China reports fall in coronavirus cases, says economy resilient, but infections rising elsewhere - Financial Post | Canada News Media
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China reports fall in coronavirus cases, says economy resilient, but infections rising elsewhere – Financial Post

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SHANGHAI/BEIJING — China reported a decrease in the number of new deaths and new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, while its central bank predicted a limited short-term economic impact and said the country was confident in winning the fight against the epidemic.

Mainland China had 397 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Friday, down from 889 a day earlier, the national health authority said.

But the number of infections continued to rise elsewhere, with outbreaks worsening in South Korea, Italy and Iran and Lebanon. The World Health Organisation warned that the window of opportunity to contain the international spread was closing.

Concerns about the virus weighed on U.S. stocks and the Nasdaq had its worst daily percentage decline in about three weeks on Friday, driven by an earlier spike in new cases and data showing stalling U.S. business activity in February.

South Korea reported another spike in infections with 142 confirmed cases on Saturday, taking its tally to 346, about half related to those who attended a church service in Daegu. Cases in one hospital jumped from 16 to 108 overnight.

The virus has spread to some 26 countries and territories outside mainland China, killing 11 people, according to a Reuters tally.

“We still have a chance to contain it,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said on Friday.

“If we don’t, if we squander the opportunity, then there will be a serious problem on our hands.”

An outbreak in northern Italy worsened, with its first death, an elderly man, among 17 confirmed cases including its first known instance of local transmission.

The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China rose to 76,288, with the death toll at 2,345 as of the end of Friday. The central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, reported 106 new deaths of which 90 were in its capital Wuhan.

Chinese scientists on Friday reported that a woman from Wuhan had traveled 400 miles (675 km) and infected five relatives without ever showing signs of infection, offering new evidence of asymptomatical spreading.

FULLY CONFIDENT

Senior Chinese central bank officials sought to ease global investors’ worries about the potential damage to the world’s second-largest economy from the outbreak, saying interest rates would be guided lower and that the country’s financial system and currency were resilient.

Chen Yulu, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said policymakers had plenty of tools to support the economy, and that they were fully confident of winning the war against the epidemic, according to China Central Television (CCTV).

“We believe that after this epidemic is over, pent-up demand for consumption and investment will be fully released, and China’s economy will rebound swiftly,” Chen said.

China has recently cut several of its key lending rates, including the benchmark lending rate on Thursday, and has urged banks to extend cheap loans to the worst-hit companies which are struggling to resume production and are running out of cash.

Some analysts believe China’s economy could contract in the first quarter from the previous three months due to the combined supply and demand shocks caused by the fast-spreading epidemic and strict government containment measures. On an annual basis, some warn that growth could fall by as much as half from 6% in the fourth quarter.

Most expect a rebound in economic activity in the spring, providing the outbreak can be contained soon and factories hit by staff and raw material shortages can return to normal production in the next few weeks.

However, transportation restrictions remain in place in large parts of the country. While more firms are reopening, the limited data available so far suggests manufacturing is still running at levels far below those in the same period last year, and disruptions are starting to spillover into global supply chains as far away as the United States.

Finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies were set to discuss risks to the world economy in Saudi Arabia this weekend. The International Monetary Fund said it was too soon to assess what the virus impact would be on global growth.

DOZENS EVACUATED

Another center of infection has been the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan since Feb. 3, with more than 630 cases accounting for the biggest cluster outside China.

Australia said on Saturday that four more of its nationals evacuated from the ship tested positive for coronavirus, in addition to two individuals previously identified.

A second plane with 82 Hong Kong residents who were on the ship landed in the Asian financial hub, where they will face a further 14 days of quarantine, and some 35 British passengers were due to arrive back home on Saturday, where they would be quarantined. [nL8N2AL1DP

U.S. authorities said that of 329 Americans evacuated from the ship, 18 tested positive.

Ukraine’s health minister joined evacuees from China for two weeks’ quarantine in a sanatorium on Friday in a show of solidarity after fears over the possible spread of coronavirus led to clashes.

(Reporting by Samuel Shen and Se Young Lee and Yiming Shen in Shanghai, Leng Cheng and Kevin Yao in Beijing; Additional reporting by Sangmi Cha in Seoul, Kate Kelland and Stephen Addison in London, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Elisa Anzolin in Milan, Angelo Amante in Rome, Lidia Kelly in Melborne, Dan Burns in New York, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Davide Barbuscia and Andrea Shalal in Riyadh, Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets in Kiev, Greg Torode in Hong Kong and Neha Malara and Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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Canada’s unemployment rate holds steady at 6.5% in October, economy adds 15,000 jobs

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OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.

Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.

Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.

Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.

Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.

Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.

Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.

According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.

That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.

People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.

That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.

Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.

That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Health-care spending expected to outpace economy and reach $372 billion in 2024: CIHI

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The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.

The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.

CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.

This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.

While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.

Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.

The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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Trump’s victory sparks concerns over ripple effect on Canadian economy

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As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.

Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.

A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.

More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.

Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.

“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.

“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”

American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.

It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.

“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.

“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”

A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.

Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.

“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.

Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”

“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.

“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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