The 11-sided coin was not originally called the loonie but the name caught on quickly due to the iconic decorative design by Robert Carmichael showcasing a single loon on one side. It has been 30 years since its introduction by the Royal Canadian Mint and marked one of the most significant changes in Canadian currency history in half a century. To mark this special occasion the mint has put out…
Canada’s main stock index slumped on Wednesday to its lowest close in six months as energy stocks were hit by a sharp retreat in the price of oil and loyalty program company Aimia fell sharply after suspending its dividend payments. The energy group fell 3.9 percent as oil prices moved lower by a similar degree, hit by an unexpected large buildup in gasoline inventories and an international outlook that suggests…
It looks like Canadian investors can enjoy a sigh of relief: the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled today that it wouldn’t raise rates. It also introduced an increasingly cautious approach by cutting the number of rate increases expected in 2017 and 2018. The long-run interest rate forecast was also reset lower to 2.9% from 3%. Why is this such a big deal? The loonie has faced an onslaught of pressures in recent months and years…
Britain’s exit from the European Union is expected trigger increased volatility in global markets for months and years to come. Fears of the fallout were immediately manifested in global financial markets Friday, which lost about US$2 trillion in value, while the British pound suffered a record drop to a 31-year low. U.S. stocks witnessed their worst performance in 10 months. Here at home, the S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 239 points….
The Canadian dollar is on track to experience its second-biggest decline on record against the U.S. dollar, and analysts forecast the currency could go lower before it bounces back next year. The loonie is now down nearly 17 per cent against the greenback for 2015, the biggest drop since 2008, when it lost 18.6 per cent against the U.S. dollar due to a collapse in commodity prices. With nine trading…
Over the past 12 months, the Canadian dollar has declined by 15% versus the U.S. dollar. And there are plenty of reasons why the loonie is likely to depreciate further. Let’s start with the Canadian economy, which contracted for the fourth month in a row in April. There’s now a real possibility that Canada is in the midst of a recession, and this could lead to further rate cuts by…
The Canadian dollar has had a sharp slide since the beginning of 2014 and most predictions are that it will go lower. RBC economists say 87 cents by this fall, perhaps 85 cents next year, while TD Bank says 85 cents before the end of the year, then a rebound to 90 cents in 2015. On Friday the loonie closed up 0.26 of a cent at 89.21 cents US, having…
Canada’s economy expanded at a 1.8 per cent annual pace during the last quarter, the same growth seen at the start of the year and slightly better than what economists were expecting. Statistics Canada said Friday that an increase in business investment was the biggest factor contributing to growth. Economists had been expecting a 1.6 per cent gain. The Bank of Canada, however, had been forecasting the 1.8 per cent…
Stocks, the Canadian dollar and commodities all soared Friday in the wake of an agreement among European leaders to a set of prescriptions for their debt crisis. But analysts questioned how long the rally would hold. In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up 171.86 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 11,596.56. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 277.83 points, or 2.20 per cent, at 12,880.09. The…
The Canadian dollar climbed above the $1.02 US level for the first time in seven months on Friday as the currency continued to rally following the Bank of Canada’s recent shift to a more hawkish tone and U.S. GDP figures disappointed the markets. The loonie traded as high as $1.0204 before easing back to close at $1.0194, a gain of 3/10ths of a cent from Thursday’s close. Data from the…