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The Diversification Solution - Mar 10, 2010
By Peter G. Hall, Vice-President and Chief Economist, Export Development Canada
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Good investment advice, but easy to ignore when the return on a certain asset is particularly good. Canadian international trade faces the same dilemma. We know that more diverse trade would be a good thing, but over the years, the yield on trade with the US has been too tempting. But do we ignore trade diversification at our own peril?
Canada’s trade is staggeringly skewed. In 2009, the US accounted for 75% of merchandise exports. The next-largest destination, the UK, even after increasing its share significantly in 2009 accounted for just 3.4% of total exports. A handful of large industrialized countries account for 84% of exports, and the remainder is carved up into very small, widely-distributed segments. That
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Daily Update (Source: RBC Financial Group)
Canadian Housing starts rise in February
March 8, 2010
Canadian housing starts rose 6.1% to an annualized 196,700 in February from a slightly revised 185,400 (was 185,600) in January. Expectations going into the report had been for a smaller rise to 190,000 units.
The rise in total housing starts in February was almost entirely the result of increases in the multiple-starts segment. The relatively volatile multiples component was up 19.1% in February to an annualized 89,900 units
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