Economics Newsletter – Week of January 25th 2021

Written By: Amit Shteyer & Hannah Lobbezoo

Canada’s Economy at a Glance

 

Economics Society News, Events, and Articles 

News:

Look out for our upcoming February events which will be announced next week!

This coming week’s Instagram takeover is being done by Wajiha Siddiqui, our VP of Internal Affairs.

Articles: 

Uncuffing The Truth Behind Prison Cells by Adshake Kunanithy

News and Noteworthy

IMF slashes Canada’s economic outlook, but boosts global growth forecast for 2021
The International Monetary Fund revealed a slightly more positive outlook for 2021 due to the release of the vaccine. However, its 2021 GDP outlook for Canada has declined to 3.6% from the previous 5.2% with no specific reasoning. Read More. 

Canada’s Economy Shrank By Most On Record In 2020, But Ended Year Surprisingly Strong
According to Statistics Canada, the country’s economy shrunk by 5.1% in 2020 which is the most significant one-year decline since 1961. The good news is that many businesses have learned to cope amidst the lockdowns, producing better results in the last months of 2020. Read More.

With a new leader in place, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is out of excuses
Tamara Vrooman has been appointed the new leader of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, after having led B.C’s finance ministry in the 2000s and achieving an AAA credit rating for the province. She is a strong and accomplished woman in finance which makes this appointment a great achievement for Canada. Read more. 

GameStop frenzy explained: How small investors on Reddit took on Wall Street
Since the pandemic began there has been a surge of retail stock trading. Online social media such as Reddit and Twitter are moving share prices dramatically, deviating from normal valuation metrics. In the latest, a Reddit thread, WallStreetBets, has driven a surge in Gamestop stock, making hedge funds lose billions. Read More.

‘It will be chaotic’: CIBC’s Tal sees bankruptcy wave once government support ends
While the country suffers through a recession, record low insolvencies point to a brighter future. CIBC Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal said insolvency has been dropping by 30% compared to last year. However, Tal speculates that government assistance has been keeping business alive artificially – which will cause issues in the future. Read More.

Why experts argue governments must take risks — besides pipelines — to restart economic growth
As US president Joe Biden’s first full week in office comes to a close he has already revoked the Keystone XL permit, and continued to lay down plans to fight the climate crisis. Business and countries must move towards going carbon neutral, or risk being left behind.  This includes the Canadian government taking bets, but not on pipelines. Read More

Recommended Read 

Keeping at it; the quest for sound money and good government.
By Paul A. Volcker and Christine Harper

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