If you’re an investor who wants to track which way an economy is headed, there are a few categories or segments that you’ll want to watch. A few of the key ones are business investment, exports, labour markets, housing and consumer spending. That …
Paul Martin Saskatchewan
Household debt shrinking
For the past few years we’ve heard successive finance ministers and the Bank of Canada governor cautioning Canadians on the amount of debt they carry. They encourage us to pay off debt as interest rates are about to rise. After all, they argued, …
Sask population growth slowing
The pace of population growth in this province is slowing. The latest quarterly population estimate from StatsCan showed an increase of 708 residents in the first quarter of this year, bringing Saskatchewan’s population to 1,169,131. That is …
Summer is buying season
We have two seasons in this province – winter and construction, especially road construction. That may have caused people to defer the decision to buy a new vehicle. We recently received the monthly sales figures for automotive dealers in …
Sask economy brightening
It’s always darkest before the dawn, a saying that characterizes the view expressed by the economics branch of TD Bank in its latest forecast for Saskatchewan’s economy. In broad terms, the bank says its forecast for Canada is largely unchanged …
Saskatchewan’s hot wheels
With more miles of road than any other province, Saskatchewan understandably also has a strong relationship with motor vehicles. But a new report suggests our love is not shared equally by all forms of transportation. The number of units that were …
Economy slowing but growing
There’s an awful lot of stuff going on in the economy these days, things that are reshaping the outlook for the next year or two. Forecasts from RBC Royal Bank, which is generally the friendliest towards Saskatchewan, is the first out of the gate …
China’s impact on farming
We’re now starting to get some early figures on the impact of China’s ban on canola exports from Canadian farmers. In large measure, that means Saskatchewan producers as we are the biggest players. StatsCan is now in a position to release its …
CEO job security waning
Sometimes what we perceive is not actually reality. A good case in point is the job security of those at the top of big organizations. It’s getting more likely that a CEO of a big company will get tossed out. A study by PwC – formerly Price …
Canada close to recession
The Canadian economy is skating on the edge of a recession. We haven’t hit it yet, but it is about as close as you get without being in one. There have been more than a few forecasts suggesting Canada is currently in a recession. Technically, …
