Economics Newsletter – Week of February 22nd 2021

Written By: Amit Shteyer & Hannah Lobbezoo

Canada’s Economy at a Glance

Economics Society News, Events, and Articles 

News:

Keep an eye out for UW Econ merch coming soon and future Econ Soc events! 

Articles: 

Gender is a social construct – and an expensive one at that by Hannah Li Saul

News and Noteworthy

Statistics Canada hastily revises inflation higher after concerns about methodology
After the initial release of inflation rates on February 17th, which included methodological changes, Statistics Canada had to revise its publication from 1.5% to 1.77%. Revisions of this size are rare and many in the industry are disappointed with the level of scrutiny applied by Statistics Canada. Read More. 

Why cryptocurrency may be on its way to becoming the new gold
Cryptocurrencies are transitioning from a “Wild West” investment to a more respectable trading tool as trade funds and investors start jumping on board. However, some question the intrinsic value of the currency and its ability to sustain long term value. Read More.

Canadian firm Just Energy warns of huge losses due to extreme Texas winter weather
Storms in Texas aren’t only causing issues for business’s south of the border. In Canada, Just Energy’s stock took a nosedive losing a third of its value as it reported its price of power was set artificially low. Read More. 

Canada’s big banks to release quarterly results, potentially providing insight into economic recovery
As bank earnings results come out this week, it is believed that insight will be gained on the economic fate of certain industries such as mortgage borrowing, credit card spending and small business loans. Analysts are looking for areas of new growth and recovery for the Canadian economy. Read More. 

New Montreal port strike would ‘really stick a knife in the Canadian economy’
A strike at the Montreal Port is expected to occur within the next month which will cause extreme delays in the shipping of cargo as other methods such as rail are too slow to meet demand. This could lead to lots of lost business and a new burden on the Canadian Economy. Read More. 

Bank of Canada governor indicates readiness to let economy run hot to include more people in recovery
The Canadian economy is less productive than it should be as skilled marginalized groups are denied employment opportunities. Macklem, the most recent Bank of Canada governor, has made inequality his main focus and is testing the limit of full employment by allowing as many people as possible to participate in Canada’s recovery. Read More.

Recommended Read 

The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man 
By John Perkins

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