Market News

Christina Commisso, CTVNews.ca Canadians looking for the best place to live, work and raise a family should set their sights on Alberta, where high income and low unemployment helped a number of cities come out on top of an annual ranking of communities across the country. Calgary was ranked the top city to live in in Canada, taking MoneySense Magazine’s number one spot on three of its rankings: best overall city, best large city and best place to raise children. Cowtown jumped from the 14th spot in 2012 to dethrone Ottawa as top Canadian city in 2013. The national capital had held onto the title for three consecutive years, but has now slipped to the number six spot in the latest overall ranking. Released Wednesday, MoneySense’s yearly lists show that Alberta’s thriving energy sector has fuelled the development of healthy communities. “A lot of these other cities, the underlying numbers Continue Reading

CBC The Bank of Canada lowered its growth forecast for 2013 today, keeping its benchmark interest rate steady at one per cent for the 19th consecutive time. The bank also lowered expectations for how much it thinks the economy will expand in 2013 to two per cent. In October, it had estimated 2.3 per cent growth in gross domestic product for the year. “The slowdown in the second half of 2012 was more pronounced than the Bank had anticipated,” the bank said in a statement posted on its website today. As well, Canada’s economy can no longer count on household spending and the housing sector to propel it forward. In a change from previous reports, the bank says Canadian household debt is stabilizing at around the record 165 per cent of annual disposable income, and credit growth has sharply declined from a peak of 12 per cent in 2008 to Continue Reading

The 2013 Bank of Canada scheduled announcement dates for interest rate policy are: • Wednesday, January 23* • Wednesday, March 6 • Wednesday, April 17* • Wednesday, May 29 • Wednesday, July 17* • Wednesday, September 4 • Wednesday, October 23* • Wednesday, December 4