September 2013
Fiscal Monitor for April to July 2013
For the first four months of fiscal year 2013-14, the federal government posted a deficit of $4.5 billion, an increase of $0.4 billion from that reported in the same period in 2012-13. In the March 2013 Budget, the deficit was expected to decline by $7.2 billion for the year as a whole, from $25.9 billion to $18.7 billion. Although the current results appear to be at odds with the expected decline for the year, at least five to six months of financial data are required before one can properly assess the expected decline for the fiscal year as a whole.
Read MoreAN UNEXPECTED EI ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR. FLAHERY - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced some good news for employees and employers this week – employment insurance (EI) premiums rates would be frozen at their 2013 levels for 2014 and would be no higher for 2015 and 2016. . Rates paid by employers (1.4 times the employee rate) would be adjusted downwards correspondingly.
Read MoreHARPER'S AND FLAHERTY'S OBSESSION WITH "MOVING" FISCAL TARGETS
The G-20 has just completed its Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Not surprisingly, but quite appropriately, the focus of the meeting was on the crisis in Syria, and not solely on global economic and financial issues. A lot has changed since the last G-20 meeting. At the previous meeting, the IMF predicted that the emerging market economies would lead global economic growth and the U.S. would lag behind.
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