Canadian Businesses Encouraged to Invest in Economy
Canada’s corporate tax rate, reduced from 19% to 15% in 2012, currently creates a tax burden that is the second-lowest among developed countries, according to a recent KPMG survey. The central bank has held the main interest rate at only 1% for the past 2 years. Taxes for businesses and individuals have been lowered, and […]
CME Suggests Tax Reforms a Necessity for Manufacturing Growth
A pre-budget submission published last week by Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) makes recommendations to increase Canada’s tax competitiveness to spur global investment. Their recommendations can be summarized as follows: 1. PRODUCTIVITY – Make the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (ACCA), or the 2-year write-off for equipment and machinery, permanent. This will help drive business investment […]
Increase Productivity by Opening Export Markets
Jeremy Leonard opines in the Financial Post that although Canada leads the G7 in GDP and employment growth during the past decade, labour productivity growth is lagging. Labour productivity growth slowed to an average of just 0.7% per year int he past decade, less than half its rate in the 1990s, and below the 2.4% […]
OECD Economic Survey: Research and Development Outlook in Canada
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the June 2012 results of the OECD Economic Surveys for Canada’s macro-economic state of affairs. The report indicates that the economy is picking up, with a positive outlook for continued moderate output growth and inflation. The OECD also cites innovation as a priority on the government’s […]
EVERY DROP COUNTS: Green Week Conference 2012 – Conserving water through innovation.
Water is essential for sustaining life, as well as our economy. With less than one percent of the world’s fresh water currently accessible for direct human use, water supplies are now a major global concern impacting not only our daily lives but also our business strategies. Throughout last week, thousands of individuals had gathered for […]
Reactions to The U.S. Bioeconomy Blueprint: Innovation and concerns loom on the horizon.
The 2012 U.S. National Bioeconomy Blueprint was announced on April 26th with the purpose of assessing strategic objectives to maximise on the U.S. bioeconomy potential and to highlight ongoing efforts to meet those objectives. However, many are concerned that the blueprint predominantly focuses on economic development while insufficiently addressing regulations to minimise social and environmental impact. The […]
Potential Turnaround Looms in Canadian Economy
An index of Canadian business confidence has risen higher for the second straight quarter. The Conference Board of Canada’s business confidence index sits at 101.8 for the first quarter of 2012, up 2.5 points over the fourth quarter of 2011. The fourth quarter of 2011 was up 6.6 points over the third quarter of 2011. […]
Ontario’s Debt Downgrade
On Thursday, Moody’s announced that it was dropping Ontario’s debt rating from Aa-1 to Aa-2, which affects $202 billion in debt securities. Moody’s cites Ontario’s growing debt burden and its challenges to limit spending as the primary reasons behind this downgrade. Two other credit agencies also have also made announcements about Ontario’s debt rating. DBRS […]
Federal Government Tables Bill to Tighten up Mortgage Lending
The federal government has tabled a bill Thursday to provide the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) oversight of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The amount of lending that CMHC insures has tripled from $200 billion in 2000, to $541 billion in September of 2011. OSFI’s oversight should have a dampening […]
U.S. Announces National Bioeconomy Blueprint
The biotechnology sector has been eagerly awaiting the announcement of a national bioeconomy plan by the Obama administration that is expected to be released today. The White House blueprint intends to spur development of renewable resources such as crops and biofuels as well as biological manufacturing processes. Since President Obama’s announcement last September that a […]