Direct Loan Canada Blog

Nintendo has become the latest victim of a global chip shortage that is battering supply chains.
Source: ctv business
Nintendo says the chip shortage is hurting Switch sales

OPEC and allied oil-producing countries rebuffed pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden to pump significantly more oil and lower gasoline prices for U.S. drivers, deciding Thursday to stick with their plan for cautious monthly increases even as prices surge and the global economy is thirsty for fuel.
Source: ctv business
OPEC+ keeps cautious oil production despite Biden pressure

Canada merchandise trade surplus grew to $1.9 billion in September compared with $1.5 billion in August as both imports and exports fell due in part to the shortage of semiconductor chips that hurt auto production.
Source: ctv business
Trade surplus grew to .9B in September as chip shortage hurt auto sector

U.S. President Joe Biden will enforce a federal mandate that workers at U.S. companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly starting on Jan. 4.
Source: ctv business
COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private-sector workers in U.S. to begin Jan. 4

The Bank of England has confounded market expectations and held U.K. interest rates steady, saying it wanted to see more information about what happens to unemployment after the British government recently ended a program that subsidized worker pay during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: ctv business
Bank of England holds interest rates steady, confounding expectations

Air Canada’s president and CEO Michael Rousseau has apologized for not being able to speak or understand the French language.
Source: ctv business
Air Canada CEO apologizes for not being able to speak, understand French

Canadian employers are firing or putting on unpaid leave thousands of workers who refused to get COVID-19 shots, squeezing an already tight labour market and raising prospects of potentially disruptive legal challenges.
Source: ctv business
Canadian employers shed unvaccinated workers, labour lawyers in demand

The Northern Ontario town of Smooth Rock Falls has seen a surge of new residents after it began offering plots of land for $500 in 2017.
Source: ctv business
Northern Ont. town booming after offering plots of land for 0

Prince Edward Island is increasing its minimum wage by 70 cents to $13.70 beginning April 1, marking the biggest year over-year-pay bump since at least 2017.
Source: ctv business
Minimum wage on P.E.I. increases to .70, marking biggest jump in at least six years

The Bank of Canada says it plans to more closely monitor how increasingly frequent and severe weather events could impact the prices consumers pay for goods as part of its mandate to keep inflation in check.
Source: ctv business
Bank of Canada plans to keep eye on climate change impact on inflation