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Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen today commented on the release of the Bank's ninth Monetary Policy Report.

In its conduct of monetary policy, the Bank of Canada carefully monitors the pace of monetary expansion for indications about the outlook for inflation and economic activity. In recent years, a number of factors have distorted the growth of the traditional broad and narrow aggregates. In this article, the authors discuss the uncertainty surrounding the classification of deposit instruments that has resulted from the elimination of reserve requirements and from other financial innovations. They introduce two new measures of transactions balances, M1+ and M1++ (described more fully in a technical note in this issue of the Review), that internalize some of the substitutions that have occurred. They attribute the deceleration in M1 growth in 1998 partly to the declining influence of special factors, partly to a lagged response to interest rate increases in 1997 and early 1998, and partly to some temporary tightening in credit conditions in the autumn of 1998. The broad monetary aggregate M2++, which includes all personal savings deposits, life insurance annuities, and mutual funds, grew at a steady pace in 1998, presaging growth of about 4 to 5 per cent in total dollar spending and inflation inside the target range.

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Merchant’s note, 1837

Approximately four by three inches in size, this bon is part of the National Currency Collection, Bank of Canada.

Photography by James Zagon.

Despite the efficiency gains that accompany automation, most large futures exchanges have been reluctant to move away from the traditional trading floor, citing early evidence that open outcry exchanges were more liquid than electronic exchanges. More recent studies, however, suggest that electronic trading is superior to open outcry in many respects, including liquidity. In this article, the author compares the two trading systems. Although many exchanges are shifting towards electronic trading, there are still several obstacles to this transition. But as technology rapidly reduces the cost of automation and increases the demand for global 24-hour trading, a worldwide transition to electronic order-matching will likely be the next important milestone for futures exchanges. Less-automated exchanges (including the Canadian futures exchanges) will undoubtedly continue to study and promote automation in order to keep pace with technological innovations.

The world economy and Canada have had to navigate some difficult straits in the past couple of years. But we have made it through. And considering the tide from the Asian financial crisis that washed around the world, the Canadian economy has coped better this time around than in the past.

The Bank of Canada today lowered its Bank Rate by ¼ of one per cent to 4¾ per cent.

The Canadian economy has come through the financial volatility and global economic slowdown of the past few years quite well and has started 1999 on a strong note, Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen told members of La Chambre de Commerce de la région sherbrookoise today.

Since we have recently tabled the Bank of Canada’s Annual Report in Parliament, I would also be happy to answer any questions you may have about our stewardship of the Bank.

The Bank of Canada today lowered its Bank Rate by ¼ of one per cent to 5 per cent. The associated operating band for overnight interest rates was similarly reduced.

I am delighted to be with you this evening to celebrate the 35th annual meeting of the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union. On this occasion, I propose to speak about the Canadian economy and monetary policy. But given this audience, I thought I might start with some remarks on the future of the Canadian financial sector - a subject that has certainly grabbed its share of headlines over the past year!