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European Powers Reject U.S. Call for Military Role in Strait of Hormuz

                                                         Tankers sit anchored in Muscat, Oman amid the conflict European resistance to U.S. calls for military involvement in the Strait of Hormuz is growing, with Greece, Spain, Germany, and Italy all publicly rejecting participation. Their stance underscores a widening divide between Washington and key European partners over the legality and strategic wisdom of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. A group of major European nations— Greece, Spain, Germany, and Italy —has firmly declined to join U.S.-led military operations in the Strait of Hormuz , a critical global shipping route currently strained by conflict. Greece Greece announced it will not engage in military operations in the Strait. Officials clarified that Greece will only participate in the EU’s naval mis...
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Deloitte Canada predicts rate cuts by Bank of Canada in 2024

 

The Bank of Canada may soon begin to lower its benchmark interest rate, according to a new report by Deloitte Canada.

The consulting firm expects the central bank to start easing rates in the second quarter of 2024, as inflation pressures subside and the economy faces headwinds from higher borrowing costs.

Deloitte Canada forecasts that the overnight target rate will drop to 4.25 per cent by the end of the year, from the current level of 5 per cent.

However, the firm cautions that the Bank of Canada will not return to the ultra-low rates that prevailed before the pandemic, and that interest rates will still have a negative impact on spending and investment decisions in 2024.

The Bank of Canada has raised its key rate five times since the start of the pandemic, in response to surging inflation that reached 7.1 per cent in November 2023.

The central bank has signaled that it is done with hiking rates for now, and that it will monitor the evolution of inflation and economic activity.

Some market participants and economists expect the Bank of Canada to cut rates more aggressively than Deloitte Canada, with some predicting a 150-basis-point reduction by the end of 2024.

Deloitte Canada chief economist Dawn Desjardins said that the Bank of Canada will act cautiously and only cut rates when it is confident that inflation will return to its 2 per cent target.

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