News

Why does household financial health matter to the Bank of Canada? It matters because how Canadians spend and how much they spend affect both the conduct of monetary policy and the stability of the financial system.

Overall, businesses continue to be positive about the outlook for the next 12 months. While survey responses generally still indicate modest growth, with many firms citing headwinds from strong competition and moderate demand, the strength in commodity prices has led to increased optimism among those firms tied to commodity-related activity.

The survey results point to an overall easing in business-lending conditions. Both the price and non-price aspects of business lending eased during the quarter. Note that the balance of opinion indicates only the direction of the change in lending conditions; it does not provide information on the magnitude of the change.

Cyclical and structural factors have led to a low-interest-rate environment, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said today in a speech that reviewed the implications of such an environment for financial stability and economic growth in Canada and globally.

Current turbulence in Europe is a reminder that the crisis is not over, but has merely entered a new phase. In a world awash with debt, repairing the balance sheets of banks, households and countries will take years.