Police and demonstrators clash in Wellington as an operation took place Wednesday by authorities to retake Parliament grounds and nearby encampments after three weeks of protest in New Zealand related to the country’s COVID-19 measures. (Dave Lintott/AFP/Getty Images)
Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate to 0.5%
The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 per cent on Wednesday, a move that’s expected to be the first of a series of small rate hikes this year in an attempt to tame inflation that has risen to its highest point in decades.
It’s the first time the bank has raised its rate since 2018, let alone during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, the bank’s rate was 1.75 per cent, before it quickly slashed the rate down to 0.25 per cent to help the economy.
The bank, which had telegraphed the move in recent weeks, cited a new report indicating that Canada’s economy grew at a 6.7 per cent annual pace in the last quarter of 2021.
“This is stronger than the bank’s projection and confirms its view that economic slack has been absorbed,” the bank said.
Investors think there could be as many as five more small rate hikes before the year 2022 is out.
Adam Brown with BDO Canada told CBC News in an interview that there’s “no need to panic” but Wednesday’s move shows that rates are finally going to start inching higher. “Clearly there’s more rate increases, and there’s potential [for them] to be faster than we expected,” he said.
The Bank of Canada’s rate affects the rates that Canadian consumers get on things like mortgages, lines of credit and savings accounts at their own banks. Lenders are already starting to move in reaction to the central bank’s hike, with Royal Bank raising its prime lending rate to 2.7 per cent starting Thursday, up from 2.45 per cent.
In the U.S., Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he supports a traditional quarter-point increase in the reserve’s benchmark short-term interest rate when the Fed meets later this month, rather than a larger increase that some of its policymakers have proposed.
Economists have forecast that the Fed will implement five to seven quarter-point hikes this year. This month’s increase would be the first since 2018.
“I think that this inflation is substantially higher than anything we’ve seen since I was in college 50 years ago,” he said in testimony to a House financial services committee. “This is strong, high inflation and it’s very important that we get on top of it, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Both the Bank of Canada and Powell cautioned that the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting sanctions by the U.S., Canada and Europe, could lead to additional price challenges in 2022.
From CBC News
Relaxed COVID-19 restrictions a concern for some immunocompromised
24 hours ago
Duration 2:07
The relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions is a big concern for some people who are immunocompromised or otherwise at high risk. 2:07
Nerve damage may explain some cases of long COVID, U.S. study suggests
A small study of patients suffering from persistent symptoms long after a bout of COVID-19 found that nearly 60 per cent had nerve damage possibly caused by a defective immune response, a finding that could point to new treatments, researchers have found.
The new U.S. study involved in-depth exams of 17 people with so-called long COVID, a condition that arises within three months of a COVID-19 infection and lasts at least two months.
“I think what’s going on here is that the nerves that control things like our breathing, blood vessels and our digestion in some cases are damaged in these long COVID patients,” said Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a lead author of the study published in the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation.
Oaklander and colleagues focused on patients with symptoms consistent with a type of nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy. All but one had had mild cases of COVID-19, and none had nerve damage prior to their infections.
After ruling out other possible explanations for the patients’ complaints, the researchers ran a series of tests to identify whether the nerves were involved.
“We looked with every single major objective diagnostic test,” Oaklander said.
The vast majority had small fibre neuropathy, meaning damage to small nerve fibres that detect sensations and regulate involuntary bodily functions such as the cardiovascular system and breathing. Eleven of the 17 patients were treated with either steroids or intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), with some improving, although none were rid totally of their symptoms.
The findings are consistent with a July study by Dr. Rayaz Malik of Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar that found an association between nerve fibre damage in the cornea and a diagnosis of long COVID.
Meanwhile, a new pilot program spearheaded by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority aims to help educate Manitobans with long COVID about symptoms and treatment and give them an opportunity to connect with each other.
“These are people that went from one health status one day to a completely different health status the next, and that’s terrifying,” said Dana Kliewer, a physiotherapist in the pulmonary rehabilitation program at Deer Lodge Centre.
The virtual sessions focus on topics such as fatigue management, breathing and the nervous system, brain fog after COVID-19, managing anxiety and guilt, and medications.
Initially the plan was to start the pilot program with a group of 10 people with long COVID, but the registration list now sits at more than 40, Kliewer said.
The World Health Organization has defined long COVID as a condition that arises within three months of a COVID-19 infection and lasts at least two months. Symptoms can include fatigue, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, cognitive difficulties, chronic pain, sensory abnormalities and muscle weakness.
World roundup: COVID-related developments in Ukraine, New Zealand and Hong Kong
A first shipment of medical aid for Ukraine will arrive in Poland on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, as the UN agency warned of an escalating health crisis in the country following Russia’s invasion.
The delivery includes six tonnes of trauma care and emergency surgery supplies to help 150,000 people, but how to get them to Ukrainians in need remains unclear, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.
The kits being sent to Ukraine include sutures and skin grafts, as well as equipment for amputations and other major trauma operations. WHO said it was also prioritizing COVID-19 therapeutics, including the new antiviral pills, to Ukraine over the last 72 hours to mitigate a potential surge.
While the COVID-19 case level is not of the highest priority in the country right now, and according to tracking appears substantially down from an Omicron variant peak a month ago, as of last week only about 35 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.
In New Zealand, police in riot gear and sometimes using pepper spray retook control of the Parliament grounds in the capital Wellington after hundreds of protesters had amassed there over the past three weeks, demonstrating against coronavirus vaccine mandates. It was the most significant use of force yet by authorities against the protesters.
The operation began at dawn, when police started telling people over loudspeakers they were trespassing and needed to leave, while officers tore down tents in peripheral areas and a police helicopter circled overhead. Some protesters confronted police and used milk to try and clear their eyes from pepper spray, while others set fire to tents, mattresses and chairs.
Police also began towing some of the 300 or so cars, vans and trucks that protesters have used to block streets in the area. The convoy demonstration was inspired by similar protests in Canada and has sparked other protests around New Zealand.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was “both angry and also deeply saddened” over the hostility police encountered in the operation. A group representing some of the protesters countered that the vast majority of demonstrators had been well-behaved and had chosen to camp as a last resort after other options for dialogue were quashed.
About 78 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.
In Hong Kong, chief executive Carrie Lam said on Wednesday that people’s movements may be restricted during mandatory testing this month of the entire population for the coronavirus, as health officials reported a record 55,353 daily infections and more than 100 deaths.
Lam said authorities are still refining the plan, but that there would be no “complete” lockdown that would prevent entry and exit from the city.
“The extent of it must take into account Hong Kong’s circumstances and people’s needs,” she told reporters.
Hong Kong is planning to test its more than seven million residents as it grapples with soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases in its worst outbreak of the pandemic, linked largely to the Omicron variant.
Officials on Wednesday reported 117 deaths, taking the total number above 1,000. About 80 per cent of the deaths have occurred since late December.
Most of the deaths involved elderly patients who were not fully vaccinated. In contrast to many parts of the world, the working-age population is much more vaccinated than seniors; before the recent testing blitz, less than half of those older than 80 in Hong Kong had been fully vaccinated.
Today’s graphic
Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in B.C.
COVID-related hospitalization down 24% in the province from a week earlier
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
