“Since the April Monetary Policy Report (MPR), economic developments have been broadly in line with expectations. However, the balance of risks to the Bank's April projection for inflation in Canada has shifted slightly to the upside.” With that statement, the Bank of Canada (BoC) left its key rate unchanged at 3 percent, flummoxing economists who forecast a 25-basis-point cut. Read More

Coal is public enemy No. 1 for most environmental activist groups. Certainly, there’s some logic behind that opposition; after all, coal plants emit more sulphur dioxide, mercury and nitrous oxides than other fossil fuels. Read More

Back in March, the Bank of Canada (BoC) statement announcing a 50-basis-point interest-rate cut told of “clear signs that the US economy is likely to experience a deeper and more prolonged slowdown than had been projected in January.” Read More

In the weakening North American economy, the stock market punishes even the healthiest trusts. Even taking a look at underlying numbers isn't enough as the market reacts to numbers that best fit the current mood. But any trust that continues to increase distributions will eventually post higher gains. Read More

Despite the recent spike in oil prices, the majority of Canadian oil and gas producers remain under pressure. But focusing on healthy businesses has kept investors afloat during the flood of sector turmoil. Read More

Will yesterday’s global equity market bounce evolve into a sustainable rally, or will it prove nothing more than a short-covering flare, as the ultra-purist market observers predict? The reality is that global markets, measured by the MSCI All Country World Index, reached a low at the end of January. And since then, they’re up 6 percent in US dollar terms. Read More

The first quarter was a tough quarter for most sectors of the market, including energy stocks. Nonetheless, there were some notable bright spots including agriculture plays leveraged to the explosion in global demand for biofuels. Read More

TransForce Income Fund faced a difficult choice. Its units peaked in February 2006 above CAD19, traded just below CAD18 on Oct. 31, 2006, and slid along with the rest of the trust sector after Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s destructive announcement that specified investment flow-throughs (SIFT) would be taxed at the entity level beginning in 2011. Read More

Taiwan is poised to enjoy the view its ascent in the global political and economic scene has made possible. Ma Ying-jeou, the leader of the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) party, was elected president of Taiwan this past weekend. The KMT received almost 60 percent of the vote, a clear indication that the people of Taiwan are ready to end the hostility with China. Read More

Stephane Dion is such a punchless opponent that the federal conservatives—hungry for a real fight—have taken on the liberal provincial government in Ontario, too. Read More