September 2011 Miscellaneous Economic Fundamentals
- Thread starter Ally
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Building 'a whole other Canadian economy'
OTTAWA -- The Canadian dollar's sustained strength has triggered widespread concern about the competitiveness of Canadian companies in foreign markets. But the head of Canada's export financing agency says exchange rates needn't be the worry they used to be.
Stephen Poloz, the Export Development Canada veteran who became the Crown corporation's chief executive officer in January, said the more Canadian businesses spread their operations across the globe, the more insulated they make themselves to swings in the currency. And, he says, this is happening on an encouraging scale, as a growing number of executives actively search for clever ways to make their companies more resilient in an environment where the loonie could be near parity with the U.S. dollar for years.
"Companies are less likely to just say to me, 'I don't know what I'll do if the dollar goes up another cent,'" Dr. Poloz said. "Instead, they'll say, 'Here's what I'm doing already, and I've made a business plan [that takes into account] a certain degree of uncertainty.' There's been a persistent maturation in how executives think about the loonie, and how they deal with it."
Read the full article here.
OTTAWA -- The Canadian dollar's sustained strength has triggered widespread concern about the competitiveness of Canadian companies in foreign markets. But the head of Canada's export financing agency says exchange rates needn't be the worry they used to be.
Stephen Poloz, the Export Development Canada veteran who became the Crown corporation's chief executive officer in January, said the more Canadian businesses spread their operations across the globe, the more insulated they make themselves to swings in the currency. And, he says, this is happening on an encouraging scale, as a growing number of executives actively search for clever ways to make their companies more resilient in an environment where the loonie could be near parity with the U.S. dollar for years.
"Companies are less likely to just say to me, 'I don't know what I'll do if the dollar goes up another cent,'" Dr. Poloz said. "Instead, they'll say, 'Here's what I'm doing already, and I've made a business plan [that takes into account] a certain degree of uncertainty.' There's been a persistent maturation in how executives think about the loonie, and how they deal with it."
Read the full article here.
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Financially, the next generation is on its own
If you are 30 years old today, whom can you count on for your retirement?
You can`t count on the government because they won`t have any pension money after the baby boomers draw out their full amount. You can`t count on your company, because they are cold mercenaries ` and you won`t be with them in 10 years, anyway. It turns out that you can only count on yourself.
Read the full article here.
If you are 30 years old today, whom can you count on for your retirement?
You can`t count on the government because they won`t have any pension money after the baby boomers draw out their full amount. You can`t count on your company, because they are cold mercenaries ` and you won`t be with them in 10 years, anyway. It turns out that you can only count on yourself.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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- 16,743
The fixed/variable conundrum
Mortgage rates are doing things that few people expected one year ago. Variable discounts have been sliced in half and those cunning banks are persuading us to pay disproportionately high fixed rates despite near-record-low funding costs.
Looking forward...
Some say rates have only one way to go from here (up).
Some say rates will stay flat for two years.
Some say rates will drop again soon.
Read the full article here.
Mortgage rates are doing things that few people expected one year ago. Variable discounts have been sliced in half and those cunning banks are persuading us to pay disproportionately high fixed rates despite near-record-low funding costs.
Looking forward...
Some say rates have only one way to go from here (up).
Some say rates will stay flat for two years.
Some say rates will drop again soon.
Read the full article here.