Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Canada Trade Deficit Hits Record High

Canada’s trade deficit with the rest of the world rose to an all-time record high in July, Statistics Canada data shows.

Canada bought $2.3 billion more from foreign countries than it sold to them in July, as exports fell 3.4 per cent from the previous month. Imports also fell, but by a smaller 2.2. per cent, meaning the overall trade deficit grew wider.

The trend went against analysts’ predictions, who expected a slight narrowing of the deficit.

"It’s never encouraging to see a deteriorating trade balance, but it’s really bad news when the worsening is sparked by falling two-way trade," CIBC analyst Emanuella Enenajor said in a client note Tuesday morning.

TD Bank economist Leslie Preston suggested the weak number for energy exports — they fell 8.5 per cent during the month — are a little "suspicious," and predicted a bounce-back in August.

"However, that does not account for the weakness seen in other non-energy categories. There is really little to be positive about in today’s report," Preston wrote.

Exports to the United States fell 5.0 per cent to $27.4 billion in July, while imports declined 2.1 per cent to $25.3 billion.

The trade surplus with the United States decreased to $2.1 billion in July from $3 billion in June, the smallest surplus since October 2010.

Imports from countries other than the United States decreased 2.4 per cent to $14.7 billion in July while exports rose 1.2 per cent to $10.3 billion leaving the trade deficit at $4.4 billion, down from $4.9 billion in June.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Daniel Tencer

No comments:

Post a Comment