WASHINGTON —
The head of the International Monetary Fund says that the global economy has started on a long climb to stronger growth with prospects looking a little better than four months ago.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Tuesday that global economic activity suffered an unprecedented fall in the spring when 85% of the global economy was in lockdown for several weeks. The situation currently is “less dire” with many countries experiencing a better-than-expected rebound in recent weeks.
“We continue to project a partial and uneven recovery in 2021,” Georgieva said in a speech previewing next week’s fall meetings of the 189-nation IMF and its sister lending agency the World Bank where the IMF will release its updated economic outlook.
While there has been some improvement, downside risks remain high, Georgieva said in a video-conference speech to the London School of Economics.
“The global economy is coming back from the depths of the crisis. But this calamity is far from over,” Georgieva said. “All countries are now facing what I would call `The Long Ascent’ — a difficult climb that will be long, uneven and uncertain. And prone to setbacks.”
The global economy has stabilized because of extraordinary policy measures that established a floor, with governments providing around $12 trillion in support of households, Georgieva said. She also noted that central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, helped millions of firms stay in business by taking unprecedented monetary actions to provide emergency loans.
The support prevented an even deeper downturn, but also widened the gap between wealthy and poorer countries, Georgieva said.
The IMF has done what it can to provide support to 81 poor nations by making more than $280 billion in lending commitments, Georgieva. And the agency is prepared to do more with more than $1 trillion in total lending capacity.
New IMF research suggests that increasing public investments by just 1% of GDP across advanced and emerging nations can create up to 33 million new jobs, Georgieva said.
One of the key topics to be debated at next week’s meetings will be how to deal with the debt of low-income countries. Georgieva said rich nations should make more support available to poor nations in the form of grants, rather than loans.
Some countries will need to have their debt burdens restructured, with support for that effort from rich countries as well as private creditors, Georgieva said.
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.
