adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Economy

P.E.I. auditor general’s report finds spending, bookkeeping concerns despite strong economy

Published

 on

The province’s annual report from the auditor general on government finances, released Thursday, shows an economy that’s performing well despite several concerns about spending and reporting.

Darren Noonan, P.E.I.’s auditor general, said the positive news is that the economy is strong and the government is taking these reports seriously.

“In our followup work, we’ve seen a positive trend in our recommendations getting implemented,” said Noonan.

He outlined several concerns in the report, however, including the government using what are called special warrants too often for spending.

300x250x1

Spending trend ‘going in the wrong direction’

A special warrant — as the name suggests — is only to be used in unexpected, unforeseen circumstances.

For the fiscal year ending in March 2022, Noonan’s office found the government spent $163 million on special warrants — twice as much as during the previous fiscal year.

“It’s a trend that is going in the wrong direction, I think,” said Noonan.

“The Treasury Board policy says that special warrants are to be used as a last resort … sometimes it’s just to cover cost overruns within departments, which comes down to managing your financial resources.”

Lack of contracts

Another concern is a lack of formal contracts for grant money given to Holland College and UPEI — more than $100 million in total.

“So there are two big institutions, two extremely large funding agreements … that didn’t have Treasury Board approval or contracts,” said Noonan.

“You should have the conditions outlined because that way both parties to the agreement are aware of what the conditions are and what the money’s to be used for.”

The last such contract for the institutions’ grant money was signed in March 2021, said Noonan.

A grey one-storey building made of shipping containers is seen in a snowy landscape.
The Park Street Emergency Shelter now sits on the site of the former government garage in Charlottetown. Noonan’s report says the government should get an environmental assessment done on the site in case there is contamination and remedial work needs to be done. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Another issue Noonan raised is the fact that the government hasn’t completed an environmental assessment on the former government garage site on Park Street in Charlottetown.

That site is now the home of a COVID-19 testing clinic and the Park Street Emergency Shelter units for those experiencing homelessness.

“[The government] acknowledges that there’s probably contamination on that property just based on what that property was formerly used for,” said Noonan.

“So the concern is that they do a phase two environmental site assessment and they find that there is contamination and that remedial work is required. And if remedial work is required, what does that do to what’s being done on that property now?”

More reports coming

Until a site assessment is done, said Noonan, there is no way to know the extent of any possible contamination or the cost of remediation.

“It could become a big expense, or bigger than you think it is. So disclosing that so readers of the financial statements are aware that there could be a potential expense in the future.”

Noonan also said 22 out of 25 reporting entities at the provincial level did not produce an annual financial report. And he’d like to see more details reported from agencies such as Atlantic Lottery and the P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission.

The auditor general said his office hopes to release six or seven other performance audit reports over the course of 2023.

“I’m looking forward to getting those done and get them out into the public,” he said.

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Economy

U.S. economic growth for last quarter revised up slightly to healthy 3.4% annual rate – The Globe and Mail

Published

 on


The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.4 per cent annual pace from October through December, the government said Thursday in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 3.2 per cent rate last quarter.

The Commerce Department’s revised measure of the nation’s gross domestic product – the total output of goods and services – confirmed that the economy decelerated from its sizzling 4.9 per cent rate of expansion in the July-September quarter.

But last quarter’s growth was still a solid performance, coming in the face of higher interest rates and powered by growing consumer spending, exports and business investment in buildings and software. It marked the sixth straight quarter in which the economy has grown at an annual rate above 2 per cent.

300x250x1

For all of 2023, the U.S. economy – the world’s biggest – grew 2.5 per cent, up from 1.9 per cent in 2022. In the current January-March quarter, the economy is believed to be growing at a slower but still decent 2.1 per cent annual rate, according to a forecasting model issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Thursday’s GDP report also suggested that inflation pressures were continuing to ease. The Federal Reserve’s favoured measure of prices – called the personal consumption expenditures price index – rose at a 1.8 per cent annual rate in the fourth quarter. That was down from 2.6 per cent in the third quarter, and it was the smallest rise since 2020, when COVID-19 triggered a recession and sent prices falling.

Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation amounted to 2 per cent from October through December, unchanged from the third quarter.

The economy’s resilience over the past two years has repeatedly defied predictions that the ever-higher borrowing rates the Fed engineered to fight inflation would lead to waves of layoffs and probably a recession. Beginning in March 2022, the Fed jacked up its benchmark rate 11 times, to a 23-year high, making borrowing much more expensive for businesses and households.

Yet the economy has kept growing, and employers have kept hiring – at a robust average of 251,000 added jobs a month last year and 265,000 a month from December through February.

At the same time, inflation has steadily cooled: After peaking at 9.1 per cent in June 2022, it has dropped to 3.2 per cent, though it remains above the Fed’s 2 per cent target. The combination of sturdy growth and easing inflation has raised hopes that the Fed can manage to achieve a “soft landing” by fully conquering inflation without triggering a recession.

Thursday’s report was the Commerce Department’s third and final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth. It will release its first estimate of January-March growth on April 25.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Economy

Canadian economy starts the year on a rebound with 0.6 per cent growth in January – CBC.ca

Published

 on


The Canadian economy grew 0.6 per cent in January, the fastest growth rate in a year, while the economy likely expanded 0.4 per cent in February, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

The rate was higher than forecasted by economists, who were expecting GDP growth of 0.4 per cent in the month. December GDP was revised to a 0.1 per cent contraction from zero growth initially reported.

January’s rise, the fastest since the 0.7 per cent growth in January 2023, was helped by a rebound in educational services as public sector strikes ended in Quebec, Statistics Canada said.

300x250x1
WATCH | The Canadian economy grew more than expected in January: 

Canada’s GDP increased 0.6% in January

41 minutes ago

Duration 2:20

The Canadian economy grew 0.6 per cent in January, the fastest growth rate in a year, while the economy likely expanded 0.4 per cent in February, Statistics Canada says.

“The more surprising news today was the advance estimate for February,” which suggested that underlying momentum in the economy accelerated further that month, wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham in a note.

Thursday’s data shows the Canadian economy started 2024 on a strong note after growth stalled in the second half of last year. GDP was flat or negative on a monthly basis in four of the last six months of 2023.

More time for BoC to assess

The strong rebound could allow the Bank of Canada more time to assess whether inflation is slowing sufficiently without risking a severe downturn, though the central bank has said it does not want to stay on hold longer than needed.

Because recent inflation figures have come in below the central bank’s expectations, “it appears that much of the growth we are seeing is coming from an easing of supply constraints rather than necessarily a pick-up in underlying demand,” wrote Grantham.

“As a result, we still see scope for a gradual reduction in interest rates starting in June.”

WATCH | Bank of Canada left interest rate unchanged earlier this month: 

Bank of Canada leaves interest rate unchanged, says it’s too soon to cut

22 days ago

Duration 1:56

The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 5 per cent on Wednesday, with governor Tiff Macklem saying it was too soon for cuts. CBC News speaks with an economist and a couple who might be forced to sell their home if interest rates don’t come down.

The central bank has maintained its key policy rate at a 22-year high of five per cent since July, but BoC governors in March agreed that conditions for rate cuts should materialize this year if the economy evolves in line with its projections.

The bank in January forecast a growth rate of 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, and Thursday’s data keeps the economy on a path of small growth in the first three months of 2024. The BoC will release new projections along with its rate announcement on April 10.

Growth in 18 out of 20 sectors

Growth in January was broad-based, with 18 of 20 sectors increasing in the month, StatsCan said. The agency said that real estate and the rental and leasing sectors grew for the third consecutive month, as activity at the offices of real estate agents and brokers drove the gain in January.

Overall, services-producing industries grew 0.7 per cent, while the goods-producing sector expanded 0.2 per cent.

In a preliminary estimate for February, StatsCan said GDP was likely up 0.4 per cent, helped by mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, manufacturing and the finance and insurance industries.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Economy

Yellen Sounds Alarm on China ‘Global Domination’ Industrial Push – Bloomberg

Published

 on


US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen slammed China’s use of subsidies to give its manufacturers in key new industries a competitive advantage, at the cost of distorting the global economy, and said she plans to press China on the issue in an upcoming visit.

“There is no country in the world that subsidizes its preferred, or priority, industries as heavily as China does,” Yellen said in an interview with MSNBC Wednesday — highlighting “massive” aid to electric-car, battery and solar producers. “China’s desire is to really have global domination of these industries.”

Adblock test (Why?)

300x250x1

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending