Canada's exports rose in October, largely driven by pharmaceutical products, while imports were also up, largely as a result of a depreciation of the Canadian dollar, data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The country's trade surplus with the world grew to C$1.21 billion ($888.53 million) in October, Statistics Canada said, slightly above analysts' forecasts of a surplus of C$1.20 billion. Exports rose 1.5%, helped by higher exports of medicinal products as well as gold bars and coins to the United States, Statscan said. By volume, exports were up 0.1%.
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Canada
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said on Friday it would appeal a New York court's ruling in a lawsuit brought against the bank by an entity of U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, Reuters reported. Cerberus had alleged that CIBC defaulted on certain payments and is seeking damages of $1.067 billion. CIBC said it had satisfied all its obligations. The court issued a liability ruling against the lender, but has not determined how much it will have to pay. The parties will get to present arguments on the damages at a hearing on Dec. 19, CIBC said.
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The Canadian economy added a limited number of jobs in November and the unemployment rate came in lower than expected as fewer people looked for work, official data showed on Friday, in a tepid report that may bolster the chances for a normal-sized interest rate increase next week, Reuters reported. Canada added 10,100 jobs in November, broadly in line with the forecast gain of 5,000, while the jobless rate fell to 5.1%, Statistics Canada said. Analysts had forecast the jobless rate would tick up to 5.3%.
Royal Bank of Canada, which just struck its largest deal ever to expand in its home market, is getting a boost from its dominant position in the country’s retail banking landscape at a time when rising rates are making lending more profitable, Bloomberg News reported. Net interest income rose 24% to C$6.28 billion ($4.64 billion) in the fiscal fourth quarter, the Toronto-based company said Wednesday. Overall profit topped analysts’ estimates in the three months through October.
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Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont., has exited the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) restructuring process that followed its insolvency in February 2021, CBC reported. The university has continued to operate while dealing with its financial problems. Under the restructuring, it cut 76 programs in April 2021. As well, nearly 200 staff and faculty members lost their jobs. The CCAA was created for commercial enterprises to help them restructure after an insolvency.
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Canada's economy performed much better than expected in the third quarter, but an early indication that growth stalled in the fourth quarter could prompt the Bank of Canada next week to slow its campaign to hike interest rates, Reuters reported. Canada's economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the third quarter, above expectations, while GDP most likely was unchanged in October after a 0.1% gain in September, Statistics Canada data showed on Tuesday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected third-quarter annualized growth of 1.5% and a gain of 0.1% in September.
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The Canadian Labour Congress is welcoming new legislation protecting workers’ pensions in case their employer declares bankruptcy or insolvency, HRReporter.com reported. “For decades we have seen companies pay out creditors, even pay out bonuses to executives, after declaring bankruptcy, while workers wait at the back of the line. We are glad to finally see workers being prioritized over banks and CEOs in bankruptcies situations,” says Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).
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Higher interest rates are starting to slow the Canadian economy, the Bank of Canada said on Tuesday, putting pressure on households with elevated debt and people who recently bought a home with a variable-rate mortgage, Reuters reported. "It will take time to get back to solid growth with low inflation but we will get there," Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said in a speech at the University of Ottawa. The Bank of Canada raised rates by 50 basis points last month to fight high inflation, lifting the policy rate to 3.75%, the highest since the 4% level seen in January 2008.
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Groupe Sélection, which operates several retirement residences in Montréal and on the West Island (Sélection Retraite West Island in Pointe-Claire and Sélection Retraite Le Cambridge, also in Pointe-Claire), has filed for bankruptcy protection, The Suburban reported. The banking group that handles Groupe Sélection’s finances, which includes Banque Nationale, has appointed the accounting firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers to handle the company’s turnaround.
Lower-income Canadians will be disproportionately affected by the slowdown in economic activity that is needed to ease inflationary pressures, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Monday, Reuters reported. Macklem, in opening remarks to the fourth annual Conference on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Economics, Finance and Central Banking, also reiterated that inflation is too high and challenges remain as the central bank works to lower it.
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