October 19, 2006 Release of the Monetary Policy Report Opening statement David Dodge The Canadian economy is judged to be operating just above its production capacity. While global economic growth is expected to be a little higher than previously anticipated, a weaker near-term outlook for the U.S. economy has curbed the near-term prospects for Canadian exports and growth. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements
October 17, 2006 Bank of Canada keeps target for the overnight rate at 4 1/4 per cent Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 4 1/4 per cent. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
October 8, 2006 Modelling Financial Channels for Monetary Policy Analysis Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2006 Ian Christensen, Ben Fung, Césaire Meh The Bank of Canada considers a wide range of information and analysis before making a monetary policy decision and uses carefully articulated models to produce economic projections and to examine alternative scenarios. This article describes an ongoing research agenda at the Bank to develop models in which financial variables play an active role in the transmission of monetary policy actions to economic activity. Such models can help to analyze information from the financial side of the economy and to provide an overall view of the implications of financial developments for the current economic outlook. The authors also explain how this research can help address other issues relevant to the objectives of monetary policy, including how asset-price movements should be taken into account in the monetary policy framework. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Economic models, Monetary policy transmission
October 6, 2006 Business Outlook Survey - Autumn 2006 Overall, businesses continue to be positive about the economic outlook. Content Type(s): Publications, Business Outlook Survey
Short-Run and Long-Run Causality between Monetary Policy Variables and Stock Prices Staff Working Paper 2006-39 Jean-Marie Dufour, David Tessier The authors examine simultaneously the causal links connecting monetary policy variables, real activity, and stock returns. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary and financial indicators JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C15, C3, C32, C5, C51, C53, E, E5, E52
Conditioning Information and Variance Bounds on Pricing Kernels with Higher-Order Moments: Theory and Evidence Staff Working Paper 2006-38 Fousseni Chabi-Yo The author develops a strategy for utilizing higher moments and conditioning information efficiently, and hence improves on the variance bounds computed by Hansen and Jagannathan (1991, the HJ bound) and Gallant, Hansen, and Tauchen (1990, the GHT bound). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C6, C61, G, G1, G12, G13
October 3, 2006 A New Effective Exchange Rate Index for the Canadian Dollar Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2006 Janone Ong An effective exchange rate is a measure of the value of a country's currency vis-à-vis the currencies of its most important trading partners. The Bank of Canada has created a new Canadian-dollar effective exchange rate index (CERI) to replace the C-6 index that it currently uses. The CERI uses multilateral trade weights published by the International Monetary Fund and includes the six currencies of countries or economic zones with the largest share of Canada's international trade. As such, it better reflects the recent changes in Canada's trade profile, including the rise in the importance of China and Mexico and the relative decline in importance of Europe and Japan in Canada's international trade. The author describes the methodology and construction of the new index and reviews the advantages it offers over the C-6, particularly the use of multilateral trade weights, the inclusion of trade in services, and the use of more recent trade data. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial markets, Monetary and financial indicators
Endogenous Borrowing Constraints and Consumption Volatility in a Small Open Economy Staff Working Paper 2006-37 Carlos De Resende Consumption volatility relative to output volatility is consistently higher in emerging economies than in developed economies. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F32, F34, F4, F41
Credit in a Tiered Payments System Staff Working Paper 2006-36 Alexandra Lai, Nikil Chande, Sean O'Connor Payments systems are typically characterized by some degree of tiering, with upstream firms (clearing agents) providing settlement accounts to downstream institutions that wish to clear and settle payments indirectly in these systems (indirect clearers). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services, Market structure and pricing, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, L, L1, L12, L13, L2, L22
September 13, 2006 Weathering Economic Shocks: The Importance of Flexibility Remarks Paul Jenkins Vancouver Board of Trade Vancouver, British Columbia First, I should explain what I mean by flexibility. As most of you are surely aware, the Bank of Canada has been openly discussing the importance of promoting policies that support economic efficiency, including financial system efficiency. Efficiency refers to the allocation of scarce economic resources to the most productive uses, in a cost-effective way. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks