Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts. Loonie rises.

[none]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-economy-expands-at-2-9-pace-
beating-forecasts-1.2554951

Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.

Fourth quarter of 2013 ended on a down note, but economic growth strong
overall.

Feb 28, 2014

Canada's manufacturing sector picked up its pace of expansion in the
fourth quarter.

Canada's economy expanded an an annualized pace of 2.9 per cent in the
last three months of 2013, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

That was better than the downward-revised pace of 2.4 per cent seen in
the U.S. over the same period. It was also better than the 2.5 per cent
growth rate that analysts had been expecting.

The gains were broad-based, as most industrial sectors showed
expansion. Mining, oil and gas, manufacturing and the public sector all
grew.

Loonie rises

For 2013 as a whole, the Canadian economy grew by two per cent.

That's about three-tenths of a percentage point higher than predicted
by the Bank of Canada and the latest federal budget. It also makes 2013
the best year for the Canadian economy since 2011.

"Overall, the fourth quarter economic performance was a healthy showing
for Canada," TD Bank said in a note following the data's release. "The
headline growth rate also confirms something we've long recognized: the
second half of 2013 was much stronger than the first half."

The strong figures were good news for the hard-hit Canadian dollar,
which gained about a quarter of a cent after the data's release to
trade at 90.15 cents US.

The year ended on a down note, however. Bitterly cold weather all month
and a massive ice storm toward the end of December dragged the economy
down, as factories, retailers and some government activities
temporarily closed or operated at less-than-peak productivity.

On a monthly basis, the Canadian economy shrank by 0.5 per cent in
December. That's the worst monthly figure seen since the recession.

"Broadly speaking, the general message of a decent quarter ending on a
soft note remains intact as weather … hit December figures negatively,"
Scotiabank economist Derek Holt said. "We expect December softness to
result in deferred activity into … spring."

In revisions that helped the annual growth number, Statistics Canada
said the economy had advanced by 2.9 per cent and 2.2 per cent
respectively in the first and second quarters of 2013. It had
previously recorded those growth rates as 2.3 and 1.6 per cent. The 2.7
per cent rate in the third quarter was left unchanged.


Related Stories

U.S. economy slows to 2.4% growth.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/u-s-economy-slows-to-2-4-growth-
1.2554958

[M.I.Wakefield]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-economy-expands-at-2-9-pace-beating-forecasts-1.2554951
Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.

Snip!

U.S. economy slows to 2.4% growth.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/u-s-economy-slows-to-2-4-growth-1.2554958

They're blaming the weather:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26387690

================
The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending.

Severe winter weather in the US is expected to slow growth further in the
current quarter.

The Commerce Department initially predicted consumer spending had expanded
by 3.3%, but spending is now estimated to have grown at a 2.6% annual rate.

Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70% of US economic activity.

Bad winter weather has cut into vehicle sales, among other purchases.
================

Wimps.

[Canuck57]

Post by M.I.Wakefield

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-economy-expands-at-2-9-pace-beating-forecasts-1.2554951
Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.

Snip!

U.S. economy slows to 2.4% growth.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/u-s-economy-slows-to-2-4-growth-1.2554958

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26387690

Weather only has a temporary effect. But per usual, media is often
about propaganda proliferation. If they didn't spend as much this
money, they will spend more next month.

[Canuck57]

Post by none
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-economy-expands-at-2-9-pace-
beating-forecasts-1.2554951
Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.

Lets do some math shall we.

10 cent off par loonie is (1.00 / 0.90) for 11% real inflation. Not the
BS inflation Ottawa spews as Ottawa StatsCan doesn't show the
assumptions and math, just the propaganda and deciet.

So 2.9% GDP gain minus 11% currency losses is a net 8.1% losses plus
taxes on 2.9% gains. So in fact on a value basis, -8.1% or more in losses.

If I just put $100k CAD more in USD a year ago (and I did more) it would
be worth $111k CAD today without investing it.

If I put $100k CAD into Yuan a year ago, I would have $125k CAD today
without investing in it.

Fact is Canada is a negative value tax inflated economy of ponzi debt.

GDP inflation and negative value to real inflation does not generate jobs.

Jobs come from the affordable exchange of desired goods and services.

Hey, tax us more with more taxes, lower value money, inflated prices
from hidden taxes, we spend less on each others jobs.

But hey, Ottawa loves its myths.

[ConɀƦConɀ]

Post by none
Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.
Fourth quarter of 2013 ended on a down note, but economic growth strong
overall.
Feb 28, 2014

Measuring progress with GDP is a gross mistake

Governments, media and much of the public are preoccupied with the
economy. That means demands such as those for recognition of First
Nations treaty rights and environmental protection are often seen as
impediments to the goal of maintaining economic growth. The gross
domestic product has become a sacred indicator of well-being. Ask
corporate CEOs and politicians how they did last year and they’ll refer
to the rise or fall of the GDP.

It’s a strange way to measure either economic or social well-being. The
GDP was developed as a way to estimate economic activity by measuring
the value of all transactions for goods and services. But even Simon
Kuznets, an American economist and pioneer of national income
measurement, warned in 1934 that such measurements say little about “the
welfare of a nation.” He understood there’s more to life than the
benefits that come from spending money.

My wife’s parents have shared our home for 35 years. If we had put them
in a care home, the GDP would have grown. In caring for them ourselves
we didn’t contribute as much. When my wife left her teaching job at
Harvard University to be a full-time volunteer for the David Suzuki
Foundation, her GDP contribution fell. Each time we repair and reuse
something considered disposable we fail to contribute to the GDP.

To illustrate the GDP’s limitations as an indicator of well-being,
suppose a fire breaks out at the Darlington nuclear facility near
Toronto and issues a cloud of radioactivity that blows over the city,
causing hundreds of cases of radiation sickness. All the ambulances,
doctors, medicines and hospital beds will jack up the GDP. And if
people die, funeral services, hearses, flowers, gravediggers and lawyers
will stimulate GDP growth. In the end, cleaning up the Darlington mess
would cost billions and produce a spike in the GDP.

Extreme weather-related events, such as flooding and storms, can also
contribute to increases in GDP, as resources are brought in to deal with
the mess. Damage done by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and the BP oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico added tens of billions to the GDP. If GDP
growth is our highest aspiration, we should be praying for more weather
catastrophes and oil spills.

The GDP replaced gross national product, which was similar but included
international expenditures. In a 1968 speech at the University of
Kansas, Robert Kennedy said, “Too much and for too long, we seemed to
have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere
accumulation of material things …Gross national product counts air
pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our
highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the
jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the
redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts
napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to
fight the riots in our cities ... and the television programs which
glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

“Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our
children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It
does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our
marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our
public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither
our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to
our country. It measures everything in short, except that which makes
life worthwhile.”

We deserve better indicators of societal well-being that extend beyond
mere economic growth. Many economists and social scientists are
proposing such indicators. Some argue we need a “genuine progress
indicator”, which would include environmental and social factors as well
as economic wealth. A number of groups, including Friends of the Earth,
have suggested an Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, which would
take into account “income inequality, environmental damage, and
depletion of environmental assets.” The Kingdom of Bhutan has suggested
measuring gross national happiness.

Whatever we come up with, it has to be better than GDP with its absurd
emphasis on endless growth on a finite planet.

By David Suzuki

[Greg Carr]

Post by ConɀƦConɀ

Post by none
Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.
Fourth quarter of 2013 ended on a down note, but economic growth strong
overall.
Feb 28, 2014

Measuring progress with GDP is a gross mistake
Governments, media and much of the public are preoccupied with the
economy. That means demands such as those for recognition of First
Nations treaty rights and environmental protection are often seen as
impediments to the goal of maintaining economic growth. The gross
domestic product has become a sacred indicator of well-being. Ask
corporate CEOs and politicians how they did last year and they’ll refer
to the rise or fall of the GDP.
It’s a strange way to measure either economic or social well-being. The
GDP was developed as a way to estimate economic activity by measuring
the value of all transactions for goods and services. But even Simon
Kuznets, an American economist and pioneer of national income
measurement, warned in 1934 that such measurements say little about “the
welfare of a nation.” He understood there’s more to life than the
benefits that come from spending money.
My wife’s parents have shared our home for 35 years. If we had put them
in a care home, the GDP would have grown. In caring for them ourselves
we didn’t contribute as much. When my wife left her teaching job at
Harvard University to be a full-time volunteer for the David Suzuki
Foundation, her GDP contribution fell. Each time we repair and reuse
something considered disposable we fail to contribute to the GDP.
To illustrate the GDP’s limitations as an indicator of well-being,
suppose a fire breaks out at the Darlington nuclear facility near
Toronto and issues a cloud of radioactivity that blows over the city,
causing hundreds of cases of radiation sickness. All the ambulances,
doctors, medicines and hospital beds will jack up the GDP. And if people
die, funeral services, hearses, flowers, gravediggers and lawyers will
stimulate GDP growth. In the end, cleaning up the Darlington mess would
cost billions and produce a spike in the GDP.
Extreme weather-related events, such as flooding and storms, can also
contribute to increases in GDP, as resources are brought in to deal with
the mess. Damage done by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and the BP oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico added tens of billions to the GDP. If GDP
growth is our highest aspiration, we should be praying for more weather
catastrophes and oil spills.
The GDP replaced gross national product, which was similar but included
international expenditures. In a 1968 speech at the University of
Kansas, Robert Kennedy said, “Too much and for too long, we seemed to
have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere
accumulation of material things …Gross national product counts air
pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our
highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails
for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood
and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm
and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the
riots in our cities ... and the television programs which glorify
violence in order to sell toys to our children.
“Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our
children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It
does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our
marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our
public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither
our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to
our country. It measures everything in short, except that which makes
life worthwhile.”
We deserve better indicators of societal well-being that extend beyond
mere economic growth. Many economists and social scientists are
proposing such indicators. Some argue we need a “genuine progress
indicator”, which would include environmental and social factors as well
as economic wealth. A number of groups, including Friends of the Earth,
have suggested an Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, which would
take into account “income inequality, environmental damage, and
depletion of environmental assets.” The Kingdom of Bhutan has suggested
measuring gross national happiness.
Whatever we come up with, it has to be better than GDP with its absurd
emphasis on endless growth on a finite planet.
By David Suzuki

I guess when the next earthquake hits Fukishima and the west coast has
to be evacuated that will increase GDP.

[Canuck57]

Post by none
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-economy-expands-at-2-9-pace-
beating-forecasts-1.2554951
Canada's economy expands at 2.9% pace, beating forecasts.

Just more government media propaganda. Its why so many Canadians can't
get ahead, they are too busy believing the government BS.


In this period, GDP went up sure, in terms of CAD money. But CAD money
lost (1.00 / 0.89) 12.36% value on the currency exchanges. So in fact,
2.9 - 12.36 means we lost HUGE.

People need to stop thinking of money as having immutable value, it does
not. Fiat CAD money is a rapidly depreciating asset. No one wants CAD
depreciating economy of debt....

For each $100,000 I have outside of Canada in other currencies its now
$112,360 before gains and dividend returns..... Yep, I moved money
offshore to avoid depreciation. When Carney left, he know the CAD drop
was a coming......

But hey, Canadians are suckers for myths and ignore the facts. We love
our illusions. Its why government finds it easy to lead most by the nose.

So if you go shopping for appliances, homes, cars.... don't be surprised
as they cost more and you get less value for your incomes, pensions,
savings and all.... Its the price we pay for economic illiteracy, myth
and stupid voters.