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Canada's income gap widens, report says - Canada - CBC News - 0 views

www.cbc.ca/...p-canada-conference-board.html inequality canada income gap report cbc news challenges
shared by Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • The income gap between rich and poor in Canada widened in the period from 1993 to 2009
  • The average income of the poorest Canadians rose from $12,400 in 1976 to $14,500 in 2009.
  • the gap between the real average income of the richest 20 per cent of Canadians and the poorest 20 per cent widened from $92,300 in 1976 to $117,500 in 2009.
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  • high inequality can diminish economic growth if it means that the country is not fully using the skills and capabilities of all its citizens or if it undermines social cohesion, leading to increased social tensions.
  • high inequality raises a moral question about fairness and social justice.
  • The average income in 1976 was $51,100. By 2009, it had increased by 17 per cent to $59,700, even after adjusting for inflation.
  • 32 per cent of the country's national income would need to be redistributed in order to have complete equality of income.
  • The study found inequality is rising worldwide, but that two countries most similar with Canada in terms of per capita income had narrower gaps. Austria's was 0.265 and Denmark's was 0.232.
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Federal Budget 2012: It's time to address income inequality, think-tank says - thestar.com - 0 views

www.thestar.com/...ome-inequality-think-tank-says inequality canada income gap challenges star
shared by Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • Income inequality in Canada is at a 30-year high, rising at a faster pace than in the U.S.
  • The group urges the government to tackle this situation with wide-ranging reforms to the tax system.
  • The CCPA’s proposals include raising the income tax rate for those making more than $250,000 a year, repealing corporate income tax cuts, reducing capital gains tax breaks
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  • to address poverty through improved education, pension, affordable housing and pharmacare programs. It also urges Ottawa to adopt a national child care plan.
  • scrap costly programs like new prisons and fighter jets that don’t reflect the priorities of mainstream Canada.”
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Why the gap between rich and poor in Canada keeps growing - thestar.com - 0 views

www.thestar.com/...d-poor-in-canada-keeps-growing inequality canada challenges wealthgap star
shared by Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • Information technology has eliminated some middle-skill jobs, such as filing and administration, while globalization has seen high-paid manufacturing jobs outsourced to lower-paid countries, Alexander said.
  • globalization has weakened the lowest earners’ bargaining power as their jobs are outsourced to cheaper countries,
  • The gap has likely widened since the recession in 2008 as more companies moved high-paid manufacturing jobs offshore to countries with lower wage rates, the economists also noted.
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  • Cuts to government programs, such as unemployment insurance, combined with increases in post-secondary education costs are making it hard for the lowest income Canadians to compete in the knowledge economy,
  • The top 10 per cent of Canadians earned 10 times as much as the bottom 10 per cent in 2008, the OECD said. That’s up from a ratio of 8 to 1 in the early 1990s
  • Calling on governments to do more to close the gap, the OECD said the report dispels the theory that tax cuts will have a trickle down effect by promoting economic growth that benefits everyone
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Individuals by total income level, by province and territory - 0 views

www.statcan.gc.ca/...famil105a-eng.htm inequality canada income statistics challenges
shared by Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
    • Erica Yeo
      Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13
       
      The majority of individuals are earning under $35 000
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The widening gap in Canada's labour market - The Globe and Mail - 1 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article4104784 inequality canada challenges skillsgap solutions globeandmail
shared by Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • A fault line is splintering Canada’s labour market into those who can’t find work and those who can’t find workers.
  • employers across the country say they can’t find the right workers for all kinds of available jobs.
  • Groups with high jobless rates such as aboriginal people, recent immigrants and those with disabilities are struggling to land good jobs, limiting their ability to climb the economic ladder.
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  • At the same time, employers from Newfoundland and Labrador to the Prairies say shortages are constraining their ability to grow, innovate and compete.
  • Structural shifts in the labour market mean “workers in declining industries may not have the skills or experience to match immediately the needs of employers in expanding industries,”
  • Unemployment is high, even as the number of job vacancies continues to rise
  • That means more-efficient partnerships between employers and universities and colleges,
  • Despite the presence of the local universities churning out tech graduates, he estimates there are about 1,900 current vacancies for technical jobs in the Kitchener-Waterloo region “that are unfilled and have been for some time.
  • Last month it called on the federal and provincial governments to work with employers to find strategies to overcome expected shortfalls.
  • It says improving skills and workplace training should become a national priority, and recommended more companies make a “strategic decision to take a direct role in creating the skilled workforces and talent pipelines they need.”
  • In Canada, part of the problem is that many people haven’t pursued careers in areas where all the job growth is happening. Mining and energy extraction are, by far, the fastest-growing segments of job growth in Canada over the past year, with employment gains of 5.7 per cent.
  • “The lack of young people pursuing further education in engineering and science and technology, is definitely a strain on our ability to grow,”
  • the labour market imbalance “is the largest threat to our economy,”
  • Without that effort, he estimates 1.5 million jobs could go unfilled in 10 years’ time.
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Bank of Canada flags lenders' role in consumer debt - 1 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article6930721 debt
shared by Brijesh Patel on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • Canadian families owe nearly $1.65 on average for every dollar of after-tax income, the highest level in 22 years of tracking those figures.
  • the government would no longer insure mortgages that are amortized over a period longer than 25 years.
  • fierce competition for customers caused some major banks to begin offering five-year mortgages at 2.99 per cent, triggering a price war in the sector.
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  • You should be cautious about your lending practices, because this is the type of practice that led to a mortgage crisis in the United States several years ago,
  • Statistics Canada saying in December that the most recent data suggest Canadian families owe nearly $1.65 on average for every dollar of after-tax income.
  • physically present also have a greater proportion of consumers with too much de
  • The Bank of Canada has been scrutinizing whether competition among
  • The governing council was told about the role that discounting plays in how much individuals pay for their mortgage and notes that there is “substantial dispersion in rates across people, institutions, and markets.”
  • Brijesh Patel on 18 Jan 13
     
    Funding costs rose dramatically during the financial crisis when liquidity dried up, pushing up the costs of consumer and business loans Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened the rules on mortgages for a fourth time in four years, saying the government would no longer insure mortgages that are amortized over a period longer than 25 years "Neighbourhoods with more bank branches and payday lenders per capita (i.e. more competition) have looser lending standards (higher leveraged households) and experience greater bankruptcies"
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As consumer debt grows, Mark Carney says ready to act if necessary | Debt | Personal Fi... - 1 views

business.financialpost.com/...ns-deeper-in-debt-than-thought consumer debt personal finance
shared by S C on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • emerging
  • While consumers are still spending and loading up more debt, Canadian corporate leaders are pulling back on their business plans because of weak global economic growth
  • debt-to-income ratio rose to 163.4%
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  • Household debt is viewed as the biggest threat to the Canadian economy
  • much of that acquired through low mortgages rates
  • Monday’s survey showed 44% of companies plan to increase employment levels over the same period — compared to 59% in July — while 18% said those levels would decline.
  • That rate continued to rise to another record high in the first half of 2012, the federal agency said. In 2011, the ratio of household debt to income was 161.7%, up from 150.6%, under a new system of economic accounting adapted by agency.
  • Firms are generally more circumspect about near-term investment decisions and are focusing on minimizing costs,
  • ost businesses are evenly split at 35% between faster and slower sales growth expectations
  • In its autumn Business Outlook Survey, the central bank said companies “have tempered their expectations for business activity.”
  • Canadian households are continuing to pile on debt at a record pace, while corporate leaders are pulling back on their business plans because of weak global economic growth and uncertain demand.
  • While Canada’s economy is being affected by the global angst, the key areas of uncertainty abroad are all points of justifiable confidence here at home
  • S C on 18 Jan 13
     
    Consumer debt is becoming a larger threat to the Canadian economy as a whole. Meanwhile, businesses stopped expanding due to weak global growth.
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Canadian Consumer Debt Poses Recession Risk, Moody's Analytics Report Says - 0 views

www.huffingtonpost.ca/...-debt-recession_n_1861056.html consumer debt canada challenges huffington
shared by Erica Yeo on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • With Canadians so deep in debt, it would be extremely difficult for domestic spending to pick up slack in the economy if things started to go downhill. That could result in a serious downward spiral in employment levels, household spending and the quantity and quality of credit outstanding, the report says.
  • "Households are spending money they assumed would be coming, then they realize they've run over the cliff because income from exports from these trading partners is not materializing and that's translating to weaker jobs.
  • domestic consumption is usually the more steady contributor to economic growth compared to exports and investment. But this time, household debt is out of control.
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  • Slowing income growth, coupled with a coming rise in interest rates
  • debt service costs will start to eat up a bigger portion of their take home pay, the report says.
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40000 jobs added in december yet umemployment rate falls - 1 views

www.globaltvbc.com/...story.html unemployment
shared by Brijesh Patel on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • unemployment rate to its lowest in four years,
  • Statistics Canada reported last month that the economy grew just 0.1 per cent in October after a flat reading in September and a 0.1 per cent contraction in August.
  • December saw 41,200 new full-time jobs added, while the number of part-time positions fell by 1,400.
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  • Compared with a year earlier, Statistics Canada said there were 312,000 more jobs, all in full-time work.
  • The gains were made in the transportation and warehousing segment which added 22,000 jobs, while the construction industry gained 18,000 jobs.Professional, scientific and technical services lost 42,000, while public administration dropped 13,000.
  • Brijesh Patel on 18 Jan 13
     
    Capital Economics, which has one of the most bearish outlooks on the Canadian economy, noted the strong jobs growth was in stark contrast to the other recent economy data. The federal agency said the national unemployment rate slipped by one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.1 per cent, its lowest level since December 2008 The recent strength of employment growth will probably convince the Bank of Canada to stick with its existing position that interest rates will eventually need to rise at this month's policy meeting
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Employment Growth - 1 views

www.conferenceboard.ca/...employment-growth.aspx challenges employment growth
shared by faseehthemoonman on 16 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • By 2050, an estimated one-quarter of the population in industrialized countries will be over the age of 65.
  • significant pressure on its labour market
  • Most of Ireland’s employment gains then were a direct result of foreign direct investment (FDI). Ireland lowered corporate tax rates and integrated into European markets, thus becoming a choice destination for FDI.
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5 Commodity Stocks Moving On News - Seeking Alpha - 0 views

seekingalpha.com/...ommodity-stocks-moving-on-news commodity canada
shared by Cristina Raileanu on 17 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • Commodity prices this morning are as follows:Gold: $1668.80/ounce up by $8.20/ounceSilver: $30.77/ounce up by $0.362/ounceOil: $94.17/barrel up by $0.61/barrelRBOB Gas: $2.7461/gallon up by $0.0066/gallonNatural Gas: $3.355/MMbtu up by $0.028/MMbtu
  • This weekend we saw where Carl Icahn has taken a 1.56% stake in Transocean (RIG) and is seeking to gain regulatory approval to purchase a larger stake which would take his holdings to over 5% of the company.
  • Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) did not pop above $10/share and hold and did in fact begin a pullback towards $9.50/share starting last Thursday (the same day we wrote about the crossroads the stock was at - see here).
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