In this edition:
- Almost half of businesses expect expenses to increase in next 3 months
- Regional Council reappoints Jim Bradley to second term as Regional Chair
- Ontario increasing construction funding for long-term care homes
- Niagara Health named a Hamilton-Niagara Top Employer
- Federal government to grant Niagara $1.2m to help residents struggling with addiction
Statistics Canada: Almost half of businesses expect expenses to increase in next 3 months
Real gross domestic product edged up 0.1% in August, following the same increase (+0.1%) in July. Although inflationary pressures have been slowly decelerating since their peak of 8.1% in June, they remain high after rising 6.9% year over year in October. After remaining relatively unchanged in September, employment rose by 108,000 (+0.6%) in October, while the unemployment rate remained low and unchanged at 5.2%.
In this macroeconomic context, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions from October to early November 2022. The survey collects information on the environment businesses are currently operating in and their expectations moving forward.
Nearly 3 in 10 businesses (29.8%) that are facing challenges maintaining inventory levels or acquiring inputs, products and supplies, either domestically or abroad, expected these challenges to worsen in the short term. Over the next three months, almost half of businesses expected their operating expenses to increase, more than one-third expected their profitability to decrease, nearly one-third expect to increase the prices they charge, and four-fifths expected their number of employees to remain the same.
Nearly one-quarter (23.5%) of businesses expected difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies domestically, down from 26.8% in the third quarter. Among these businesses, over half (56.0%) expected these challenges to continue for six months or more, up from the previous quarter (54.3%).
Regional Council reappoints Jim Bradley to second term as Regional Chair
During their inaugural meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022, Niagara Regional Council reappointed St. Catharines Councillor Jim Bradley to the position of Regional Chair. This appointment marks the start of Chair Bradley’s second term in office.
“I want to assure this council, and the people of Niagara, that my first obligation is to the residents and businesses of our region, as well as my council colleagues,” said Chair Bradley in his inaugural address. “I know I join with all of you in expressing my steadfast commitment to our community and to the betterment of the entire region.”
The appointment was made eight days after the Government of Ontario had introduced the Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022, in which the government announced its intent to reappoint Chair Bradley, as well as his counterparts in Peel and York, rather than allowing the councils of those regions to elect a chair themselves.
Ontario increasing construction funding for long-term care homes
The Ontario government is increasing its construction funding subsidy to support the cost of developing or redeveloping a long-term care home. This additional funding will help fast-track the construction of new long-term care beds before August 31, 2023. This supports the government’s $6.4 billion commitment to build more than 30,000 net new beds by 2028 and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds across the province.
Niagara Health named a Hamilton-Niagara Top Employer
Niagara Health has been recognized as one of Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers for the fifth-consecutive year.
Now in its 16th year, the annual recognition is organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. It honours employers in the Hamilton-Niagara area that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.
“Being recognized as a Top Employer is directly attributed to our extraordinary team and their commitment to shaping the future of healthcare in Niagara,” says Lynn Guerriero, President and CEO, Niagara Health. “We are incredibly proud of our dedicated team of more than 7,500 staff, physicians and volunteers for going above and beyond to provide high-quality, safe care to patients and their families.”
Federal government to grant Niagara $1.2m to help residents struggling with addiction
The Federal government is giving Niagara $1.2 million to help residents struggling with addiction as part of over $15 million in federal funding for 24 projects across Canada through Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program, announced during National Addictions Awareness Week (NAAW).
Focus on Cryptocurrency
Coinbase debt was ‘canary in the coal mine’ for crypto meltdown
In the wake of the spectacular meltdown of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire, many investors are looking for early warning signs that may have foretold the contagion that was about to unfold. One possibility? Coinbase Global Inc.’s junk bonds.
The largest U.S. digital-asset trading platform has seen the price of its bonds plunge this year. In early January, the price for one of its most active notes was at about 92 cents. It then slid to about 77 cents in April before dropping to 63 cents amid the Terra Luna market crash in May. The bonds traded around 53 cents on the dollar — a level typically associated with distressed — in early morning trading in New York Wednesday, according to Trace bond trading data.
Terra Luna 2.0? Binance CEO reveals huge $2 billion fund after FTX meltdown crashed the Bitcoin and crypto price
The bitcoin price has plummeted 20% since this time last month, dragging down the wider crypto market and taking the total value erased from the combined crypto market to around $2.2 trillion (though Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has issued a surprise 2023 price prediction).
Now, Binance chief executive Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pledged $2 billion to a crypto rescue fund—just months after the Luna Foundation Guard burnt through almost $3 billion trying to prop up its terra stablecoin ecosystem and FTX’s disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) reportedly dipped into FTX user funds to support his trading company, Alameda Research, and the wider market.
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
