Can Vancouver BC escape economic pain?
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There have been a lot of statements about BC being recession-proof but is there any way BC can avoid the economic slowdown?
It depends on who you talk to but there is some consensus BC and the rest of the West will at least do better than places like Ontario.
Oil and natural gas will help provide a buffer and economists like Benjamin Tal at CIBC World Markets say even with oil dropping to $90 a barrel, it’s still high enough to pump sufficient revenue into the economy to escape a recession.
Tal says it’s clear the West is losing momentum, but it’s coming from a very high level.
“That’s not a weak economy. That’s simply a strong economy that’s shifting gears.”
Victor Adair with MF Global Markets tells Global News no part of the world is safe from the economic storm, though BC may not get hit as hard.
But BC’s commodity-based economy is beginning to feel the effects of a drop in world imports and falling commodity prices.
Predictions are for anywhere from another 6 to 18 months of economic pain.
Stock markets in Canada and around the world took another alarming dive yesterday, with economists warning that the U.S.-led financial crisis will hit Canada hard.
Bay Street’s benchmark S&P/TSX composite index, which fell by more than 1,000 points during the day — a record — eventually closed down 572 points at a three-year low of 10,230, following the worst week in eight years on the TSX.
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