Global central banks promised to act as needed to stabilize markets rattled by the coronavirus as the OECD warned the world economy faces its “greatest danger” since the financial crisis more than a decade ago.
Some economists see the potential for international policy makers to coordinate cuts for the first time since 2008
In an emergency statement, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Bank of Japan will “strive to provide ample liquidity and ensure stability in financial markets.” The Bank of England followed by saying it’s working with U.K. and international authorities to “ensure all necessary steps are taken to protect financial and monetary stability.” Already on Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to cutting interest rates to contain what he called the “evolving risks” to economic growth from the virus. The Paris-based OECD now expects the weakest global growth this year since the 2009 recession, and said a ‘long lasting’ epidemic would risk a worldwide recession.
The prospect of central banks’ action helped halt the worst rout in stocks since that crisis. Money markets now see the Fed lowering its main rate by 50 basis points this month, and give a 70 per cent chance the European Central Bank will pare its by 10 basis points.
Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted the Fed will ultimately slash by 100 basis points in the first half of the year. The BOE will cut by 50 basis points and the ECB by 10 basis points, it said.
There is even speculation that the Fed will move before its policy makers gather on March 17-18, and some economists see the potential for international policy makers to coordinate cuts for the first time since 2008. Investors increasingly bet the central banks of Australia, Canada and Malaysia will ease at meetings already scheduled for this week.
“Global central bankers are intensely focused on the downside risks,” Goldman Sachs economists led by Jan Hatzius said in a report on Sunday. “We suspect that they view the impact of a coordinated move on confidence as greater than the sum of the impacts of each individual move.”
With interest rates already low, governments may also need to do more to support demand. The French government said on Monday that Group of Seven finance ministers will hold a conference call this week to coordinate their response. Italy is already seeking to widen its budget deficit to pay for at least 3.6 billion euros (US$4 billion) in proposed emergency economic measures.
Just a week ago, key central bankers were saying it was too soon to respond to the outbreak, a reticence to act that may also reflect their reluctance to be seen as racing to rescue investors. The plunge in global stocks is forcing a change in stance.
“Central banks will almost certainly all induce one form of easing or another, ” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Singapore.
Japan to Indonesia
The Bank of Japan backed up Monday’s promise to help markets by offering to buy 500 billion yen (US$4.6 billion) of government bonds to provide liquidity. Indonesia’s central bank lowered the amount lenders need to keep on reserve to shore up liquidity in its markets.
By not alluding to monetary policy as Powell did, Japan’s statement revealed the constraints the BOJ and many other central banks are under. Japan’s key rate is already minus 0.1 per cent compared to the Fed’s 1.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent range.
The ECB is also limited by a deposit rate that stands at minus 0.5 per cent. Prior to the outbreak, policy makers were signalling a reluctance to reduce it even further given concern that banks, who are already seeing profit margins squeezed by negative rates, might pull back on lending.
President Christine Lagarde said last week that the ECB didn’t yet think the outbreak will have a lasting impact on inflation, its primary mandate.
An ECB spokesman declined to comment on whether a statement would be issued on Monday, and referred back to Lagarde’s comments of last week.
“We are vigilant, we are mobilized, but we remain calm and proportional in the responses we need,” Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on BFM Business television on Monday.
Less Effective?
Even before the latest crisis, economists were questioning the benefits of ultra-loose monetary policies given more than 700 interest-rate cuts and several rounds of bond-buying since the financial crisis. They boosted asset prices, but failed to generate substantial rebounds in economic growth.
Lower rates won’t help manufacturers whose factories are closed
For central bankers, whose prior stimulus moves have already greatly depleted their ammunition, the new challenge is that easier policy may be even less effective to combat the economic pain posed by a health emergency. That’s because by shutting workplaces in China and increasingly abroad, the virus is dealing a blow to the world’s capacity to produce goods. Lower rates won’t help manufacturers whose factories are closed or which lack materials to make their own products. On the demand-side, they would likely also fail to spur consumers to shop or travel if they’re worried about infection. But easier monetary policies should counter tighter financial conditions, support markets and maintain the supply of credit, thus helping to drive a rebound in demand once the virus is under control. Weak inflation also gives most central banks scope to act.
Fresh evidence of the economic shock triggered by the virus came Monday as IHS Markit reported its Chinese factory index dropped to the lowest since the series began in 2004. Gauges for Japan and South Korea also slumped.
“Rate cuts are not the silver bullet, although they can support markets somewhat,” said Jerome Jean Haegeli, chief economist at the Swiss Re Institute in Zurich.
Governments will likely have to help too. Economists at Morgan Stanley predict the combined fiscal deficit of the four largest advanced economies plus China will now run to at least 4.7 per cent of global gross domestic product this year, the biggest since 2011.
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.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
