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Central banks’ actions to stabilize financial markets and implement monetary policy during crises may come with costs and side effects. We provide a literature review of these costs and discuss measures that may mitigate the negative impacts of crisis actions.

Responses to the autumn Business Outlook Survey indicate that near-term business prospects continue to be robust. Strong demand and elevated capacity pressures support firms’ investment and employment intentions.

Business sentiment and sales growth expectations have stopped falling, according to firms responding to the Business Outlook Survey and the Business Leaders’ Pulse. But demand remains subdued, which is allowing price pressures and the labour market to ease. As a result, fewer firms than in the previous survey are planning unusually large or frequent price increases over the next 12 months.

While the CPI is the most commonly used measure to track inflation, it is not fully consistent with a true cost-of-living index (COLI). Although the official treatment of durable goods and housing in the CPI represents an acceptable compromise in the current environment of low and stable inflation, Sabourin and Duguay suggest that it would be worthwhile to consider treating housing and durables in the same way and bringing the actual CPI closer to a COLI. This could be accomplished by employing an enhanced user-cost approach to calculate the imputed cost of the services provided by the use of durable goods or housing.

Results from the Business Outlook Survey and the Business Leaders’ Pulse indicate that firms’ sentiment has improved. Responses were mostly gathered before the start of the war in the Middle East. Fewer businesses reported being affected by trade tensions with the United States, and many expect sales growth to improve. Most businesses plan to maintain or slightly increase current staffing levels and investment spending. One-year-ahead inflation expectations have ticked up slightly. Results of follow-up calls made after the start of Iran war suggest that many firms are already facing higher input costs related to the war due to rising prices for energy, fertilizer and freight.

The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent, with the Bank Rate at ½ percent and the deposit rate at ¼ percent.

Businesses remain essentially as optimistic about the economic outlook as they were in the summer survey. Although they have marked down their growth forecast for the U.S. economy, businesses expect stronger domestic demand.

Supplemental questions on the appreciation of the Canadian dollar - October 2004

The Reports section of the Financial System Review examines selected issues of relevance to the Canadian and global financial systems. The June 2014 issue features three reports on financial system initiatives: making financial benchmarks more robust; implementing the stronger Basel III capital and liquidity framework for banks; and using stress tests to assess financial system risks.

The ability to conduct financial transactions using bank notes is crucial to independent living. Yet this can pose significant challenges for individuals who are blind or partially sighted. This article discusses the Bank of Canada's efforts over the past 30 years to meet the accessibility needs of a specific subset of the population–Canadians living with blindness or vision loss. It also reports the findings of expert and user assessments of the suite of accessibility features on the current series of bank notes and shares plans for the next series.

Quarterly Financial Report - Third Quarter 2013 - For the period ended 30 September 2013