Posts Categorized: Canadian Economy

The High Cost of Construction

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Marketing & Strategy.

Description: The nesting phenomenon – people renovating homes during the Covid-19 pandemic – has bumped up both lumber demand and prices. And, of course, this has driven up the cost of building a new home. The cost of thousand board feet of 2×4 has increased from $550 pre-Covid to over $1,400 this spring. Ouch! Date:… Read more »

Costs More to Fill the Tank

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Student life.

Description: Have you noticed it’s costing you more to fill the tank these days? At the start of the pandemic, gas prices fell precipitously, and Canadians were smiling at least one aspect of the shutdown. But now gas prices have come roaring back. This article from the Toronto Star offers a few reasons why you… Read more »

Bitcoin Bubble?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Economy.

Description: Bitcoin is soaring to new heights. Tesla has said it will soon accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its electric cars, and, as part of this strategy it has salted away $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. This is seen as part of the reason that Bitcoin has jumped 50% this year. Date:  February 8,… Read more »

Strong Auto Sales

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy.

Description: In the early part of this Corona virus pandemic, car sales tumbled: No surprise. But then came a different sort of surprise, and the year ended with good news for the auto makers. Despite a 75% crash in the early days of the shutdown, car markets did very well for the year as a… Read more »

Even Economists Are Confused

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy.

Description: Job gains announced last week were three times higher than expected. Statistics Canada was way off on its call of quarterly results for Gross Domestic Product. If Covid-19 hadn’t already thrown enough curve balls already, now you can include the notion that the economic results are even confusing the economists. The deputy chief economist… Read more »

Pilots Take a Cut

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy.

Description: WestJet pilots have agreed to take a 50% pay cut to keep more of them working during these interesting times. Though WestJet originally thought the effect of the pandemic on air travel would force a reduction of about 1,200 staff, the pilots’ offer has cut the number to around 450. Actions like this across… Read more »

Earth Day at 50

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy.

Description: April 22 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. This year’s celebration did not see the usual events; these gatherings were shut down by the COVID-19 crisis. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg took the opportunity to point out that humanity is now fighting two crises at the same time: COVID-19 and global warming. Date:  April… Read more »

Run on EI

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Canadian Government.

Description: During this last week approximately 500,000 Canadians filed a claim for Employment Insurance (EI). In the same week the previous year, only 27,000 filed. The corona virus has caused closures and layoffs throughout the land, prompting unemployed Canadians to see this form of assistance. Date:  March 20, 2020 Source:  theglobeandmail.com Link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ottawa-receives-500000-new-applications-for-employment-insurance-as/   Discussion… Read more »

Airline Industry Woes

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Canadian Economy.

Description: Perhaps no industry has been hit harder by the Corona virus than travel and tourism. Flight attendants at Westjet are anticipating layoffs of up to 50% in the face of COVID-19. Things are moving very quickly in this crisis, as earlier in the week the layoff numbers being tossed around were in the order… Read more »