January 22, 2004 Release of the Monetary Policy Report Update Opening statement David Dodge Three developments have led us to modify our outlook for economic growth and inflation in Canada, since our October Monetary Policy Report. These include: stronger-than-expected world economic activity, the continued sharp depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major world currencies (including the Canadian dollar), and a somewhat larger output gap in Canada at the end of 2003. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements
January 20, 2004 Bank of Canada lowers target for the overnight rate by 1/4 percentage point to 2 1/2 per cent Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 2 1/2 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is correspondingly lowered, and the Bank Rate is now 2 3/4 per cent. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
January 16, 2004 Bank of Canada Announces Adviser Appointment Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada today announced the appointment of Pierre Godin to the position of adviser. The appointment is for an 18-month period; Mr. Godin will be joining the Bank in mid-March. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
January 15, 2004 Canada's new $100 bank note to be unveiled on 28 January 2004 Ginette Crew Ottawa, Ontario Canada’s new $100 bank note will be unveiled on Wednesday, 28 January 2004, in Halifax. The first high denomination note in the Canadian Journey series will be unveiled by the Honourable John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, and David Dodge, Governor of the Bank of Canada. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
Exact Tests of Equal Forecast Accuracy with an Application to the Term Structure of Interest Rates Staff Working Paper 2004-2 Richard Luger The author proposes a class of exact tests of the null hypothesis of exchangeable forecast errors and, hence, of the hypothesis of no difference in the unconditional accuracy of two competing forecasts. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C2, C22, C5, C52, C53
The Effect of Adjustment Costs and Organizational Change on Productivity in Canada: Evidence from Aggregate Data Staff Working Paper 2004-1 Danny Leung A basic neoclassical model of production is often used to assess the contribution of investment to output growth. In the model, investment raises the capital stock and output growth increases in proportion to the growth in capital. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): O, O3, O31, O4, O49
December 31, 2003 Summary of Government of Canada - Outstanding as at 31 December 2003 Content Type(s): Publications, Historical: Securities and loans
December 23, 2003 The Comparative Growth of Goods and Services Prices Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2003-2004 Edith Gagnon, Patrick Sabourin, Sébastien Lavoie For several decades, the prices of services have been rising more rapidly than the prices of goods in Canada and the other major industrialized countries. In 2002, this gap between the growth rates of these two components of the consumer price index (CPI) widened considerably, leading researchers to ask if this was the beginning of a trend. Analysis reveals, however, that the gap is based on short-term dynamics and that it appears to be independent of the trend in the development of the overall price level. Evidence also shows that the gap is eventually reabsorbed. The authors examine a number of potential causes for the prices of services to rise faster than those of goods. These include the more rapid pace of productivity growth in the goods sector, the greater openness of goods to foreign trade, and stronger growth in the demand for services. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Inflation and prices, International topics, Productivity
December 23, 2003 Financial System Review - December 2003 This section of the Financial System Review examines the recent performance of the Canadian financial system and the factors, both domestic and international, that are influencing it. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial Stability Report
December 22, 2003 Current Account Imbalances: Some Key Issues for the Major Industrialized Countries Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2003-2004 Jocelyn Jacob The resurgence of sizable current account imbalances in the major economies in recent years, particularly the tripling of the U.S. deficit, has led to renewed academic and public discussions about their sustainability. Jacob's main objective is to show that current account balances are simply the outcome of various relative structural and cyclical forces between trading partners. He reviews the factors behind the changes in the current account positions of the three largest industrial economies (the United States, Japan, and the euro area). Two strong determinants shaping the current account balances are the faster increase in U.S. productivity compared with that of other major economies and, more recently, the loosening in the U.S. fiscal stance. Jacob also reviews a range of outside assessments from such sources as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the academic literature, to determine the possible risks to macroeconomic and financial stability. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates, International topics