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Wednesday 29 August 2012

Canadians Living in Fantasyland! | BlogsCanada.ca

 

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Frightening warning: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has joined Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney in lecturing corporate Canada for sitting on mountains of “dead money” they claim should be invested in the economy.

Kelly McParland

Judging by a new survey of job attitudes, Canadians have either morphed into the world’s most optimistic nation, or we’re all living in fantasyland.

The annual Bank of Montreal Labour Day survey depicts a country feeling safe and secure in their jobs, happy with their lot, looking forward to another year of progress, and maybe even a raise.

Sixty-four percent of us feel comfortable with our job security, up 13 points on last year. More than four in ten believe their employer is growing and will be hiring more staff this year (up 13 points from 2011). And 39% are anticipating a little something extra in their paycheque sometime in the next 12 months, up 11 points from the previous survey.

Are we nuts?

Maybe it’s Twitter’s fault. Is it possible that so many Canadians now get their information in 140-character bursts, from friends and family hanging out at the coffee shop while following TMZ on their iPads, that we have no idea how dangerous the economic situation is at present.

Greece? You mean the place with the beaches? Are they having a seat sale or something?

The Euro? Uh, isn’t that the name of a train or something?

The U.S. economy? All that matters is that the strong dollar makes stuff cheaper in U.S. malls, right?

The more frightening reality is right there for everyone to see. Yesterday Finance Minister Jim Flaherty joined Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney in lecturing corporate Canada for sitting on mountains of “dead money” they claim should be invested in the economy. Corporations are so wary of the economic situation they’re sitting on $550 billion in unused assets.

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“At a certain point, it’s not up to the government to stimulate the economy, it’s up to the private sector, and they have lots of capital,” Flaherty said.

“If companies can’t figure out what to do with it, then they should give it to shareholders and they’ll figure it out,” Mr. Carney told reporters after a speech to CAW members.

In the Financial Post, today’s headline read: “Canadian corporate profit drop paints grim picture.”

“The data showed that operating profits declined in 15 of 22 industries, with oil and gas, manufacturing and insurance posting the biggest declines,” it said.

“Of particular note has been the slowdown in profits for non-financial companies. When looking at firms outside of that sector, operating profits declined 5% to $52.2-billion, following a similar 5.1% decrease in the first quarter.”

The U.S. economy, on which Canadian trade is based, is going nowhere. Housing prices, which have been magically rising, are expected to start falling.

Are Canadians worried? Nah, not us.

The BMO survey does demonstrate the divide that separates the western half from the eastern half. If the country as a whole is optimistic, people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are delirious. Sixty percent of Albertans expect to see more hiring this year, 81% of Manitoba and Saskatchewan workers feel safe in their jobs, and 55% across the prairies see a pay increase in their future.

The other provinces aren’t quite so confident, and British Columbians seem particularly morose, but even there 60% feel their job is safe and more than a third expect a raise.

Maybe we’ve just all learned to put our faith in Stephen Harper and worry about something else, like the prospects of a lockout in the NHL. Or maybe it’s just too hard to get reliable financial news on Twitter.

National Post

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/08/29/kelly-mcparland-canadians-close-their-eyes-and-pretend-the-economy-is-ducky/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NP_Top_Stories+%28National+Post+-+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Canadians Living in Fantasyland! | BlogsCanada.ca

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