June 16, 2004
Posts
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June 8, 2004
Bank of Canada keeps target for the overnight rate at 2 per cent
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. -
Competition in Banking: A Review of the Literature
The author reviews the theoretical and empirical literature to examine the traditional perception that the following trade-off exists between economic efficiency and stability in the banking system: a competitive banking system is more efficient and therefore important to growth, but market power is necessary for stability in the banking system. -
Convergence of Government Bond Yields in the Euro Zone: The Role of Policy Harmonization
Since the early 1980s, long-term government bond yields in the euro zone have declined, in line with those in other industrialized countries. -
Financial Conditions Indexes for Canada
The authors construct three financial conditions indexes (FCIs) for Canada based on three approaches: an IS-curve-based model, generalized impulse-response functions, and factor analysis. -
Exchange Rate Pass-Through and the Inflation Environment in Industrialized Countries: An Empirical Investigation
This paper investigates the question of whether a transition to a low-inflation environment, induced by a shift in monetary policy, results in a decline in the degree of pass-through of exchange rate movements to consumer prices. -
Commodity-Linked Bonds: A Potential Means for Less-Developed Countries to Raise Foreign Capital
The author suggests that commodity-linked bonds could provide a potential means for less-developed countries (LDCs) to raise money on the international capital markets, rather than through standard forms of financing. -
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May 23, 2004
The Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey
Since the autumn of 1997, the regional offices of the Bank of Canada have conducted quarterly consultations with businesses across Canada. Timed to feed into the process that precedes the Bank's fixed dates for announcing monetary policy decisions, the consultations (now referred to as the Business Outlook Survey) are structured around a questionnaire which is sent to 100 firms that reflect the Canadian economy in terms of region, type of business activity, and firm size. Martin describes both the consultation process and the questionnaire and makes an initial assessment of the data gathered during the business interviews. The article includes charts and correlation tables that illustrate the responses to the key questions included in the survey.