The market for asset-backed securities (ABS) – financial instruments backed by underlying assets such as mortgages – suffered a major setback in 2007, as a cascade of downgrades and defaults brought turmoil to credit markets and the world economy. Authorities in the United States have since...

With inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) growing faster than the Bank of Canada’s 2 percent target, the Bank has pointed out that core CPI, which excludes items whose prices are especially volatile, is at or below target and, further, that the Bank anticipates total CPI...

How far and how fast Canada’s record-low interest rates will rise in the coming years is a vital question for consumers and businesses. In “The New “Normal” for Interest Rates in Canada: The Implications of Long-Term Shifts in Global Saving and Investment,” authors Paul Beaudry and...

The Canadian labour market suffered a severe blow during the last recession, with more than 430,000 persons losing their jobs and the unemployment rate reaching levels unseen since the latter half of the 1990s. Subsequently, the labour market has shown great resilience, and there are now 900,000...

Moving to price-level targeting from inflation-rate targeting could be a sound option for the Bank of Canada after 2011, when its current agreement with the Minister of Finance is up for renewal. However, the authors say the viability of that option rests on whether the Bank can maintain its...

With the Canadian dollar near parity with its US counterpart, monetary policymakers may come under pressure to curb future interest rate increases to limit the loonie’s appreciation. When the value of the loonie is in line with economic fundamentals, such actions would necessarily compromise...