Three Worrying Economic Trends Beyond Canada's GDP Drop

The much anticipated quarterly GDP numbers are out, and StatsCan confirmed what 79 per cent of Canadiansalready felt to be the case -- Canada's economy is in decline. A drop in economic activity of 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 officially tipped Canada in recession territory (after a drop of 0.2 per cent in the first quarter).

For The First Time Ever, Combined GDP Of Poor Countries Exceeds That Of Rich Ones

Quartz:


For the first time ever, the combined gross domestic product of emerging and developing markets, adjusted for purchasing price parity, has eclipsed the combined measure of advanced economies. Purchasing price parity—or PPP for short—adjusts for the relative cost of comparable goods in different economic markets.

Canadian GDP Lags U.S., Japan And Germany: OECD

PARIS - A leading international economy body says the global economy is beginning to rebound, but Canada is lagging several other members of the Group of Seven countries.

The OECD estimates Canada's economy will grow by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter — much slower than the United States or Japan and below the G-7 average — but pick up steam and grow by 1.9 per cent in the second quarter.

Canadian Real GDP Shrank By 0.1 Per Cent In August Says StatsCan

OTTAWA - Canada's economic expansion came to a surprising halt in August, posting the first decline since February and setting the stage for the worst quarter of economic activity in more than a year.

Real gross domestic product shrank by 0.1 per cent over the month, with both temporary and fundamental factors taking the steam out of what economists had expected to be a relatively healthy 0.2 per cent advance.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty cautioned against overreacting to the one-month setback, saying the economy is growing.

Canada GDP: July 2012 Saw 0.2 Per Cent Jump, Decline In Mining, Oil And Gas

OTTAWA - Canada's economy continues to defy adverse global conditions and the guarded expectations of experts, posting a 0.2 per cent advance in July that got the third quarter off to an encouraging start.

The expansion was double consensus estimates — some economists had thought a negative number was possible — although the shine was dulled somewhat by a downward revision for June to 0.1 per cent from 0.2.

UK GDP Falls Again, Making This Britain's Longest Double-Dip Recession In 50 Years

Britain is in the longest double-dip recession for more than 50 years, as gross domestic product shrank by 0.7% between April and June, official figures revealed on Wednesday.

The fall in GDP came as a shock to the City - where predictions had been for a fall of around 0.2%.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "We all know the country has deep-rooted economic problems and these disappointing figures confirm that."

Canada GDP: April Saw 0.3 Per Cent Rise Mostly On Mining And Oil, StatsCan Says

OTTAWA - Canada's economy had a second month of growth in April, building momentum with a 0.3 per cent increase in gross domestic product compared with March, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Canada's economy took a step backwards in February — when output was affected by a number of production shutdowns — but resumed growth in March, when the GDP advanced by 0.1 per cent.

How did the world get so fixated on GDP?

The economic news grows daily more grim. Across the developed world, once-optimistic forecasts for growth are being revised downwards. Financial markets, sensing trouble ahead, are in a tailspin. Debates over the future centre on a single metric – that of GDP.

Gross domestic product was not always with us. Created in the 1930s, and despite the warnings of its pioneer, it rapidly assumed centre stage in economic policymaking. Growth could now be measured targeted through policy. For the right, it would be a simple gauge of national economic virility. For the left, it offered the more subtle appeal of an end to disputes over the distribution of wealth. By focusing not on the size of the slices, but on the size of the pie, an interminable conflict between capital and labour could seemingly be resolved. The case was put most forcefully in the Labour politician Anthony Crosland's influential book The Future of Socialism. Growth would deliver the public goods – secure employment and a functioning welfare state.