is back to 6.3 per cent, which it was at before the recession. Analysis: After reading this article it was obvious to me that Flaherty is not saying anything new when he says that it might take a while before we go back to 6.3 per cent as our unemployment rate number. However there have been impressive upgrades to that number over the last year. But we also need to take into consideration that 2010 was a good year for the Canadians since we had the Olympic Games in our Country. This and many other reasons is why there is a slight kickback in the growth forecast for 2011 but one thing is for sure we are passed the bigger part of the recession and moving forward.
February 2nd, La Presse, Page 6 Flaherty rvise la baisse Summary : Canadian minister of Finance Jim Flaherty also stating that the economy was still fragile and that his prediction for economic growth was 2.4% as opposed to 2.5% in September. He is still .1% higher than what the IMF predicts (2.3%) He states that Canada needs to keep his focus on creating jobs and to think about getting back to forecasted GDP in a close future. Economists are also predicting a 2.8% economic growth for Canada in 2012. They are however predicting a 2.8% economic growth for the USA for 2011 which is higher than Canada. Analysis: Jim Flaherty's numbers are similar to IMF's as for the Canadian economic growth forecast. However, although if we are supposed to talk about the Canadian economy, something sticks to my eyes when I see the Americans' forecast being higher than ours. They do not take into consideration the quality life of the Americans right now. Maybe we should also look at using the HDI scale to measure how well the united States are doing. Also, USA is in a much worst position than Canada as of now so improving their economic growth to 2.8% in 2011 does not mean their economy is doing so much better than ours if we look at it on different sides.
Week 6: Monday, February 7th to Sunday, February 13th February 8th, The Gazette, Page B1 Building permits rebound in December Summary: This article tells us about the housing market and how it reacted to the recession in the month of December 2010. The value of building permits rose in December throughout Canada for the first time in three months. This increase was mainly due to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Ontario. This is the province that is the most responsible for the growth since their jump was 22.4 per cent. Quebec on the other side was one of the three provinces that actually had a drop of 20.2 per cent following an 18.2 per cent increase in November. However, the Canadian permits market was above predictions for the month of December. Analysis: I believe this is an interesting article in the fact that if provinces are asking for more and more permits; it means they are building more, which is good for the economic growth. However, it is not the same for every province as Quebec actually fell behind 20.2 per cent during that period. It is also important to read the article carefully because it clearly states that most of those permits increase are residential related. The non-residential and institutional intentions fell in nearly all provinces. This makes us realize that maybe the residents feel better about that economic crisis and are not feared to build houses but on the other side businesses are still careful as the permit drop of 22 per cent shows.
February 9th, La Presse, Page 10 Le Huard joue les Icare Summary: This article relates to the value of the Canadian dollar throughout the world as its currency as been over the green American bill since the beginning of the year. Usually measured by the country's buying power, it does not make sense that the Canadian dollar is worth more than the Americans'. However, due to many other variables like the difference in the interests rates or the financial health of each country makes the Canadian dollar above parity. Analysis: After reading this article I agree with Franois Barrire, vice-president, international market, for the Laurentienne bank. He states that in the long-term, a country's device will depend on its competitiveness. Being in a very global world where more and more business is done overseas, I think that the economies that adapt to foreign competition and are able to keep their market share throughout the world will see their money worth the most. However, I believe Canadian's dollar will not be over parity forever. The reason is simply that our current account is at its lowest in many years and one of the main reason is that we do a lot of business with the USA and we don't seem to be able to restructure by ourselves.
Week 7: Monday, February 14th to Sunday, February 20th February 16th, The Gazette, Page B2 Canada will have $10B deficit by mid-decade, budget watchdog says Summary: Kevin Page, Parliament's budget watchdog told MPs that the projection of the federal government that the deficit would be back to balance by mid-decade was a false statement. He states that temporary spending freezes for government departments, as is now the case until 2013 will not cut it. He states there is an important output gap, which creates unemployment, and he does think not it will narrow until the end of 2016. In comparison, the bank of Canada as targeted the end of 2012 for the slack to be absorbed. Analysis:
It is hard to take a stand into that matter since I am not aware of all the numbers involved into the Canadian economy. However, it is right that the output gap is an important measurement of how the economy is doing and how it should be doing according to the predicted curve or potential GDP. The Canadian Government did take some good decisions regarding the recession since we have not been badly affected by the recent slump. However, it might be a little too optimistic to say that by mid-decade the economy would be back to balance. This is an interesting prediction that will make me look into it once comes 2015-2016.
February 17th, The Gazette, Page B2 Average family debt hits $100,000: report Summary: This article relates to some important numbers regarding the saving's percentage in Canada. It also reveals that average family debt has hit $100,000 and that results into a 150% debt-to-income ratio. Those numbers are coming from the Ottawa-based thinktank's 12th annual report. Even if the latest employment and GDP figures point to continued improvement from the low point of recession, the momentum of early 2010 slowed near the end of the year and some area of the country continue to struggle. Kurt Rosentreter, a Toronto-based certified financial planner raises the question that Canadian families do not save anymore and that our debt-to-income ratio is now about even to the Americans' one. Which was not the case 20 years ago. Analysis: I think that this article is very interesting in the fact that it talks about a different aspect of economic growth. If as Canadians we do not save, we will not have the important investments and the lower rates that we want for the future. As a basic economic statement states, save now for better days to come. Seeing that our debt-to-income ratio is pretty much the same as the Americans' is far from being good news considering we always say that we are ok in Canada since we do not spend as much as they do. Numbers now show this is a false statement. It is also important that family save money for their children if they eventually want to go to University. Otherwise, this will create another problem, as we will be lacking some professional skills. What is the point of having one of the best schooling in the world if our economy comes to the point where people don't have the resources to attend it anymore?
Week 8: Monday, February 21st to Sunday, February 27th February 26th, The Gazette, Page C4 Flaherty urges provinces to cut taxes, balance budgets Summary: This article refers to the payment of the Canadian budget deficit. The numbers for the month of December are showing that the deficit shrank due to a rise in tax revenues and a decline in program expense. Revenues increased 8.4 per cent reflecting increases in personal and corporate income tax revenues and other revenues. Finance minister Jim Flaherty expects the shortfall to narrow to $45.4 billion for the 12-month period ending March 31. He also says that the deficit should be equal to zero by 2015-2016. However, to attain this objective, he is urging provincial governments to lower their taxes and balance their budgets as quickly as possible to enhance the country's ability to compete globally. Analysis: I think it is fair to say that the economy is on the right track. It is also true that if the economy keeps recovering at the pace it is right now it is not foolish to say that the debt would be back to zero in 2015-2016. However, I believe this year was a good year due to people's confidence in the recovery and also a good year for Canada since the Olympic games were in Vancouver. I doubt that this year will be as impressive as last year. We also have to take in consideration that we were into a recession the year before so of course the 2010-2011 numbers look very impressive. I am tending to Page's comments that stipulate that the Canadian government is in a good recovery but that it will however still have a deficit in 2016. Only time will tell if it is true.
February 26th, The Gazette, Page C4 Loonie hits highest point in almost three years Summary:
This is just a small article about the Canadian currency as at February 26 th, 2011. It states that Canada's currency touched its strongest level in almost three years against its U.S. counterpart as crude oil, the nation's biggest export, headed for its biggest weekly gain since 2009. Due to many reasons including the exportation of gasoline, the Canadian dollar has now been over parity for a while now with the American dollar. Actually, it has been worth more since the beginning of the year. Analysis: I know it looks good that Canada's currency has been over parity for a while now but we also need to look at this situation from the exportation side. Of course it does not affect gasoline exportation that much since it is a major product. However, our currency being so high does not encourage foreign countries to import our products because they end up being too expensive for them with the currency change. This may cause a problem later on as we will export less and less. Having a great currency also makes us want to import more from cheaper markets, which does not help our domestic economy. So, having a good currency is good but we have to be very aware of the problems it may bring.
Week 9: Monday, February 28th to Sunday, march 6th March 5th, The Gazette, Page C1 U.S. job gains are speeding up Summary: Even though this article refers to U.S. unemployment, it often relates to Canada in the saying that a big part of our economy depends directly on the American economy. The article states that the U.S. job machine is finally moving out of slow gear. For example, private-sector job showed a growth of 222,000 jobs in February. Also, the unemployment rate went from 9.8 per cent to 8.9 per cent over the last three month, which is a significant drop. The article also points out that due to different calculating method for measuring the economy's progress, the numbers have always been lower then they actually were over the past couple months. So we can conclude that the numbers may be even better than stated. Analysis: In the Canadian economy, we will greatly benefit from an American recovery since we do a lot of business with them. An example would be Montreal's Bombardier Inc., which just signed its biggest deal ever to sell business jets up to $6.7 billion worth for U.S.based NetJets Inc. This is only one of the many examples that represent the alliance
between Canada and the United States on an economic side. I am septic about the fact that they say the employment numbers would be even greater if they were counted properly. I think it is simply a way to say that they are recovering faster than what is actually being said. However the unemployment rate does not lie and it is true that their economy is doing better, which is good for us.
March 3rd, The Gazette, Page B1 Upbeat small businesses herald strong growth Summary: The article refers to a cross-country survey that is called The Business Barometer. It is a diffusion index showing if there is economic growth or not in Canada. And the results of this survey suggests a robust growth and mostly coming from the fact that smallbusinesses feel confident and have started to invest again. Most provinces are increasing their production and Qubec is the strongest province in Eastern Canada so far as growth is concerned. Business also feel confident about the strong Canadian currency and they do not fear that their sales will slow down as long as there is demand for their products. Analysis: I think that this report is showing that Canadians do not feel like we are in a recession anymore, which is how I personally feel. However, it is important to note that, even if it does not show right now, our currency being high could be an important issue in the future if foreign countries start judging our money as too expensive. Yes, it is advantageous for Canadian businesses to import products but if you look at it from the other side, it is not attractive for other countries to buy from ours if our prices are higher then elsewhere. So we have to be careful about this situation and make sure we are developing products or services that are not developed elsewhere. This way, they will not have a choice to buy from us and will be willing to pay the asking price.
Week 10: Monday, March 7th to Sunday, February 13th March 11th, The Globe and Mail, Page B6 Trade surplus shrinks, but recovery signs still positive Summary: This is an interesting article about Canada's exports and imports over the last three months and a prediction for the three months to come from different economists. One analyst from the Toronto-Dominion Bank says; "The fact that that exports are still growing with the loonie hovering at or above parity is a really strong indicator of a sustained recovery in that sector". Overall imports gained 5.3 per cent after slipping in the last few months of 2010. This article is also stating the fact that our exports will most likely depend on the other countries purchasing power of our highly priced oil. Finally, it is referring to the numbers of the end of February that are showing Canada's GDP grew at an annualized 3.3 per-cent rate in the last three months of 2010. Analysis: I am fully agreeing to that article which refers to net exports and the Canadian GDP of the last few months. It is evident that our economy is recovering since the import gained 5.5 per cent. This is directly related to the consumers' wealth perception. As they start to feel more confident about their jobs and their future incomes, they buy more so this is why importation numbers went up. This is a sign of recovery. Another interesting fact is that according to Stats Canada, overall exports also rose by 0.8 per cent. This is good considering that Canadian's currency is very high at the moment and this usually has the effect to discourage foreign buyers from importing our products and services. Even if 0.8 per cent is not a significant augmentation it is still encouraging considering that the dollar value did not go down. Finally, those numbers are reflecting how Canadians feel about the value of their money right now. We are feeling more and more confident and this reflects in our buying (imports) and also in the growth of 3.3 per cent of the last three months GDP. The little diagrams attached to this article also show how Canada is doing opposed to U.S. and China.
March 12th, The Globe and Mail, Page B2 Canada's job growth slows in February Summary: This article refers to the month of February unemployment rate as it remained at 7.8 per cent according to Statistic Canada. The report revealed softness in the labour market. Full-time jobs declined by 23,800 even though it showed a 1.2 per cent increase in the last year. The total number of hours also dropped by 0.2 per cent in February. One area
where jobs grew was in the number of self-employed workers. It grew by 26,000, while the number of private sectors employees fell and public sector employment changed little. Finally, the economists' prediction of 25,000 new jobs for February was a little off but let's say their prediction was not high so they were kind of waiting for a slow month. Analysis: I think that the slow job growth for February is directly related to our exportation numbers being low and our currency being high. Our currency being high makes Canadians feel like their money is worth more if they buy from foreign countries where the currency is lower. This consumption of imported goods does not help our domestic economy unless our exports are just as high but it is not the case right now because foreign countries seek to buy from countries where the currency is lower so that they can have more for their buck. This explanation inevitably slows down production in Canada, which does not help the unemployment rate. However, it is not a dramatic month as we stayed the same.
Week 11: Monday, March 14th to Sunday, February 20th March 16th, The Globe and Mail, Page B4 Japanese crisis puts pressure on loonie Summary: According to this article from The Globe and Mail, the Canadian currency would go back under parity in the following months. The reason that is stated is that Japan's vast earthquake is causing investors to dump assets tied most closely to global growth. This crisis chopped the price of oil, metals and other commodities Canada exports. It is also saying that many people were playing with the Canadian currency as it was a good investment but they will most likely sell back to lock in profits or avoid losses before drops. Analysis: Although this article does not refer directly to Canada's economy, the Canadian currency is a good indicator of what will happen in the future. As most of us might think that it is bad that our currency goes back down under parity with the U.S., it might actually be a good thing as foreign countries will restart importing more products from Canada which will create more jobs and show on the unemployment rate. For the Canadian consumer, the change in currency should not affect its domestic consumption as the prices are not going to fall or rise because of a currency change. So I think it is important to look at this
possible fall of the currency in a good way for a Country when referring to exportation and all of the affects that come with it.
March 19th, The Gazette, Page C1 Food, unlike gas, includes no uncertainty price pressure can be predicted Summary: This article refers to the inflation around the world but most precisely in Canada. It is also referring to the prices of the gasoline and food industries. It is lighting up the fact that even if the February inflation rate is on the low, it does not mean that Canada is a safe heaven because most of this falling is directly caused by the accommodation index in Vancouver that plunged by a stunning 39 per cent this month. The reason for this drop is caused by a slow year after receiving the Olympics in their city. Meaning that the inflation rate is not accurate and that we are actually tending towards an inflationary gap. However, Bryan points out that the good thing about all of this is that we can prepare for it and that the actual inflation numbers are good as core inflation shows 0.9 per cent in February whereas headline inflation is at 2.2 per cent which is still reasonable. Analysis: It is obvious that the Olympic games have had a serious impact on many calculations of the Country's performance last year. This year, we are seeing some of the downfall of that event as it is misleading the inflation rate. However, what is important to understand is that if it would not have been for the Olympics, the inflation rate would be higher than it is now so we need to be prepared for what is coming. Economists are talking about a "slow burn" that will push prices up speedily through the year, triggering interest rates by around mid-year. And by being aware of what is going on in different countries, we can expect an increase in food prices due to bad weather around the world. So being informed of all those situations should reinforce the tact that Canadians are prepared for those price upgrades and there should be no uncertainty. This statement is coming from a global understanding of economy as a whole.
Comprehensive Summary Page Doing this dossier has been a positive activity from the start. I thought it was interesting that our professor asked us to start to pay attention to television news and newspaper articles right from the first week. I had never really paid attention to the Canadian economy in the news or in the papers before and doing this dossier augmented my understanding of the economy as a whole. Reading and analyzing the articles everyday also made me aware of many other issues going on in Canada that I had never been exposed to before. Not only was the dossier a good way to practice every week's material we had learned in class by editing our resume and analysis but it also contributed to my study and will inevitably help me in the final exam. Doing a "scrapbook" was also an interesting way of studying the material as opposed to traditional homework. I did not know much about the economy before I took this class and now I feel comfortable about the main concepts of Macroeconomic as far as economic growth, inflation/deflation, employment/unemployment, the measurements of the GDP and what affects it, the currency, and so on. Interesting fact is that once you start to understand the basic concepts of economy, you realize that most of the time it is all related like and goes like a rolling snowball, as everything seems to depend on one another. Every week, I felt like I could analyze the articles more and more and develop different theories each time. It also made me realize that economic theories and measures are in our every day life and that understanding the main concepts of the economy in our daily decision making as an individual and even more as a manager is a must. Finally, this "dossier" also improved my English writing and made me look up a lot of words in the translation dictionary. It has been a very interesting way of learning economy and I have already started to apply some of the concepts in my personal life as one of the principles says; "Save today for a brighter future tomorrow."