Canadian GDP Growth Hits Zero In July: StatsCan

[mentalfloss]

Canadian GDP Growth Hits Zero In July: Stats can

OTTAWA - Economic growth in Canada paused in July following a string of gains over six consecutive months, hurt by a slump in the mining and energy sector, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Economists had expected a gain of 0.2 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

But the federal agency said the real gross domestic product was essentially unchanged in July following gains of 0.5 per cent in May and 0.3 per cent in June.

On a year-over-year basis, the economy was up 2.5 per cent.

BMO Capital Markets chief economist Doug Porter said "the Canadian economy seriously stubbed its toe in July."

"While some special factors weighed, there were also some helpful one-time events in place as well, so we wouldn't dismiss the weakness," Porter said.

The flat month-over-month result overall came as the manufacturing and the public sector posted gains July.

Manufacturing output grew one per cent. Durable-goods manufacturing rose 1.6 per cent, with increases in transportation equipment, computer and electronic products as well as furniture and related products.

The public sector increased 0.5 per cent for the month.

The construction, professional services and retail trade sectors also posted gains.

However, those steps forward were offset by decreases in mining and oil and gas extraction as well as in utilities.

Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction fell 1.5 per cent in July, while utilities dropped 2.3 per cent due to lower demand for electricity and natural gas due to cooler weather in some parts of the country.

Statistics Canada also said there were decreases in agriculture, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing services — as well as arts, entertainment and recreation.

TD Bank senior economist Randall Bartlett said the unexpectedly weak result for the month puts some risk that the third quarter will fall short of the bank's forecast for around three per cent annual growth, but added he did not see it as beginning of a return to sub-par economic growth.

"Not only is output in the primary industries notoriously volatile on a month-to-month basis but many of the factors that have contributed to Canadian economic momentum recently, notably rising U.S. export demand, remain in place," Bartlett wrote in a note to clients.

Canadian GDP Growth Hits Zero In July: StatsCan

 

[mentalfloss]

Harper's economic record anything but good, a myth dispelled with facts

As Stephen Harper clings to the myth of being a good economic manager, more and more evidence indicates that Canada’s Conservative government has little to write home about.
In fact, their economic record is less than “good” even taking into account the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
Inequality has deepened under Mr. Harper’s watch, job quality has declined, wages have stagnated, economic growth has been anemic, social protections have been reduced while corporate profits and CEO pay soar.
A recent report from the Broadbent Institute entitled “Haves and Have-Nots: Deep and Persistent Wealth Inequality in Canada” highlights just how bad the concentration of wealth is in this country. Inequality is not just a U.S. problem.
The report found that the top 10 per cent of Canadians hold almost 50 per cent of all wealth, while the bottom 30 per cent account for less than one per cent of all wealth. Stunning. Indeed, the bottom 50 per cent of Canadians controlled less than six per cent.
The concentration of wealth for the top 10 per cent is highest in British Columbia at 56.2 per cent and lowest in Atlantic Canada (31.7 per cent) and Quebec (43.4 per cent).
More and more evidence suggests that deepening inequality is bad for the economy.
Another new report prepared for the September meeting of the G20 labour and employment ministers suggests that inequality is hurting economic growth in all countries, including Canada.
Most of the G20 have experienced increased inequality, says the report, pointing towards globalization, technological change, less progressive tax and transfer policies, and a declining labour share of the economy.
The report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank Group and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) notes that reducing inequality requires both improving income distribution and more and better jobs. Not rocket science, but apparently it needs repeating. Quality jobs, notes the report, are important in the fight to reduce poverty. We now need reports to tell us this.
Statistics from Unifor economist Jim Stanford comparing a slew of economic indicators pre-Harper government to today show a deteriorating economic and labour market situation, not all of which, by any stretch of the imagination, can be blamed on the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
And since the government has bragged repeatedly of its record coming out of the recession, perhaps that bragging should be tested with some facts and data. Yes, the stuff this Conservative government derides and mocks with increasing frequency.
For example, employment and labour force participation rates are lower today than they were in 2006, part-time employment is up, corporate taxes are significantly lower (22.1 per cent in 2006, 15 per cent today) business capital investment saw no increase and has been static at 19.1 per cent of GDP, business R&D spending as a percentage of GDP has declined, exports as a percentage of GDP from 2006 to today have dropped significantly from 36.7 per cent of GDP to 30.8 per cent.
Not exactly great economic numbers. Add to this the over $600 billion in cash being hoarded by corporate Canada and Mr. Harper is heading into a federal election with more than a few economic weak spots.
Throw in the fact that wages are stagnant and inequality is growing and the only folks doing better are those at the top who are accumulating more and more wealth under Mr. Harper’s failed economic policies.
The ILO-OECD-World Bank report noted that wage stagnation can’t be explained away by weak economic growth, especially when productivity is up. This means productivity gains are going to the owners, rather than the workers.
The report finds that job quality is not just a problem for emerging economies, but also for advanced G20 economies with a rise in informal employment, as well as widespread low-wage work and job insecurity.
Interestingly, the report is clear that this is not a hopeless condition. Rather, steps can be taken to improve income distribution and job quality. Income inequality and vulnerability of low-income households can be bettered through such measures as higher minimum wages and social protections. Note this is not just the ILO saying this, but also the OECD and the World Bank.
More and more countries and experts, including economists, are recognizing the importance of higher minimum wages, including their ratio to average wages, as important in alleviating working poverty. Of course, it should go without saying that strong collective bargaining is also important in combating poverty and inequality.
As Martin Luther King once noted, the best anti-poverty program is a union.
The report for the G20 ministers concludes that higher minimum wages and increased coverage for collective bargaining are key if governments wish to address working poverty and inequality. So, pretty much everything the Harper government hasn’t done.
Given all of this, it appears the NDP has hit on something with their call for a $15 federal minimum wage.
Canada can’t change the pattern of inequality if it doesn’t take steps to do so.
Minimum wage is an important part of that debate, but so are unionization, social wages and protections, and job quality.
Inequality and poor jobs are not inevitable. Nor are they just because of technological change and globalization, as some would want us to believe. We can, with good economic policy, make a difference for the citizens of Canada, but we have to first believe that government has a role to play.
Lana Payne is the Atlantic director for
Unifor. She can be reached by email at lanapaynenl@gmail.com.

http://m.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Co...thing-but-good,-a-myth-dispelled-with-facts/1

 

[lone wolf]

Statscan better watch out.... Disbandment for not blowing sunshine and rainbows propaganda up the public butt isn't unheard of in Harperstan

 

[Kreskin]

Too much credit or fault is given to politicians for economic anything.

 

[petros]

I got as far as Evil Corp LLC....

Only ON can fix ON.

 

[mentalfloss]

Must be slowing down them subsidies.


Canada’s Economy Unexpectedly Stalled in July on Oil

Canada’s gross domestic product was little changed in July as a drop in oil and gas production offset gains in manufacturing.
Output remained close to an annualized C$1.63 trillion ($1.46 trillion) in July following six monthly increases, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. The median forecast in a Bloomberg economist survey with 14 responses was for output to expand 0.3 percent.
The report supports Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, who said this month more time is needed to assess early recovery signs. Poloz held the central bank’s benchmark rate on overnight loans between commercial banks at 1 percent and said a recent jump in exports must be sustained before it triggers the business investment needed to bring the economy to full capacity over the next two years.
The report “is bit of a tough pill to swallow” after half a year of gains, said Mazen Issa, senior Canada macro strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. “I still wouldn’t want to discount the growth we have had this year,” said Issa, who predicts a third-quarter expansion of 2.5 percent at an annualized rate, enough to erode economic slack.
Canada’s dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.1182 per U.S. dollar at 9:43 a.m. Toronto time, and has declined by 5 percent this year. Government bond yields rose, including the security due in two years, which climbed 1 basis point to 1.12 percent.
Oil and gas extraction fell by 1.6 percent in July, and “support activities” for energy production fell by 0.9 percent. Cooler-than-normal temperatures curbed the output of utilities by 2.3 percent, Statistics Canada said.
Postponing Work
Norway’s Statoil ASA said Sept. 25 it would postpone work on its Corner field project in the Canadian oil sands as mounting costs reduce the potential for profit, following a similar delay announced by Total SA in May. Statoil said it plans to push back the project in northern Alberta by at least three years and expects to cut 70 jobs.
The decision “is consistent with our stepwise approach to the oil sands,” Statoil Canada President Staale Tungesvik said in a statement.

http://mobile.businessweek.com/news...y-unexpectedly-stalled-in-july-on-oil-decline