Category: It’s Probably Nothing

Lipstick On The Pig

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing Media New Governor 17 Comments

Inquiring minds want to know: what’s in it for court water carriers who engage in mindless cheerleading for the government of the day? It’s like the scene in The Holy Grail where the armless knight declares, “‘Tis but a scratch!”

Luckily, economists say there is more to a recession than just two quarters of negative growth — namely the 3 Ds — depth, duration and dispersion.

This decline is not even close on depth — amounting to just 0.6 per cent annualized over the two quarters, “barely a scratch in GDP terms,” said Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in a note.

Oh, that explains it!

Canadian Prime ‌Minister Mark ‌Carney, pressed about statistics ​showing the country is in a technical ‌recession, on ⁠Tuesday told reporters that ⁠as the government pressed ​ahead with ​reforms “the ​data will ‌be uneven”.

Gradually, Then Suddenly

Gradually Then Suddenly Great Moments In Socialism New Governor 29 Comments

Indeed. Who’s laughing now, Brantford Boomer?

The old white people aren’t MAIDing away as quickly as they’d hoped for;

The Carney government regularly describes its fiscal approach as “ambitious” and “transformational,” but in reality it’s simply perpetuating a fiscal decline that’s plunging Canada deeper into red ink. To truly transform federal finances, the Carney government must reduce spending, even in areas that are politically unpopular. And to truly be ambitious, it should start by reducing elderly benefits – Ottawa’s largest single spending item.

First, some context. The Carney government plans to run annual budget deficits ranging from $66.9-billion in 2025-26 to $53.2-billion in 2030-31. Cumulatively, this six-year period in the red represents $362.4-billion in borrowing. Over that same period, Ottawa’s total debt will rise from a projected $2.3-trillion, or 72 per cent of the economy, to more than $3-trillion, or 78 per cent of the economy.
Open this photo in gallery:

According to the Carney government’s spring economic update, elderly benefits will grow faster than any other single spending item in the budget, except debt interest costs.

I just threw that graphic in there. For context.

An “as I was saying” update: A new academic study is calculating how much money the government could save by dramatically expanding euthanasia .. including “non-voluntary” scenarios for vulnerable people.

Gradually, The Unexpectedly

Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 13 Comments

Financial Post;

Canada’s real gross domestic product unexpectedly contracted slightly in the first quarter of 2026, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline and meeting the technical definition of a recession.

The results came as a surprise: Preliminary estimates in April had suggested the economy grew to start the year, but data released Friday by Statistics Canada showed an increase in imports — up 2.9 per cent in the first quarter, mainly driven by gold imports — dragged real GDP growth into negative territory on an annualized basis.

Falling On Deaf Ears

Canada’s Bolsheviks Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing New Governor 14 Comments

It’s not just the federal government that isn’t that interested in Balsillie’s advice. Most provincial governments couldn’t care less either.

Balsillie said those who thrive in today’s economy own and control intangible assets such as data, AI and IP, and the U.S. has “turbocharged their capture,” but Canada’s economic game plan has stayed stuck in the decades-old “tangible production economy era,” while the new assets of the new economy require different strategies.

Empty Piggy Banks

entitlement generation Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing 14 Comments

Here’s something these folks need to ponder: over 40 years of falling interest rates, often hovering near zero, have made defined benefit pension plans nearly impossible to maintain. The go-to “solution” is to get that magical entity known as “others” to make up any shortfall. But those “others” are growing tired of handing over their capital to be consumed.

Fed into the performance-based formula, those figures have meant former Queen’s employee Gordon Crawley has received no increases since he retired in November 2021. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) has risen by more than 16 per cent over that time frame, according to Bank of Canada data.

He says it’s been difficult, especially knowing he won’t get any additional payments to top up his pension and help deal with inflation until the fund’s returns have made up for lost ground.

Circling The Drain

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing nannystate New Governor 11 Comments

The first thing a business run by sane people would do when faced with torrents of red ink would be to identify the sectors with the highest costs and highest losses and cut them loose. But when you’re Canada Post, for some reason you do exactly the opposite.

“For now, people who already receive their mail via rural mailboxes will see no change,” the statement said. “These addresses are not part of the initial announcement targeting the four million addresses that still receive home delivery and will eventually be converted to community mailboxes.”

 

MV Hondius Outbreak

It's Probably Nothing 16 Comments

Alina Chan is a Canadian molecular biologist specializing in gene therapy and cell engineering, and co-author (with Matt Ridley) of Viral, on COVID-19 lab leak origins.

Thread-rolled here.

Stiff Upper Elbows, Mates

Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 31 Comments

‘Things are going to get a whole lot worse’

The London region has recorded the highest unemployment rate among Canada’s large cities for April, reaching 9.2 per cent, according to the latest figures released by Statistics Canada.

The month saw a loss of 1,800 jobs in the area, which includes London, St. Thomas and Strathroy.

The statistics paint a challenging economic picture, with experts warning of further declines.

Canada Strong

Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 4 Comments

So grateful they gave us a new Governor to turn the economy around.

A Winnipeg-founded retail chain is seeking a Manitoba court’s approval to liquidate its 128 stores across the country.

Warehouse One announced Wednesday that it had begun proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) that would allow the denim retailer to begin shutting down.

“After careful consideration of all reasonably available options, the company has made the difficult decision to commence the CCAA proceedings to allow for an orderly wind down of its operations, including all Warehouse One and Bootlegger retail locations,” Warehouse One wrote in a news release.

The company currently operates 128 retail stores under its Warehouse One and Bootlegger banners in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Yukon.

47: The UFO Files

47 UAP 24 Comments

U.S. Department of War;

In response to President Donald J. Trump’s directive for transparency on U.S. government information regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), the Department of War (DOW), with support from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), is overseeing government wide efforts to expeditiously find, review, identify, declassify and publicly release unresolved UAP-related records and historical documents in the federal government’s possession. This is an unprecedented, historic undertaking that requires coordination between dozens of agencies and the review of tens of millions of records, many existing only on paper, spanning many decades. Given the scope of this task, the Department of War will be releasing new materials on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified, with tranches posted every few weeks.

The materials archived here are unresolved cases, meaning the government is unable to make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena. This can occur for a variety of reasons, including a lack of sufficient data, and the Department of War welcomes the application of private-sector analysis, information and expertise. DOW will continue to conduct separate reporting on resolved UAP cases, as mandated by statute. Under this Administration, we will pursue the truth and share our findings with the American people.

It’s probably nothing.

Going Bust?

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing There Goes The Narrative 16 Comments

About 10 years ago I visited Monette Farms and I was intrigued by their aggressive business model. But now that a lot of their debt has to be refinanced at much higher interest rates, their creditors are knocking at the door. I can’t help but think that they’re not alone.

…company founder Darrel Monette put land up for sale to generate cash. His largest creditor, a syndicate of lenders led by Scotiabank, worked with him time and again to try to keep the Saskatchewan-based farm afloat.

It didn’t work.

Monette didn’t sell enough land, and the syndicate loan, originally $950 million with $830 million outstanding, came due April 15. Monette owes about $905 million in secured debt, and the nearly 500,000-acre operation faces massive restructuring if it hopes to survive.

 

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