REPORT ON BUSINESS Bank of Canada sees economy shrinking 7.8% this year; holds rates steady The Bank of Canada projected that the Canadian economy will shrink by 7.8 per cent this year, as it crawls its way out of the deep hole of the COVID-19 crisis. The forecast, the central bank’s first in six months, came as the bank announced its latest policy decision, holding its key interest rate steady at a record-low 0.25 per cent and leaving its large-scale bond-purchase programs unchanged. The bank reinforced that it intends to keep both policies in place far into the economic recovery. … Continue reading Bank of Canada sees economy shrinking 7.8% this year; holds rates steady

in a move that happens to highlight the ‘Canadian way”, Canadas banks collectively suspended use of Facebook in July. Canadian lenders Royal Bank of Canada (TO:RY), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TO:TD), Bank of Nova Scotia (TO:BNS), Bank of Montreal (TO:BMO), National Bank of Canada (TO:NA) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TO:CM) all said they will pause advertising on Facebook platforms in July. Desjardins Group, Canada’s largest federation of credit unions, also said on its website on Thursday it will pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month “barring any exceptional situations where we need to communicate with our members or … Continue reading Facebook suspended by all Canadian Banks

An Uncertain Recovery Global growth is projected at –4.9 percent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast. In 2021 global growth is projected at 5.4 percent. Overall, this would leave 2021 GDP some 61⁄2 percentage points lower than in the pre-COVID-19 projections of January 2020. The adverse impact on low-income households is particularly acute, imperiling the significant progress made in reducing extreme … Continue reading A Crisis Like No Other

Forbes New Data Shows Shopify Was A Godsend For Mom And Pop During Coronavirus – Forbes 68-year-old Jan Buerge was days away from losing everything. For 35 years, she has run World’s Window in Kansas City, a store that sells artisanal items from around the world. In March, she was forced to close her doors because of coronavirus. But she didn’t give up. She just needed a plan, and fast. She snapped pictures of her remaining items. And quickly got them online with the help of her husband and nephew. Within three days, business was booming. Buerge was shipping baskets … Continue reading Shopify- simple for people and keeping the complexity hidden

fomc_fed-20200610 fed notes: my take — continue QE at same pace Financial conditions improved Monitor economy No action – back to the markets to evaluate June 10, 2020 Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement For release at 2:00 p.m. EDT Share The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The coronavirus outbreak is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. The virus and the measures taken to protect public health have induced … Continue reading Fed Implementation notes 2020-06-09

New report highlights threats to uniquely Canadian plants and animals June 4, 2020 “The consequence of our failure to protect these endemic species is extinction.” Canada is home to over 300 different plant and animal species that live nowhere else on Earth. Unfortunately, the first comprehensive survey of these uniquely Canadian species shows that many could be vulnerable to extinction. These are the findings of a new report by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and NatureServe Canada. Entitled Ours to save: The distribution, status and conservation needs of Canada’s national endemic species, the report will be released to mark … Continue reading New report highlights threats to uniquely Canadian plants and animals

Dengue fever introduces a new complication in Indonesia during the COVID-19 battle. I have heard of this fever but only in Asia. it is mosquito borne.  according to wikipdia, About 390 million people are infected a year and approximately 40,000 die.[5][6] annually. Dengue complicates Southeast Asia’s coronavirus fight Tropical disease presents health care systems in region with a two-front war https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Dengue-complicates-Southeast-Asia-s-coronavirus-fight People cover their faces as a neighborhood in Jakarta is sprayed with insecticide to kill mosquitoes, which carry dengue fever, on March 23. © AP KOYA JIBIKI, Nikkei staff writer May 27, 2020 18:01 JST JAKARTA — Southeast Asian countries are … Continue reading Dengue fever introduces a new complication in Indonesia during COVID-19 battle

During the 2008 Banking crisis, one created by investment bankers loomed large – Collateralised Debt Obligations (CDO). They inner workings of these products created by spreadsheet junkies (not real bankers imho) was to create a debt product for sale that comprised a mix of A, B, n and junk mortgages. The key was the junk component made up of mortgages issued by likes of Wells Fargo with little or no diligence and which had little or no chance of being repaid on a normal regular payment schedule. Fast forward to recent events (before covid-19) and similar tools have been used … Continue reading A Banking crisis product behind the financing of the US Healthcare system