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Inflation is just not playing its part


This is bad, not "really bad like the Dutch housing crisis" but bad insofar as the Bank of Canada has been trying for a while now to get inflation back on track into the 2.0% and 3% range that has been the BoC's policy for the past few years.

As Mark Carney prepares to leave for Greener pasture (Bank of England) he must be disappointed.  Canada's economy is slowing, as demand for primary goods falters, inflation is well below the BoC's traget level, and Canada remains attached to the hipe to the US economy.   If the latest figures from Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) are to be believed the global economy's expansion is faltering.  Demand for Steel, Aluminum, Copper (and hence demand for things that move the raw material that make-up those products) is faltering.  CAT is particularly gloomy with global GDP growth at 2.5% and Chinese growth at 8% -- funny enough most economists have GDP growth in China at 7% for 2013/14...

Anyway back to Canada

Pension Manager balk at Barrick Gold's CEO compensation

Some of Canada's largest pension funds have protested at Barrick Gold's CEO pay package that include a rather massive bonus for the year, that despite the company's lack luster performance (we are not talking gold prices here -- but performance of a mining company).  This is noteworthy because until recently few institutional managers would question management's compensation plans.... it would seem that these large investors have had enough, that the Co-Chairman's golden handshake of $11 million was unacceptable.

See here

Them are the news that are fit to print.  Things here are not great, but then Europe is a mess and so we look good in comparison   



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