The biggest question in economics right now is whether inflation has calmed down enough for us to stop worrying about more interest rate increases.has a chance to adjust its trendsetting overnight rate on Wednesday. The consensus is that the bank will hold steady while it monitors inflation and the economy. The remaining rate-setting dates in 2023 are April 12, June 7, July 12, Sept. 6, Oct. 25 and Dec. 6.
With inflation on the rise, rates began moving higher a year ago. What a ride it’s been so far. Rate increases on mortgages and lines of credit have left many households paying hundreds of dollars more per month. This extra cost has emerged amid rampant food inflation that has recently hit levels of 10 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
The upside of higher rates is that savers are getting the best returns in decades. I covered the ins and outs ofin a recent column and the rates available ranged as high as 5 per cent or so. That’s a darned good result when you consider the level of risk of losing money is close to nil where deposit insurance applies.
How are you feeling about your finances overall after the past 12 months of rising rates? Help me get a sense of things by takingSubscribe to Carrick on Money Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on Money
Well there were 974 bankruptcies in the Province of BC alone in November. If the media would report how many across Canada in the last 12 months that would tell you how Canadians are holding up. Why are you asking us?
Keeps rates low since the 2008 crisis leads into our next crisis. No one wants to deal with the pain so dealing with the problem will be defered again.
Poorly
Price gets high. They raise interest rates to bring down prices. Instead, prices go up higher with higher rates. Companies need to pay not only costs of their products and services, they have to pay higher interest on their borrowing. Stop raising rates and let market decide.
Raise rates higher.
The affordability crisis is what happens when we take seven years of political vote-buying and add two years of record-level pandemic spending. Inflation isn’t a mistake. It’s a policy decision.