OTTAWA, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Canadian housing prices were
about 10 percent overvalued at the end of 2012 despite
government efforts to rein in the market, the IMF said on
Thursday, and it warned that authorities may have to intervene a
fifth time in the mortgage market if personal debt levels do not
stabilize.

The International Monetary Fund, in its annual report on
Canada, also said Canadian dollar was between 5 and 15 percent
higher than warranted by long-term economic fundamentals.

OTTAWA, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Canadian housing prices were
still about 10 percent overvalued at the end of 2012, the IMF
said on Thursday, and it warned that authorities may have to
intervene a fifth time in the mortgage market if personal debt
levels rise further.

The International Monetary Fund, in its annual report on
Canada, also said the country’s currency was between 5 and 15
percent higher than warranted by long-term economic
fundamentals, lifted in part by commodity prices and the
country’s safe-haven status for investors.

OTTAWA, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Canada’s economy unexpectedly shed
21,900 jobs in January, delivering a reality check after months
of outsized employment growth and confirming forecasts of
slowing economic expansion.

A drop in the number of people seeking work pushed the
unemployment rate down to a four-year low of 7.0 percent,
Statistics Canada data said on Friday.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Mark Carney, the next head of the Bank of England, has shaken up the stuffy culture at the Bank of Canada with his unconventional approach. The big question is will he be able to do the same at an even more hierarchical institution – the Bank of England.

Carney is known as a whipsmart central banker and financial regulator. But Reuters’ interviews with former central bank officials reveal his behind-the-scenes role in changing the way the secretive Canadian central bank is run.

OTTAWA, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Mark Carney, the next head of the
Bank of England, has shaken up the stuffy culture at the Bank of
Canada with his unconventional approach. The big question is
will he be able to do the same at an even more hierarchical
institution – the Bank of England.

Carney is known as a whipsmart central banker and financial
regulator. But Reuters’ interviews with former central bank
officials reveal his behind-the-scenes role in changing the way
the secretive Canadian central bank is run.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate at 1 percent on Wednesday, but it revised its guidance dramatically to say that excess capacity in the economy, soft inflation and stabilizing household debt have combined to push any rate increase further away than previously thought.

Governor Mark Carney has been the most hawkish central banker in the Group of Seven (G7) major industrial economies for several months, but he has steadily been watering down his guidance on the need to start raising rates.

OTTAWA, Jan 23 (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada held its
overnight interest rate at 1 percent on Wednesday but
dramatically revised its projections to say any hike would be
further away than previously thought, because of excess
capacity, soft inflation and stabilizing household debt.

“While some modest withdrawal of monetary policy stimulus
will likely be required over time, consistent with achieving the
2 percent inflation target, the more muted inflation outlook and
the beginnings of a more constructive evolution of imbalances in
the household sector suggest that the timing of any such
withdrawal is less imminent than previously anticipated,” said
the central bank, led by Mark Carney.

OTTAWA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Canada’s finance minister will
interview candidates for governor of the Bank of Canada, his
office said on Wednesday in an unusual announcement that
highlights the central role the minister intends to play in the
recruitment process.

Mark Carney is stepping down as governor of the Bank of
Canada in June to head the Bank of England, and the process of
finding his replacement is under way. Tiff Macklem, currently
the senior deputy governor, is considered the front runner.

OTTAWA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Canada’s Conservative government
does not expect to launch a new round of fiscal stimulus despite
the possibility of weaker-than-expected growth in the first
quarter, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday.

“I don’t see the need for it, quite frankly. I think we have
adequate economic growth, and I think the prospects for stronger
economic growth later in the year and next year are good,”
Flaherty told a news conference.

OTTAWA, Jan 10 (Reuters) – The man tipped to be the next
governor of Canada’s central bank has the reputation of being a
mild-mannered sideman to charismatic bank chief Mark Carney, but
former colleagues say Tiff Macklem is a mover and shaker in his
own quiet way.

As Carney prepares to leave the Bank of Canada to start his
new job as head of the Bank of England on July 1, Macklem, his
No. 2, has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed him.