Businesses are somewhat more optimistic about the outlook than they were in the spring, reflecting increased confidence about the robustness of the global economic recovery.
The Bank of Canada today released its 2005 schedule of eight dates for announcing decisions on its key policy interest rate, and confirmed the announcement dates for the remainder of this year.
The theme of this event is "Policy Coordination in an Integrated Global Economy." It seems as if the idea of policy coordination is making a comeback these days.
The same is true of the Canadian economy, which must always adjust to changing domestic and world circumstances. During 2003 and so far this year, some of those adjustments may have felt more like overhauls, particularly for some manufacturing firms here in Ontario.
The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 2 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is unchanged, and the Bank Rate remains at 2 1/4 per cent.