"History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in.... I read it a little as a duty; but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all - it is very tiresome." Jane Austen spoken by Catherine Morland in 'Northanger Abbey'
![]() Eggs all in 2 Baskets Government subsidizes the housing and banking industries by price fixing the cost of credit. Direct and indirect employment is disproportionately funneled into construction (see Labour Force Participation post). The same story has been repeated globally and according to BMO chief economist Douglas Porter "Canada's rising dependence on commodities trade makes it vulnerable to price declines." Canadians do not appear to be willing to add value to their resources by developing infrastructure and manufacturing capacity. In the mashup above, the two top charts are from SoberLook.com and they observe: With prices drifting steadily lower since the spring of 2011, it seems safe to conclude that commodities are not going to bail us out this time—the Super Cycle is over. While global growth will likely be just firm enough to put a floor under resource prices in 2014, Canada simply cannot rely on improving terms of trade to lift incomes further, or to turn around a weak trade performance. The dramatic rise in U.S. oil and gas production further complicates the picture by putting downward pressure on North American energy prices. Comments are closed.
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History, Charts & Curated Readings"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement; and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense Archives
November 2019
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