The Bank of Canada once again predicted on Wednesday a delayed return to desired economic growth rates, but it left interest rates unchanged and repeated that at some point it would probably tighten monetary policy.
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A surging New Zealand housing market that has sent prices to record levels is jangling nerves at the central bank, prompting warnings of asset bubbles that may need rate rises and moves to rein in bank lending.
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Want a mortgage rate lower than those advertised by lenders? Ask and you shall receive.
In a Globe and Mail survey of more than 300 mortgage holders, 82 per cent said they were able to get a rate better than the lender’s official posted number when they last negotiated their mortgages.
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Canada’s Finance Minister has taken his battle against a housing bubble an extraordinary step further, issuing rare praise for the country’s banks for not matching Bank of Montreal’s cut-rate mortgages, which the lender rolled out a week ago in an attempt to drum up new business.
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Massive injections of money by central banks to aid ailing economies is having the effect of keeping the Canadian currency higher than it otherwise would be against other major currencies, TD Bank economists said Thursday.
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TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was lower after the Bank of Canada said it’s leaving the key overnight interest rate unchanged at one per cent and again suggested it will stay that low for some time.
The currency slipped 0.4 of a cent to a fresh, eight-month low of 96.88 cents US as the bank said that “the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will likely remain appropriate for a period of time, after which some modest withdrawal will likely be required.”
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The U.S. Federal Reserve’s low interest-rate policies are giving key support to an economy still burdened by high unemployment, Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday.
Bernanke signaled that the Fed’s efforts to keep borrowing costs low will continue.
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OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada is signalling interest rates will need to stay at super-low levels for longer than it previously thought, citing a deterioration in the economy that has reduced inflationary pressures and set back expectations for growth.
As expected, the central bank’s policy setting team kept the trendsetting interest rate at one per cent Wednesday, where it has been for almost two-and-a-half years.
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Just because the Bank of Canada hasn’t altered interest rates for more than two years doesn’t mean policy makers have been idle.
With little room to manoeuvre on policy, Governor Mark Carney and his deputies have been conducting something of a stress test on the Canadian economy. Their speeches, interest-rate announcements, and quarterly reports have become the most important sources of insight into Canada’s economic strengths – and more importantly, its weaknesses.
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Canadian businesses saw less pressure on their production capacity in the fourth quarter and were concerned about demand over the next year, according to a Bank of Canada survey released on Monday that provided more reasons for the bank to delay an interest rate increase.
Still, in the central bank’s winter business outlook survey, conducted in November and December, companies were more upbeat about sales and investments than they were in the previous quarter’s survey, even though fears about the U.S. fiscal cliff were intensifying when the fourth-quarter survey was taken.
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