FILE PHOTO: A Visa credit card is seen on a computer keyboard in this picture illustration taken September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Illustration/File PhotoPhilippe Wojazer/Reuters
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
IMF joins chorus warning of a possible recession in Canada
The International Monetary Fund is warning of a possible recession in Canada in a report published on Wednesday. As Mark Rendell reports, the IMF expects the Canadian economy to grow 1.5 per cent in 2023, down from a projected 3.3 per cent this year. However, the fund noted that Canada has weathered the pandemic relatively well and, as an energy producer, has been hit less hard by the war in Ukraine than many others. The situation remains precarious and could worsen if sustained high inflation forces the Bank of Canada to keep raising interest rates, or if trading partners fall into a deeper slump than anticipated. This announcement closely follows the IMF’s warning that “the worst is yet to come” for the world economy.
Canada’s plans for more permanent residents backfires
Sensing trouble for Canada’s work force during the pandemic, the government introduced measures to help more immigrants become permanent residents. But instead of boosting the number of new visas being granted, the measured created a bureaucracy backlog. Now, thousands of temporary residents with Canadian work experience are in limbo, with some needing to quit their jobs and return home, reports Vanmala Subramaniam.
Why aren’t more homes for sale? They’re being rented
Many housing markets in the country are lacking resale inventory. In many cases, writes Matt Lundy, homes are simply being pulled out of the ice-cold resale market, and rented out instead. In Toronto over the first three quarters of 2022, more than 24,000 low-rises were rented. That’s a 29-per-cent increase from a year before. The rental market is red hot, but these rentals are not the most secure form of tenancy, as many owners may try to sell when the market warms up.
With new credit card transaction fees, are reward points over?
Businesses can now add surcharges to bills when customers use a credit card, which could directly impact the value of your credit card rewards, writes Rob Carrick. The math goes like this: on each purchase, do you gain more in rewards than you lose to fees? Some cards with higher reward rates might offset transaction surcharges, but they also come with higher annual fees. Another consideration that could outweigh the results of your mental math is whether your credit card offers warranty or insurance. Wondering how else these changes to credit card transaction fees will affect the way you pay? We were too, so we dug deeper.
Has Elon Musk gone too far?
Elon Musk fancies himself a free-speech crusader, especially on Twitter. But it’s time for consumers and governments to boycott Tesla and his other businesses, writes columnist Rita Trichur. His latest transgressions, she writes, began when he offered his prescription for a Russia-Ukraine peace plan in the form of a Twitter poll, and calling war “the ultimate Supreme Court.”
Modular wood buildings could be future of sustainable housing
A housing technology startup wants to cheaply automate the manufacturing of sustainable buildings made out of wood. The company makes prefabricated facade panels, columns, and flooring cassettes that can be put together on-site, writes Josh O’Kane. This is the kind of thing urbanists have been dreaming of for years.
Now that you’re all caught up, prepare for the week ahead with the Globe’s investing calendar.