Canada

The Bank of Canada ended its bond-buying stimulus program and accelerated the potential timing of future interest rate increases amid worries that supply disruptions are driving up inflation, Bloomberg News reported. In a statement Wednesday, policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem announced they would stop growing holdings of Canadian government bonds, ending a quantitative easing program that has poured hundreds of billions into the financial system since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bank of Canada will continue pulling back its support for the economy at a policy decision this week, paving the way for the start of interest rate increases next year amid inflation worries, Bloomberg News reported. Governor Tiff Macklem is expected to reduce weekly government bond purchases by one half on Wednesday to C$1 billion ($809 million). That will mark the fourth time over the past 12 months the central bank has rolled back a program that has poured hundreds of billions into the financial system since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canadian home prices barely rose in September from August as a recent slowdown in housing sales weighed, data showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which tracks repeat sales of single-family homes in 11 major Canadian markets, rose 0.1% in September from August, marking the fourth consecutive month in which the monthly price increase was lower than the previous month.

Canada's Competition Bureau watchdog may have to rely more on litigation after its proposed veto of a takeover was overturned, and this could make life harder for companies seeking to merge, the agency head said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Matthew Boswell, commissioner of competition, noted his bureau had tried this year to block western Canadian oil and gas waste firm Secure Energy Services Inc from buying rival Tervita Corp.

The Bank of Canada will raise its benchmark interest rate four times in the second half of next year and another four times in 2023, according to a top economist at the Bank of Nova Scotia, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem will begin a series of eight 25-basis-point hikes in July of next year, Scotiabank’s Derek Holt said Wednesday on BNN Bloomberg Television. That will be followed by moves in September, October, and December.

The Bank of Canada on Monday reiterated it has no plans to introduce a digital currency for the time being, but said that might change if people began using physical cash less, Reuters reported. The Canadian central bank says it is well into the development process on a cash-like digital currency that it could release to the public, should the need arise. A number of other central banks are doing similar work. "We haven't made a decision to issue one yet because we basically don't see a compelling need under current circumstances," said Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's new government is set to impose higher taxes on Canadians, which will help fund some campaign promises but are not broad enough to also start paying down the country's record levels of debt, leaving Canada vulnerable to the next economic crisis, analysts say, Reuters reported. This could be a risky strategy for the country, which piled on new debt at a faster pace than any of its Group of Seven peers during the pandemic.

Upon learning the U.S. intends to reopen land border crossings in early November to fully vaccinated travelers from Canada and Mexico, Emily Pearce started planning a visit to the nearest Target store, located in upstate New York, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Ottawa resident said for months she has been eyeing a pair of wicker nightstands that the retailer sells. Target doesn’t ship to Canada, and she can’t find anything comparable in Canada at the same price point. Shopping trips, family reunions and vacations are back on the agenda for Canadians like Ms.

Canada is concerned about the challenges facing global supply chains and is watching the country's ports very closely, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Freeland, speaking to reporters in Washington after meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said she was broadly optimistic about the strength of Canada's economic recovery from COVID-19.

Canadian business leaders are calling on the federal government to extend COVID-19 benefits for small business and food service operators, saying moving ahead with plans to end the wage and rent subsidies on Oct. 23 will pull the safety net out from under struggling business owners, the Financial Post reported. In a letter shared with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, the Canada Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) urged the federal government to extend benefits such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) to Nov. 20.