recession posts

Fund Managers Fear Negative Growth: What (Another) Recession Might Mean For You

Filed under: Economizer, Family Finances, Shopping

Where did the money go? This is actually a topic of conversation that's come up in social settings in the past few months, believe it or not. It seems like people used to have a lot more of it than they do today.

With that feeling in mind, it was a little bit jarring to read that some fund managers are trimming their exposure to Canadian banks over fears that Canada could slide into a recession. (I've always been told Canadian banks are a great place to be invested.)

If we're not actually in a recession today, and things feel tight right now (hello groceries! Have you noticed how much walnuts cost lately?), what would things really be like if we were officially found to be in negative growth territory?

SLIDESHOW: 7 WAYS TO SAVE $1000 A YEAR

Tags: money-saving tips, Money-savingTips, recession, save money, SaveMoney

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Canadian Household Income: We're Better Off Than Our American Neighbours

by Waheeda Harris

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Debt, Family Finances

In the past few years, the median average for Canadian families hasn't gone up, but it hasn't gone down.

The average income for Canadians has stayed stable in the most recent analysis of incomes from 2010.

And that's better than our friends south of the border, where the recession has taken its toll on average income of couples and families.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian family income stayed at $65,500 on average in 2010, unchanged from the previous year. Americans faced a sharp decline of 7.7% in their family income in the same time period.

So it a good thing for Canadians? If you're a two parent family or a single parent family, life has many challenges, but income has been holding steady for you too.

Source

Tags: budget, Canada, debt, economy, income, money, recession, salary, savings, United States, UnitedStates

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Who Gets the Axe?

by Kate McCaffery

Filed under: Employment & Careers, Family Finances

We haven't seen many layoffs yet, but there have been some tough weeks in stock market land, economists have issued their dire-sounding warnings, and there are repeated and growing rumblings about the prospect of Canada sliding into another recession soon.

Amid this, Statistics Canada released a report entitled Workers Laid-off During the Last Three Recessions: Who Were They, and How Did They Fare? which examines or profiles just who seems to get the axe (or who did during the last three recessions, anyway) when the economy hits the skids.

If you read between the lines, it also provides a profile of workers who seem to rebound most easily or quickly from a lay-off and provides clues for those interested in making the most of things (i.e. those who'd like to pursue higher-paying gigs) if they do find themselves laid-off in the next round.

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Source

Tags: 2008-2011, job loss, job losses, JobLoss, JobLosses, laid off, laid-off, LaidOff, lay-offs, layoff, layoffs, recession, unemployment, university degree, UniversityDegree, wage loss, WageLoss, wages, workforce

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Canadian Business Leaders Eye Free Trade With Europe, China

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Financial Crisis, Small Business

Canadian business leaders have come out in overwhelming support of the free trade negotiations with the European Union and say a deal with China would also be beneficial to Canada's economy.

More than 90 per cent of Canadian business executives believe Canada has benefited from existing free trade agreements (FTA), a survey of 200 senior executives by national business law firm Miller Thomson LLP showed. Canada has FTAs with the U.S. and Mexico (NAFTA), Panama, Jordan, Peru, Chile and Israel.

About 60 per cent of Canadian business leaders said free trade with the European Union should be a government priority and 37 per cent said the government needs to urgently examine Canada's trade relationship with China.

Tags: agreement, business, canada, cheese, china, dairy, diversify, economy, EU, europe, european union, EuropeanUnion, foreign markets, ForeignMarkets, free trade, FreeTrade, fta, government, negotiations, opportunity, ottawa, recession, talks, united states, UnitedStates

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Dollar Stores Depriving Walmart Of Sales

by Marlene Alexander

Filed under: Bargains, Economizer, Shopping

dollar stores depriving Walmart of sales

Dollar stores have been depriving stores like Walmart of sales. During the recession, they lost a lot of business to dollar stores as lower-income shoppers deserted them in search of cheaper prices on everyday needs like food and personal care items. In 2010, Walmart's net sales increase was down to 1.0 percent from 7.3 per cent in 2009. In fact, these numbers have been decreasing since 2007 when the net sales increase was 11.6 per cent.

Considering that dollar stores were thought of as little more than junk stores a few years ago, chains like Dollarama have proven their worth with clean organized stores, great merchandise that includes bread and other packaged foods and helpful staff. For fiscal year 2010, Dollarama earned $1,253.7 million, a 15.4% increase over the previous year.

Tags: Dollar Stores, DollarStores, Recession, Walmart

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How to Invest in Post-Secondary Education

by Jacqueline Delange

Filed under: Employment & Careers

I'm the first to admit that my $20,000 university degree is not what you'd call practical.

Unsure of my career path at age 17, I hastily enrolled in university. Why? Because that's just what parents, teachers and even students expect.

After a year spent bouncing between humanities majors and three more spent studying useless theories, graduation seemed imminent. Cue panic attack.

"How will I make a living with a humanities degree?" I thought.

As a kid, I had always assumed I would earn the same salary as my parents, but my choice of major made this seem less probable. Instead, I graduated without a clue or a job.

I'm not alone.

Tags: community college, humanities degree, independent study, recession, student, student debt, student unemployment, StudentDebt, university, volunteering, worthless degree, WorthlessDegree

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Canada's 2011 Economic Horoscope: What the Big 5 Banks Predict

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Banks, Budgeting & Planning, Employment & Careers, Financial Crisis

Things have been on the mend for the Canadian economy and conditions are going to continue to improve this year, Canada's Big Five bank economists say. Even so, economic growth will likely creep along at a slower pace than in 2010, meaning there will be no quick return to the boom times that preceded the recession of 2008-2009.

"Exports remain challenged by a strong loonie, and domestic consumption growth will be moderating, either through rate hikes or other measures, as Ottawa attempts to slow the climb in household debt," says CIBC economist Krishen Rangasamy.

While there is no doubt that the Canadian economy will continue to grow in 2011, economists are divided on exactly how much. Some experts, such as at Scotiabank and CIBC, foresee a slow 2.2% pace of growth in 2011 largely due to the high Canadian dollar, weak exports and struggling foreign economies. Others, such as RBC, have a much stronger outlook.

Tags: 2.6, big 5, big five, Big5, BigFive, bmo, canada, canadian dollar, CanadianDollar, cibc, economic outlook, EconomicOutlook, economist, economy, employment, expire-images:2011-2-9, exports, growth, jobs, rbc, recession, scotiabank, td bank, TdBank, trade

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Is Canada Headed Back Into Recession?

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Financial Crisis

It's the outcome no one wants, a second recession - the 'double dip,' also known as the 'W-shaped' - but economists are beginning to increasingly fear that the U.S. will drag us back into the red.

It's something the economic community has speculated about since the U.S. first entered recession at the end of 2008, sparking a financial crisis that took the rest of the world down with it. Some economists have believed from the start that once stimulus programs began to unwind that the U.S. economy would drop into a second recession. Those concerns have strengthened after the U.S. jobs report last week showed that employment actually fell for the first time this year.

So how likely is Canada to fall back into recession?

Tags: bank of canada, BankOfCanada, double-dip, g20, housing market, HousingMarket, jim flaherty, JimFlaherty, jobs, recession, recovery, stock market, StockMarket, U.S. economy, U.s.Economy, united states, UnitedStates, w-shaped

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Do You Deserve a Raise? It Could Be Coming Soon

by Alia McMullen

Filed under: Family Finances, Financial Crisis

For some of us a pay rise has been a long time coming. Just as you thought you were about due that little extra on your weekly cheque, the recession hit, and well, we all know what happened there. But bosses are beginning to show signs the tide is turning, at least if you're one of their better workers.

It all comes back to the 'skills shortage.' We haven't heard much about it since the economic downturn, although Prime Minister Stephen Harper did mention that the problem would resurface as soon as the economy began to mend. That time has come and as the unemployment rate begins to work its way back down, bosses are going to want to hang on to their good staff, and one sure-fire way to do that is by showing the money.

So, how many bosses are thinking of rewarding their staff?

Tags: accountemps, bonus, bosses, economy, employees, employers, jobs, pay increase, pay rise, PayIncrease, PayRise, promotion, recession, skills shortage, SkillsShortage