Month: March 2011
Prior to the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, the importance of Japan to the global economy went unrecognized, swamped by the surge in China’s economic power—the new Asian juggernaut.
March 15, 2011
Category: Articles
Bleak Headlines Might Be Overdoing Nuclear Danger According to Some Scientists
As the news of a potential nuclear crisis in Japan worsened, markets were reflecting a “get-me-out-of-everything-risky” mindset, as commodities and stocks were selling off sharply and triple-A government bonds are rallying.
The earthquake, which registered 8.9 on the Richter scale, is the largest to hit Japan in at least 140 years, although the overall ramifications are still very much uncertain and will depend critically on any tsunami-related damages in the Pacific Basin.
Yesterday in St. Thomas, Ontario, and the end of my economic outlook presentation, I said that while we have no idea what natural disasters might befall us, the U.S. and Canada are likely to straddle 3% growth this year and next.
While we were cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook at the turn of the year, we now believe the odds have increased for a self-sustaining expansion in North America through this year and next despite the recent surge in commodity prices.
A recent analysis published in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the shifting sands of America’s trading patterns.