Weekly Digest – 30 October 2024

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

After Bank of Canada’s oversized cut, is lower and faster the new pace?

The Bank of Canada delivered an oversized interest rate cut of half a percentage point on Wednesday, focusing now on boosting the Canadian economy amid signs inflation is well under control.

Shock-prone world’ highlights need for productivity

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the world has become more prone to supply shocks which create more risks to inflation, but the central bank is in a better place to deal with them now that inflation is under control.

Inflation expectations stabilize as firms curb hiring and investment plans

Firms report weak demand and excess capacity, while over 70% expect inflation to normalize soon.  The Bank of Canada’s business and consumer surveys indicated that inflation expectations are stabilizing, while few firms plan to hire or invest due to weak demand.

Canada’s mid-market has big plans

The health and vitality of the Canadian economy is tied directly to the tenacity and success of its small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), which is why results from the latest KPMG Private Enterprise Business Survey are so promising. They show that these businesses are coming out of the past few years of inflation, high interest rates and suppressed consumer confidence with strategic determination, eager and more ready than ever to navigate the growth opportunities, and the hurdles, in their path.

What Canada’s row with India means for an already underperforming trade relationship

The diplomatic row between Canada and India could derail a trading relationship that already underperforms its potential, experts warn.

Foreign ownership restrictions on telecommunications companies hurt Canada’s economy

Among developed countries, Canada has one of the most restrictive regimes when it comes to inward foreign direct investment (FDI)—that is, investments by foreign companies who have operating control of the Canadian assets they acquire. The telecommunications sector is no exception.

Business organizations call on federal government to scrap the capital gains tax increase

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and 20 other industry organizations have sent a letter to Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, calling on the federal government to scrap the planned increase to the capital gains inclusion rate and to make the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive available to business owners in all sectors. Several industry and business organizations, such as Restaurants Canada, Grain Growers of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association, have signed the letter to this effect.

Canada announces tariff remission process for Canadian businesses importing certain Chinese goods

Canadian workers, the auto sector, the steel and aluminum industries, and related critical manufacturing supply chains are threatened by unfair competition from Chinese producers, who benefit from China’s intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply, as well as its lack of rigorous labour and environmental standards. The federal government has recently implemented a suite of tariffs (also known as surtaxes) on certain Chinese imports to level the playing field and protect Canada’s workers and businesses from China’s unfair trade policies

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