Invest in Canada

Canada slipping into recession, stats confirm

by investor on 25/12/08 at 12:48 pm

The good thing about the bad economic news on Christmas Eve was that it could have been worse.

The Canadian economy, as feared, slipped into recession at the start of the final quarter of this year, according to a Statistics Canada report. Meanwhile in the U.S., which has been in a recession for a year, there were new reports showing jobless claims jumped to a quarter-century high, while U.S. incomes, spending, and durable goods orders slumped.

“Santa’s sleigh is not only empty, he is taking Whoville’s other gifts away,” observed BMO Capital Markets economist Jennifer Lee in a reference to the story of How The Grinch Stole Christmas in the wake of the reports. But the news could have been worse, as some expected it would be.

Here, the economy contracted in October by the smallest margin possible, just 0.1% from September, while analysts had expected a 0.3% decline.

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