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Wednesday July 26, 2017

July 25, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 26, 2017

Rising loonie: The Winners

Buoyed by strong sentiment about the state of the Canadian economy, and getting the benefit of general weakness in the U.S. greenback, the Canadian dollar is now flying in territory it hasn’t seen in two years.

A recent interest rate increase by the Bank of Canada, and the expectation of more to come, has the loonie up about 10 per cent over the past six weeks. The Canadian dollar rose above 80 cents US on Monday before closing at 79.97 cents US.

January 14, 2016

“The obvious winner would be the average Canadian, just in terms of their travel plans or in terms of what they buy from the U.S.,” said Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.

The recent loftiness of the loonie makes it cheaper for Canadians to travel when they buy vacations priced in U.S. dollars.

For example, a one-week cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., priced at $878 US would have cost $1,203 Cdn when the loonie was trading at 73 cents US. With the loonie at 80 cents, that same cruise would cost $1,097 Cdn — meaning a consumer would save $106.

Similar to consumers, Canadian businesses that buy goods or services in U.S. dollars would wind up paying less for those items after factoring in the effects of our fluctuating currency.

For example, professional sports teams often pay player contracts in U.S. dollars. A stronger loonie means the revenue earned in Canadian dollar goes further when it comes to paying players in greenbacks. (Source: CBC News)

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Tuesday May 16, 2017

May 15, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 16, 2017

Cultural appropriation: at its base, it’s all about money

The debate over cultural appropriation is complicated. At one level it is about the legitimacy of telling the stories of others. At base, it is about money.

It became front-page recently when the editor of a little-known literary magazine created a firestorm by daring to support the idea.

“Anyone anywhere should be encouraged to imagine other peoples, other cultures, other identities,” Hal Niedzviecki said in Write, the journal of the Writers’ Union of Canada. He went on to suggest, tongue-in-cheek, that an “appropriation prize” be created for writers who managed to accomplish this task.

For that, he was denounced by his employer and a number of authors. He quickly resigned.

Those living happily outside the hothouse of Canadian literature might be surprised that this is even an issue. By definition, fiction writers write fiction. In that sense, everything is borrowed. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)

Thursday January, 14, 2016

January 13, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January, 14, 2016

Canadian dollar will drop to 59 cents US in 2016, Macquarie forecasts

A day after the loonie slipped below the 70-cent US level for the first time since 2003, a forecaster at investment bank Macquarie says he expects the loonie to lose another 10 cents to reach an all-time low of 59 cents by the end of 2016.

David Doyle of Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. lowered his Canadian dollar forecast to 59 cents US on Tuesday. That would eclipse the all-time low for the loonie, set on Jan. 21, 2002, at 61.79 cents US.

Doyle knows of what he speaks. Last February, when the Canadian dollar was valued at just over 80 cents, he — correctly, as it turns out — predicted the loonie would hit 69 cents US at some point in the next 12 months.

It did so Tuesday.

“Once [the loonie] reaches this level,” Doyle said, “it should remain subdued through [the end of] 2018 and potentially even longer.”

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday October 15, 2009 Big problems in higher dollar There is a certain giddiness attached to a soaring Canadian dollar, with visions of cheaper trips to Florida or New York for those who canÊafford to travel. There is also a degree of smugness about us doing better than the Americans in managing the economy. We should dismiss such thoughts, however. The fact is that a higher-valued dollar is a disaster for Ontario's economy, based as it is onÊexports of manufactured goods into the U.S. market. Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) estimates that, for every hike of oneÊcent in the value of our dollar, 25,000 factory jobs are lost. And since the beginning of this year, the loonie has gone up 15 cents. Partly this is attributable to our better fiscal situation, in comparison to the tax-averse Americans. (The U.S. deficit Ð a staggering $1.6Êtrillion this year Ð is "unsustainable," according to the Congressional Budget Office.) And partly it can be traced to rising prices forÊcommodities, particularly oil, for the loonie is now a "petro-dollar." For manufacturers, this is a double whammy: the higher dollar makes their products less competitive in the American market, and higherÊoil prices drive up their costs. "Canadian manufacturers are really caught between a rock and a hard place," says CME President Jayson Myers. Prime Minister StephenÊHarper notes the "difficult effects" on the economy. (Source: Toronto Star) Canada, Dollar, loonie, strength, strong, imports, exports, fish, skeleton, bones, economy

The good old days

Doyle’s new forecast doesn’t see the loonie above 65 cents US at any time between the end of 2016 and the two years that follow.

The loonie has been whipsawed of late by oil and the U.S. dollar. Oil prices can’t find a bottom, with a barrel of the North America crude oil benchmark dipping below $30 a barrel for the first time in 13 years on Tuesday. That’s dragging the loonie down with it, as Canada’s dollar is widely considered to be a play on oil prices.

But strength in the U.S. dollar is making the loonie look even worse.

Economic uncertainty makes investors flock to assets perceived as safe, and for the most part none are perceived to be safer than the U.S. dollar. That drives up the greenback’s value. So while the Canadian dollar is sliding lower compared to most currencies, it looks especially cheap compared to the U.S. buck. (Source: CBC News)

Friday December 11, 2015

December 10, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 11, 2015

Payday loan industry comes under microscope

The province is moving to protect vulnerable people from cash stores and collections agencies — but a local councillor calls the efforts “half-hearted.”

If passed, new legislation by the Ontario government promises to increase protections under the Payday Loans Act, Consumer Protection Act and the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act. The aim is to provide safeguards such as a cap on the rates charged by cheque-cashing services, a grace period for repayment for customers of rent-to-own services and reasonable costs for optional insurance on instalment loans.

It would also offer longer repayment periods for repeat payday loan borrowers, and expanded rules against unfair collection practices from businesses that purchase and collect overdue debts.

But Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Green says the legislation “doesn’t go nearly far enough in terms of really tackling the core elements and the predatory nature of this industry.”

There are 813 licensed payday lenders in Ontario — more than there are McDonalds restaurants. Roughly 35 of those are in Hamilton, according to the ministry’s online database.

For starters, Green wants to see the “ridiculous” interest rates on payday loans slashed.

Green put forward a motion this summer to limit and regulate these stores at a municipal level, which would have made Hamilton the first city in the province to do so.

Staff is now looking into the feasibility of that.

In the meantime, he and a working group made up of local agencies, including credit unions, are actively researching a model for a market alternative low-cost loan service.

Tom Cooper, director of Hamilton’s Roundtable for Poverty Reduction (HRPR), says he’d like to see provincial legislation that enables municipalities to license lenders at the local level.

He agrees there’s more work to do on this.

“At the end of the day … these services are predatory by nature and they’ll continue to take advantage of people who run into desperate financial situations,” he says.

According to a survey of 500 Ontario payday loan users earlier this year, more than half of the borrowers surveyed said they are using the service for recurring expenses, not crisis situations.

Of those surveyed, 27 per cent reported making less than $30,000 a year. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Thursday August 27, 2015

August 26, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 27, 2015

Declining dollar has Canadians rethinking cross-border shopping habits

Many Canadians are wondering if they can cram some last-minute cross-border travel plans into the next few weeks while others are already deep into back-to-school shopping excursions. And money – more than ever before – is taking precedent in the planning.

While it has not been definitively declared a recession, Canada’s shrinking economy certainly has some residents concerned. According to a recent survey from digital offers RetailMeNot.ca, 73% of Canadians are worried about the nation’s economy. July’s interest-rate cut was made in hopes of stimulating growth, but only 31% of survey respondents feel confident that the Canadian dollar will strengthen before the end of the year – making it more important than ever for Canadians to stretch their income further.

The current state of the economy has Canadians paying more attention to their spending habits. Sixty-five per cent agree that it’s important to stick to a budget no matter the personal sacrifice, with 62% stating that cutting back has them missing out on certain activities. Research shows other habits Canadians are adopting to save money include buying everything on sale (72%), limiting meals at restaurants (62%), searching for coupon and promo codes (49%) and taking public transportation or carpooling (18%).

“Nearly half of Canadians are worried about being able to afford everything they need this year,” says Kristen Larrea for RetailMeNot, Inc., operators of the world’s largest marketplace for digital offers. “However, with a little savvy spending, consumers should be able to satisfy their needs and wants throughout 2015. Simple behavioural changes, such as utilizing price comparison tools and checking for online promo codes, will help Canadians maximize their purchasing power, so they can get more for their money.” (Source: Toronto Sun)