Business Update – 12 October 2023

10/12/2023 | Bizink

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

Bank of Canada warns of inflation ‘feedback loop’

Bank of Canada official Nicolas Vincent has warned there could still be significant hurdles when it comes to getting inflation back to the central bank’s target of two per cent.

How interest rates will drive Canada’s housing market in coming months

Lower interest rates might be the only thing that could revive Canada’s housing market as supply outpaces demand in the country’s largest real estate markets, experts say.

Strapped by inflation, Canadians worry high food prices will hurt their health

The study led by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University found a disturbing trend: high food prices appear to be compelling Canadians to make dietary choices they are not entirely comfortable with. More than 45 per cent of Canadians said cost had become a priority over nutritional value in their grocery shopping.

How price setting influences inflation

Deputy Governor of Bank of Canada, Nicolas Vincent talks about how companies set their prices, how those practices changed during the pandemic and why this remains a risk for inflation.

Canada’s underground economy surged to $68.5 billion in 2021

Canada’s underground economy was estimated to be $68.5 billion in 2021, representing 2.7 per cent of the total GDP, according to a report from Statistics Canada.

Alarm bells are ringing: What markets are trying to warn us about the economy

Financial markets are not the economy and the economy is not financial markets. But it’s often said that they’re both afraid of the same things. In this case, the concern is that the economy is careening toward a recession. “The alarm bells are telling us that something is going to break somewhere in the financial system,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay.

“ChatGPT is our Netscape”, Deloitte CEO warns on the disillusionment to follow after AI’s hype cycle peaks

History has shown that after a breakthrough technology hits the peak of its hype cycle, a “trough of disillusionment” follows. The same is about to happen to artificial intelligence (AI), warned chief executive officer of Deloitte Canada, Anthony Viel, as he spoke at the ALL IN event in Montreal last week.

Is Canada facing a future with fewer small business owners?

A new thought leadership article from RBC assistant chief economist Cynthia Leach muses some of the challenging trends for the SME landscape and concludes that “entrepreneurship is becoming less enticing for Canadians.”

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