Caterpillar Inc. also issued a 2019 profit forecast range which, at the low end, was below the average of analysts' expectations.Associated Press Caterpillar Inc. had the biggest quarterly profit miss in a decade as a China slowdown hit demand for its signature yellow construction and mining equipment. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company also issued a 2019…
Stock
Business & Finance
With the Bank of Canada holding interest rates … just how vulnerable are Canadians to debt?
Total Canadian consumer debt including mortgages increased to nearly $1.91 trillion in the fourth quarter, up from $1.82 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017. TORONTO — Equifax Canada says consumer delinquencies climbed higher in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the credit monitoring company warns that rising delinquency rates are likely to become the…
Funds
Federal Reserve holds interest rates, pivots to ‘patient’ approach to future moves
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.Al Drago/Bloomberg The Federal Reserve said it will be “patient” on any future interest-rate moves and signaled flexibility on the path for reducing its balance sheet, in a substantial pivot away from its bias just last month toward higher borrowing costs. The Federal Open Market Committee “will be…
Bonds
Why Bitcoin may be worth another look now that the bubble’s burst and its price has settled down
Bitcoin is open source software and is more akin to the internet, so it’s a mistake to compare it to a company or a stock.Lucy Nicholson/Reuters files By Arthur Salzer One of my first brushes with Bitcoin was in May 2017 and I had just finished a TV interview at the SALT Conference (the world’s…
Commodities
Five things you should know before you start your work day on Feb. 21
Peyto Exploration and Development Corp. is one of the three named gas producers forming the consortium of 10.Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP files Hello again, and good morning. Frustrated by the slow pace of development, 10 companies (seven of them unnamed) have banded together to build their own LNG project. And frustrated by the price of oil…
Currencies
Innovation Nation: Why has the government put a cap on innovation success?
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains on Nov. 26, 2018 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press. NP Photo Illustration. Canada has a rich history of innovation, but in the next few decades, powerful technological forces will transform the global economy. Large multinational companies have jumped out to a headstart in…