Recent economic and financial developments

• An Anatomy of Firms’ Political Speech

  Staff Working Paper 2024-37 Pablo Ottonello, Wenting Song, Sebastian Sotelo

  We study the distribution of political speech across U.S. firms. We develop a measure of political engagement based on firms’ communications (earning calls, regulatory filings, and social media) by training a large language model to identify statements that contain political opinions. Using these data, we document five facts about firms’ political engagement.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Market structure and pricing, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, D6, D63, G, G4, G41, L, L1, L11, L2, L20
• September 24, 2024

  Economic growth during uncertain times

  Remarks Tiff Macklem IIF-CBA Forum Toronto, Ontario

  Governor Tiff Macklem discusses global uncertainty, and the Bank of Canada’s role in mitigating and managing risks to our economy.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Financial stability, Inflation and prices, Interest rates, International topics, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Recent economic and financial developments

• The reliance of Canadians on credit card debt as a predictor of financial stress

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-18 Jia Qi Xiao

  I analyze the relationship between carrying a credit card balance and future financial stress. I find that carrying a balance significantly increases the likelihood that credit card holders miss future debt payments. This likelihood tends to rise as credit card balances grow and are held for long periods.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial institutions, Interest rates, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, E, E4, E5, G, G2, G21

• Impacts of interest rate hikes on the consumption of households with a mortgage

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-14 Panagiotis Bouras, Joaquín Saldain, Xing Guo, Thomas Michael Pugh, Maria teNyenhuis

  We assess how much the recent rate-hike cycle has and will affect mortgage borrowers' consumption through its impacts on mortgage payments. Our analysis provides insights into the effects of changes in monetary policy on the consumption of mortgage borrowers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Interest rates, Monetary policy, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D13, E, E2, E21, G, G5
• June 13, 2024

  Reviewing our pandemic actions

  Speech summary Sharon Kozicki Canadian Association for Business Economics Ottawa, Ontario

  Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki talks about the importance of central bank transparency and accountability. She looks at the exceptional monetary policy measures the Bank of Canada used during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzes their effectiveness.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Credibility, Economic models, Financial stability, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy communications, Recent economic and financial developments
• June 13, 2024

  Exceptional policies for an exceptional time: From quantitative easing to quantitative tightening

  Remarks Sharon Kozicki Canadian Association of Business Economics Ottawa, Ontario

  Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki discusses the use of exceptional monetary policy tools during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Bank’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Credibility, Economic models, Financial stability, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy communications, Recent economic and financial developments
• May 9, 2024

  Release of the Financial Stability Report

  Opening statement Tiff Macklem, Carolyn Rogers Ottawa, Ontario

  Press conference following the release of the Financial Stability Report.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements Topic(s): Asset pricing, Credit risk management, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial services, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Housing, Interest rates, Recent economic and financial developments

• Pricing behaviour and inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from consumer prices microdata

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-6 Olga Bilyk, Mikael Khan, Olena Kostyshyna

  Using the microdata underlying the Canadian consumer price index, we study how often and by how much firms changed their prices during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that the surge in inflation was mainly associated with retailers raising prices much more often than before. We also find that more recently, corporate price-setting behaviour appears to be approaching pre-pandemic norms.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, E, E3, E31, L, L1, L11

• Measuring household financial stress in Canada using consumer surveys

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-5 Nicolas Bédard, Patrick Sabourin

  We use data from the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations to understand how households are coping with high inflation and high interest rates. We build a subjective measure of financial stress and find that the level of stress is at a historical high but remains manageable for most households.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Domestic demand and components, Financial stability, Monetary policy transmission, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D14, G, G5, H, H3
• March 21, 2024

  Getting to a new normal

  Speech summary Toni Gravelle CFA Society Toronto Toronto, Ontario

  Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle speaks about how the Bank of Canada will manage its balance sheet once quantitative tightening ends.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Lender of last resort, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Recent economic and financial developments