Wednesday morning news drop
Bank of Canada to wind down crisis liquidity programs Bank of Canada announces the discontinuation of market functioning programs introduced during COVID-19. Reflecting the continued improvement in the general functioning of Canadian financial markets, the Bank is announcing the discontinuation of the Commercial Paper Purchase Program (CPPP), the Provincial Bond Purchase Program (PBPP), and the Corporate Bond Purchase Program (CBPP) on their originally announced end date. These programs were each activated for a term of 12 months. (BNN Bloomberg)
Bank of Canada working hard to avoid a taper tantrum when it eventually slows government bond purchases Kevin Carmichael: Deputy governor says shift to be gradual, soothing traders who might panic if it happened too abruptly (Financial Post)
Infrastructure bank chief clashes with MPs over private-sector investment The head of the Canada Infrastructure Bank clashed with members of Parliament at a committee hearing March 23 about whether the federal financing agency was living up to its mandate of generating private-sector funding for its investments. (On-Site)
Greater Victoria unemployment rate drops below five per cent Provincial rate sits at 6.9 per cent while national unemployment is 8.2 per cent (Victoria News)
Posthaste: If you are hankering for an electric car, take heart — they are about to get cheaper EVs to cost less to make than their fuel-powered counterparts by late 2020s, predicts economist (Financial Post)
These Electric Motorcycles Are Set to Take Charge in 2021 After years of underpowered toys, the EV market for motorcycles is surging with exciting new possibilities. (Bloomberg)
How Not to Panic About Inflation Do you remember the great inflation scare of 2010-2011? It’s an episode worth revisiting, because there’s a good chance that we’ll see a replay over the next year or so. (New York Times)
A Look Back at the Corona Crash One Year Later In the span of a month there were 8 days with losses of 3% or worse, 4 daily drops of 5% or worse, 7 daily gains of 3% or more, 5 daily gains in excess of 6%. Out of 21 trading sessions, there was only one that wasn’t a gain or loss of 1% or more. I never thought it would be possible to top what took place in 2008-09 but March 2020 did that for me. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Started From the Bottom We may never see a better 1-year rally: If you had bought the S&P 500 on March 23, 2020, you would now be up by 76% (excluding dividends): (Of Dollars And Data)
B.C. tackling overdose crisis in Vancouver Island construction industry People who work in the trades and construction industries on Vancouver Island will soon have more addictions supports available for them. The Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) and the B.C. government have launched a new program, called the Tailgate Toolkit Project, to help address addictions and the overdose crisis in the industry. (CTV)
