Canada's economy was growing at 6.7% pace at the end of 2021 - CBC News | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Business

Canada's economy was growing at 6.7% pace at the end of 2021 – CBC News

Published

 on


The Canadian economy mostly started 2022 on strong footing, despite the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant and protests that shut down key border crossings, as fourth quarter growth came in above expectations, official data showed on Tuesday.

Canada’s economy grew 6.7 per cent in the fourth quarter on an annualized basis, beating analyst expectations of 6.5 per cent, while January GDP most likely rose 0.2 per cent after stagnating in December, Statistics Canada data showed.

With January’s gain, which is a preliminary estimate, economic activity is now 0.6 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, the agency said.

“While the clouds darkened a bit before the end of the year … GDP posted a surprising 0.2 per cent advance in January despite the Omicron wave and all of the associated job losses,” said Royce Mendes, head of macro strategies at Desjardins Group.

“The economy likely built on that momentum in February, as the latest COVID wave turned a corner, which allowed for more reopenings across the country.”

The strong fourth quarter print came in above the Bank of Canada’s own January forecast of a fourth quarter gain of 5.8 per cent. The central bank is broadly expected to raise its key interest rate to 0.50 per cent when its meets on Wednesday.

“I don’t think the year-end numbers change the picture much for the bank other than to drive home the point that the economy was still managing to grind ahead even in the face of Omicron,” said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.1 per cent higher at 78.96 U.S. cents.

Adblock test (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Netflix’s subscriber growth slows as gains from password-sharing crackdown subside

Published

 on

 

Netflix on Thursday reported that its subscriber growth slowed dramatically during the summer, a sign the huge gains from the video-streaming service’s crackdown on freeloading viewers is tapering off.

The 5.1 million subscribers that Netflix added during the July-September period represented a 42% decline from the total gained during the same time last year. Even so, the company’s revenue and profit rose at a faster pace than analysts had projected, according to FactSet Research.

Netflix ended September with 282.7 million worldwide subscribers — far more than any other streaming service.

The Los Gatos, California, company earned $2.36 billion, or $5.40 per share, a 41% increase from the same time last year. Revenue climbed 15% from a year ago to $9.82 billion. Netflix management predicted the company’s revenue will rise at the same 15% year-over-year pace during the October-December period, slightly than better than analysts have been expecting.

The strong financial performance in the past quarter coupled with the upbeat forecast eclipsed any worries about slowing subscriber growth. Netflix’s stock price surged nearly 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out, building upon a more than 40% increase in the company’s shares so far this year.

The past quarter’s subscriber gains were the lowest posted in any three-month period since the beginning of last year. That drop-off indicates Netflix is shifting to a new phase after reaping the benefits from a ban on the once-rampant practice of sharing account passwords that enabled an estimated 100 million people watch its popular service without paying for it.

The crackdown, triggered by a rare loss of subscribers coming out of the pandemic in 2022, helped Netflix add 57 million subscribers from June 2022 through this June — an average of more than 7 million per quarter, while many of its industry rivals have been struggling as households curbed their discretionary spending.

Netflix’s gains also were propelled by a low-priced version of its service that included commercials for the first time in its history. The company still is only getting a small fraction of its revenue from the 2-year-old advertising push, but Netflix is intensifying its focus on that segment of its business to help boost its profits.

In a letter to shareholder, Netflix reiterated previous cautionary notes about its expansion into advertising, though the low-priced option including commercials has become its fastest growing segment.

“We have much more work to do improving our offering for advertisers, which will be a priority over the next few years,” Netflix management wrote in the letter.

As part of its evolution, Netflix has been increasingly supplementing its lineup of scripted TV series and movies with live programming, such as a Labor Day spectacle featuring renowned glutton Joey Chestnut setting a world record for gorging on hot dogs in a showdown with his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi.

Netflix will be trying to attract more viewer during the current quarter with a Nov. 15 fight pitting former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson against Jake Paul, a YouTube sensation turned boxer, and two National Football League games on Christmas Day.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

All Magic Spells (TM) : Top Converting Magic Spell eCommerce Store

Published

 on

Product Name: All Magic Spells (TM) : Top Converting Magic Spell eCommerce Store

Click here to get All Magic Spells (TM) : Top Converting Magic Spell eCommerce Store at discounted price while it’s still available…

All orders are protected by SSL encryption – the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors.

All Magic Spells (TM) : Top Converting Magic Spell eCommerce Store is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked.

(more…)

Continue Reading

Business

CPC Practice Exam

Published

 on

Product Name: CPC Practice Exam

Click here to get CPC Practice Exam at discounted price while it’s still available…

All orders are protected by SSL encryption – the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors.

CPC Practice Exam is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked.

(more…)

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version