October 24, 2005 Bank of Canada Statement on the Nomination of Dr. Ben S. Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada has been honoured to work with Chairman Alan Greenspan for the past 18 years, and we wish him every success in his future endeavours. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
October 22, 2005 How the Appreciation of the Canadian Dollar Has Affected Canadian Firms: Evidence from the Bank of Canada Business Outlook Survey Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2005 Jean Mair To track how firms were affected by the appreciation of the Canadian dollar in 2003 and 2004 and the steps they took in response, the Bank included supplementary questions in the quarterly Business Outlook Survey conducted by its regional offices. About half of the firms surveyed reported being adversely affected, one-quarter experienced a favourable impact, and the remainder reported no effect. Jean Mair classifies and summarizes the firms' responses, identifying the sectors that were most and least affected. Causes of the impacts are identified, as well as the actions firms took as a result of the appreciation. The article looks at these actions over time to see what they tell us about firms' adjustment process. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Balance of payments and components, Exchange rates, Recent economic and financial developments
October 21, 2005 Changes Regarding Noon Foreign Exchange Rates Effective 7 November 2005 Beginning on 7 November 2005, the Bank of Canada will be implementing a number of changes directed towards achieving a more timely release of noon foreign exchange rates. These changes will be implemented on a six-month trial basis to allow the Bank to assess whether further refinements are required to ensure that these rates remain an accurate reflection of mid-day rates in wholesale markets. Content Type(s): Press, Market notices
October 20, 2005 Bank of Canada releases Monetary Policy Report Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada today released its October Monetary Policy Report, which discusses current economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
October 20, 2005 Release of the Monetary Policy Report Opening statement David Dodge In the report, we said that the global and Canadian economies have continued to grow at a solid pace, and our economy now appears to be operating at full production capacity. Past and recent movements in energy prices and in the exchange rate for the Canadian dollar, along with competitive pressures from China and other newly industrialized economies, are giving rise to significant ongoing adjustments in the Canadian economy. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements
October 20, 2005 Monetary Policy Report – October 2005 The global economy has continued to grow at a robust pace since the July Monetary Policy Report Update. Content Type(s): Publications, Monetary Policy Report
October 18, 2005 What Drives Movements in Exchange Rates? Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2005 Jeannine Bailliu, Michael R. King Understanding what causes the exchange rate to move has been on ongoing challenge for economists. Despite extensive research, traditional macro models of exchange rate determination—with the exception of the Bank of Canada's exchange rate equation—have typically not fared well, motivating economists to explore new ways to model exchange rate movements that incorporate more complex and realistic settings. Within the context of the sharp appreciation of the Canadian dollar in 2003 and 2004, Bailliu and King review the macroeconomic models of exchange rates, as well as the micro-structure studies that highlight the importance of trading mechanisms, information asymmetry, and investor heterogeneity for explaining short-term dynamics in exchange rates. In addition to summarizing the current state of knowledge, they highlight recent advances and identify promising alternative approaches. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Economic models, Exchange rates, Financial markets
October 18, 2005 Bank of Canada raises overnight rate target by 1/4 percentage point to 3 per cent Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3 per cent. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
October 7, 2005 Business Outlook Survey - Autumn 2005 Firms overall remain positive about the economic outlook. Content Type(s): Publications, Business Outlook Survey
October 5, 2005 The Exchange Rate and Canadian Inflation Targeting Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2005 Christopher Ragan An essential element of the Bank of Canada's inflation-targeting framework is a floating exchange rate that is free to adjust in response to shocks that affect the Canadian and world economies. This floating rate plays an important role in the transmission mechanism for monetary policy. A practical question is how the Bank of Canada incorporates currency movements into the monetary policy decision-making process. Only after determining the cause and persistence of exchange rate change, and its likely net effect on aggregate demand, can the Bank decide on the appropriate policy response to keep inflation low, stable, and predictable. Ragan reviews the need to target inflation and the transmission mechanism for monetary policy, including the role of the exchange rate, before describing two types of exchange rate movements and their implications for monetary policy. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates, Inflation targets, Monetary policy implementation