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Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says high inflation could be “a little more persistent” than the central bank had previously thought, while the economic recovery may take longer than expected.
On Thursday, in his first news conference since July, Macklem said temporary factors such as disruptions in the supply chain and year-over-year price comparisons have largely been driving inflation. Still, he acknowledged that these factors could be more complicated and last longer than forecast.
Inflation has run above the top of the bank’s target range of 1 to 3 per cent since May. In August, it hit an 18-year high of 4.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the Canadian economy suffered an unexpected contraction in the second quarter, falling by 0.1 per cent in July.
Explainer: How the surge affects you and what you can do about changing prices
People wearing masks shop at a grocery store in Moncton, N.B., on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
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Moderna plans to build African factory, but it won’t be ready in time to address global vaccine shortage
U.S. vaccine maker Moderna says it plans to build a factory in Africa that would manufacture up to half-a-billion doses annually, after facing sharp criticism for mainly prioritizing sales to wealthy countries.
Moderna said it will invest up to US$500-million in the factory, but it has yet to select a site or even a country in Africa. With construction and approval of the facility expected to take between two and four years, help to alleviate the current global shortage of COVID-19 vaccines is unlikely to come soon enough.
The company said the facility would be able to manufacture other vaccines.
Read more:
- ‘Long COVID’ is painful, expensive and so far, impossible to cure
- Pfizer to seek approval in Canada for COVID-19 vaccine for kids as young as five
- Listen to The Decibel: The debate over mandating COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers
- Alberta introduces more cash, new fines in its COVID-19 vaccine passport program
Their own private Idaho: In the pandemic, U.S. conservatives depart liberal states for a ‘freedom oasis’
When Bill Schmidt left his home in Milpitas, Calif., for Idaho County, it wasn’t just so he could take up residence in a church. He also left behind the politics of a state where government is more engaged in the personal lives of its residents.
Idaho County, long a bastion for conservatives, voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. “The politics make Idaho free,” he said. “And I wanted to be some place free.”
Across the United States, the pandemic has seen a political movement of sorts, with some Americans letting politics guide where they choose to reside. Estimates from U.S. census data show states that voted for Trump in the 2020 election saw their populations grow, on average, nearly 10 times faster between April 1 and July 1 of 2020 than those that voted for Joe Biden.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Journalists win Nobel Peace Prize: The 2021 prize was awarded Friday to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia. The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited their fight for freedom of expression, stressing that it is vital in promoting peace.
NDP prepared to withhold votes in Parliament, Jagmeet Singh says: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party may withhold votes in Parliament if necessary, noting that the onus is on the Liberal government to demonstrate it’s interested in co-operation. Given that the Liberals are presiding over a minority in the House of Commons, they will need to work in partnership with other parties again to move legislation forward.
U.S. Senate approves hike to debt limit to avoid default: In a 50-48 vote, the Senate passed legislation to immediately raise the U.S. borrowing authority and avert an unprecedented default on debt before the Oct. 18 deadline. The bill was sent Thursday to the House of Representatives for final passage. The House will likely approve the measure next week.
Chelsea Manning says she blew whistle on War on Terror: U.S. whistle-blower Chelsea Manning, who was convicted of espionage and theft for turning over thousands of U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, told a Canadian tribunal she should be allowed into Canada because her only crime was to make principled disclosures. In video testimony from her home in the United States, Manning told Canada’s immigration board that, if she hadn’t released classified material, the world would not know as much about calamities caused by the U.S.-led military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Blackouts, higher bills could be in Ontario’s future if it sets 2030 target for phaseout of gas plants, report says: Setting Ontario on a path to phase out the province’s natural-gas power plants by the end of this decade is not feasible, said the Independent Electricity System Operator, warning such a move would lead to rolling blackouts and soaring electricity bills. The body in charge of planning and operating Ontario’s power system said in a report – seen as too pessimistic by gas opponents – it would cost an estimated $27-billion to build new generating facilities and transmission lines, along with additional operating costs of $5.7-billion a year.
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price voluntarily enters NHL/NHLPA player-assistance program: Habs goalie Carey Price has voluntarily decided to step away from the team to seek help through the NHL’s player-assistance program. No other details were shared in a joint news release from NHL and the NHL Players’ Association. The program helps players and their families with mental-health issues, substance abuse and other matters.
MORNING MARKETS
World markets await U.S. jobs data: European shares slipped on Friday but held most of the previous session’s gains as investors welcomed the U.S. Senate’s temporary lifting of the debt ceiling and awaited crucial jobs data due later in the session. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was off 0.04 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.40 per cent and 0.44 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.34 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.55 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.72 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Justin Trudeau ‘regrets’ his National Day for Truth and Reconciliation vacation. That’s not enough
“‘Regret’ is not the best choice of words. I, for instance, regretted not getting a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks the other day. I know I’d feel much more than regret if I was caught vacationing on the very first statutory holiday that my own government passed into law, especially if my own public itinerary claimed that I would be in ‘private meetings’ in Ottawa instead.” - Tanya Talaga
Will the Pandora Papers lead to a crackdown on tax havens?
“... Far from slowing the global flow of mainly U.S. dollars into tax havens, the modest efforts at toughening financial reporting rules and requiring greater disclosure of who owns what have merely succeeded in shifting the money to more welcoming homes, including right in the U.S. heartland.” - Brian Milner, a former senior economics writer and global markets columnist for The Globe and Mail
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Looking to travel? Get ready to add a few items to your budget
With cooler weather coming, many Canadians are hoping for an escape to a sunnier destination. But a pandemic-era trip may require some extra budgeting to cover everything from extra insurance to COVID-19 tests and N-95 masks. If you haven’t travelled in a long time, brace yourself for a bit of sticker shock.
MOMENT IN TIME: Oct. 8, 1971
John Lennon releases Imagine in the U.K.
Cover of John Lennon's Imagine, released in 1971.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
John Lennon wasn’t trying to write a timeless global peace anthem when he penned Imagine, the title track of his second post-Beatles studio album, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year: He only wanted to make a pop song that would, as he later explained, “last longer than a couple of years.” A deceptively simple, singalong-ready lullaby that Lennon conceived as “a song for children,” the tune packs a revolutionary message, urging people to imagine a world with no religion, no countries, no possessions. It was inspired, in part, by a book about “positive prayer” given to Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, by the comedian and activist Dick Gregory. “If you can imagine a world of peace,” Lennon said, “if you can imagine the possibility, then it can be true.” But like many such once-radical expressions whose rough edges have been sanded down by time and corporate co-opting and repetition – hundreds of bands have recorded cover versions over the past half-century – Lennon’s song became both universally embraced and neutered of its initial power, a banal call for generic unity. But hey, it lasted longer than a couple of years. Simon Houpt
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