Picton Mahoney had previously drawn upon the experience of the global financial crisis to outline a five-step playbook to respond to the pandemic turmoil, stabilize market panic and resurrect the global economy. They were: 1, Recognize the problem; 2, Swiftly deploy aggressive monetary stimulus measures; 3, Engage the banking system in various social financing measures; 4, Enact large fiscal stimulus programs to support people and industries in sudden turmoil; 5, Articulate and execute a clear plan to reopen the economy that minimized new virus outbreaks.
While the first four steps have been implemented swiftly, the last step is being held up by the all-important U.S. economy, which could lead to surging virus case counts and both economic and market volatility as the restart process continues.
The outlook said: “The U.S. has no national pandemic strategy that we can see, other than for the federal government and President Trump to apply large amounts of pressure to reopen as much of the economy as possible, while downplaying the importance of testing, contact tracing, science, etc.
“Without any coherent national plan for reopening, states and cities have been forced to fill the void with an assortment of different plans. Worse yet, it appears the reopening process in the U.S. has become politicized, with Republican-controlled states opening aggressively, compared with Democrat-controlled states. There are even ideologically driven arguments in the U.S. about whether masks should be worn or not. As a result, efforts to reopen the U.S. economy are leading to spiking case counts, especially in highly populated southern regions.”
The confidence an effective plan instils in its population is evident in Germany, where dining reservations in the hard-hit restaurant sector are virtually back to normal, while in the U.S. they are still well below normal levels, and are showing the potential to fall lower again, given the recent COVID-19 case count explosion.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
