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Gold/Mining/Energy : Canadian Warrants Only -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tyc:> who wrote (4038)	5/1/2008 6:57:26 PM
From: Davy Crockett	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23102

I thought you didn't read charts?

To: tyc:> who wrote (4038)	5/1/2008 8:42:42 PM
From: calgarylady	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23102

You read this and its looks like things are so depressing here in Canada but then they say this. So if the overall unemployment is staying low... how are things that bad... Alexander said Canadians may see some job losses in the manufacturing sector, but "overall unemployment is likely to remain very low." Updated Thu. Apr. 24 2008 10:22 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Canada is teetering on the brink of recession, according to the Bank of Canada. Lower exports and unsteady financial markets are leading to a lagging Canadian economy, according to the Bank of Canada's quarterly monetary report. Thursday's report states that Canada has entered an economic slump with growth only slightly higher than recession levels. The report provides insights to an interest rate cut by the bank earlier this week. On Tuesday, the central bank lowered rates to 3 per cent from 3.5 per cent. "In order to achieve the inflation target over the medium term, additional monetary stimulus will be required," said bank governor Mark Carney during a Thursday news conference, adding Canadians should expect more interest rate cuts in the future. The report said the Bank of Canada would likely cut rates one more time this year. The central bank had initially predicted an economic upswing this quarter but now says Canada won't see a growing economy until the second half of the year, when the growth rate is predicted to average 1.8 per cent. Thursday's report noted that Central Canada's manufacturers -- and the export sector -- will be especially hard hit as the U.S. economy takes a dip. TD Bank's Chief Economist Don Drummond painted an even bleaker picture of Canada's financial future Thursday, saying he believes the market won't do as well as the Bank of Canada's low predictions. "I think the Bank of Canada is positively cheery compared to how I feel," he said on CTV Newsnet. "But I don't think we're looking at a recession like (those of) the early 1980s or early 1990s." The TD Bank's Deputy Chief Economist Craig Alexander told CTV Newsnet late Thursday afternoon, the bank believes Canada's economic growth next year will be under two per cent. "We think a weakness in the U.S. economy is going to be relatively protracted. The housing market is likely to remain very weak. The financial market conditions are only gradually going to recover," said Alexander. "I think the important thing for most Canadians is that it isn't going to feel terribly bad. I think what you're going to find is that economic growth in Western Canada remains quite solid. I think the weakness in the Canadian economy is going to be more in Central Canada and parts of Atlantic Canada." Alexander said Canadians may see some job losses in the manufacturing sector, but "overall unemployment is likely to remain very low." Harper responds In Quebec, Prime Minister Stephen Harper admitted that Canada faces "uncertain economic times." But he told the chamber of commerce in Laval, north of Montreal, that the country's strong economic fundamentals will help Canada weather the storm. Canadian Auto Workers Union President Buzz Hargrove told CTV's Mike Duffy Live that Ottawa needs to step in and help the country's manufacturing sector. "(Stephen Harper) is saying 'the market will take care of all this.' Boy, we need direct intervention here to ensure we don't continue to lose these jobs," Hargrove said. Hargrove praised Carney's steps to cut interest rates since taking over the Bank of Canada earlier this year. "But we have to cut deeper. We have to lower the value of the dollar. We can't let the commodities drive our dollar and put our manufacturing sector, including the auto sector, out of business. That makes no sense for Canada," he said. The Bank of Canada report attributed much of Canada's near-recession to lagging economies elsewhere, suggesting it may be up to two years before the light at the end of the tunnel in the United States, which has been experiencing a credit crunch since last summer that shows no short-term signs of waning. "The deterioration in economic and financial conditions in the United States will have significant spillover effects globally,'' states the report, listing consequences for Canada including declining exports and costly credit for businesses and banks. While the credit crunch is having less of an impact in Canada as is other countries, it is still taking a toll. The bank's report said businesses and consumers can expect to pay about three-quarters of a percentage point above normal borrowing rates. Conditions are expected to return to normal by 2010. With files from The Canadian Press