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Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

2024 in charts: Experts predict what’s to come for housing, jobs, wages, interest rates and more

Economists, academics, investors and business leaders pick a chart that highlights an issue that will be important to watch in 2024.

Bracing for impact: The looming hard landing of Canada’s economy

If you’re in search of comfort on the prospects of a gentle economic deceleration of the Canadian economy, you may find this disconcerting. Garey Aitken, Head of Canadian Equities, Portfolio Manager, at ClearBridge Investments, a specialist investment manager of Franklin Templeton, predicts a rough descent.

Canada faces weak start to year as headwinds mount, says Manulife forecast

The Canadian economy is facing mounting challenges with limited potential for an upside surprise, setting the stage for a weak start to 2024, predicts Manulife Investment Management.

Business Outlook Survey—Fourth quarter of 2023

The Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey for Q4 2023 show that softer demand and renewed competitive pressures are slowly pushing down growth in output prices. Concerns about labour shortages are receding; even so, wage growth is expected to ease only gradually. Partly because of this slow easing, firms expect inflation to remain above the Bank of Canada’s 2% target for some time.

Housing starts down 7 per cent

17,000 fewer housing units started in 2023 compared to 2022, reports Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Blocking non-permanent resident admissions could worsen recession in 2024: Desjardins report

Canada’s population has surged over the last year, with growth driven in large part by foreign workers and international students. But as the federal government weighs limiting non-permanent residents (NPR), a new report from Desjardins says such a move would “deepen the recession expected in 2024.”

Bank CEOs expect further loan loss provisions and pressure on lending in 2024

Canadian bank CEOs say high interest rates are delaying business and consumer spending decisions and will likely lead to more provisions for bad loans this year, but that borrowers overall should manage well.

One in five restaurants in Canada at risk as CEBA deadline looms, say advocates

The food service industry could be decimated by a wave of closures if the federal government does not extend the Jan. 18 deadline for the repayment of loans under the Canada Emergency Business Account program, two industry groups are warning.

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians rate the economy as bad or very bad, new survey shows

When Research Co. and Glacier Media asked the country’s residents about the current state of affairs this past weekend, there was plenty of negativity in the air. Just over a third of Canadians (35 per cent) rate the economic conditions in Canada today as “very good” or “good, more than three in five (61 per cent, up five points) consider them “bad” or “very bad.”

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