New York—Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz cited in his last speech of 2017 “the tough job market for young people” as one of a trio of things keeping him awake at night.The data, however, should prove a soothing lullaby.The rising tide of Canadian employment — which has expanded for 13 straight monthly readings, punctuated by a whopping addition of 78,600 jobs in December — has been lifting even the youngest boats. The latest data show 57.2 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 years have a job, the highest share since January 2009. The past calendar year saw the largest improvement in the employment rate for this age bracket since 2002.“Labour markets are healthy, with falling youth participation the result of increasing education levels — a positive long-term development,” said Brian DePratto, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, in a research note Tuesday on the issue. Read more: … [Read more...] about BoC governor shouldn’t worry about the youth job market, economists say
Markets
Egat market quota to end
Energy policymakers plan to end the two-decade quota regime by opening the state-controlled power generation business to private sector competition, says Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphun. The state will remove the special quota (or favoured capacity) of state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat). The deregulation of power generation will apply to both fossil fuels and renewable energy.Thailand needs to increase power supply and allowing the market to set its price will be essential to developing the power generation industry, he said."Moving forward, for the purpose of conducting auctions, we will set a benchmark power generation price that is not over the average retail price of power."Power retails at an average of 3.6 baht per kilowatt hour in the market.By the middle of this year, policymakers plan to open an auction under the small power producer programme, which will involve semi-firm power purchase agreements totalling 269 megawatts. This auction may be … [Read more...] about Egat market quota to end
Cadillac could be the next Tesla if General Motors markets it right
General Motors could brand its Cadillac as the next Tesla given the right marketing ploy, Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley said. The automotive company is undervalued because investors have not properly gauged the potential of Cadillac. The luxury vehicle’s biggest market is China, representing an upside for General Motors’ stock. You can view GM’s stock price here. General Motors could market its Cadillac brand as the next sustainable and high-performance electric vehicle just like Tesla. With aggressive marketing, the automotive company has the “potential for fundamental repositioning of Cadillac as a ‘captive Tesla,'”Adam Jonas, an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, said. The company needs to improve consumer awareness of its brand and technologies, such as a future propulsion system and a subscription-based business model, he added. Investors have been undervaluing … [Read more...] about Cadillac could be the next Tesla if General Motors markets it right
Thai stock market hits record high
Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Monday, mirroring gains on Wall Street last week and as expectations of higher corporate earnings buoyed sentiment, with Thailand hitting a record high. Asian shares ex-Japan crept toward all-time peaks, with brisk economic growth and benign inflation adding to the risk appetite, while US stocks notched their best weekly gains in more than a year on Friday, as technology stocks helped lift major indexes to records. In Southeast Asia, with earnings season coming around, there is positive expectation for first-quarter earnings, said Joel Ng, an analyst at KGI Securities in Singapore. Thai shares rose as much as 0.7% to hit a record high, and were on track for a fifth session of gains. Financials and industrial stocks gained, with Kasikornbank PCL up 1.2% and Airports of Thailand PCL climbing 3.1%. Singapore climbed to its highest in nearly 32 months, driven by financial and industrial stocks. Real estate firm CapitaLand Ltd rose … [Read more...] about Thai stock market hits record high
A cryptocurrency created as a joke about a dog meme now has a market cap above $2 billion
Dogecoin, the digital currency inspired by the popular Doge meme, now has a market capitalization above $2 billion. Its founder is worried the coin’s recent rise indicates wider frothiness in the cryptocurrency market. Dogecoin, the alternative cryptocurrency inspired by a popular 2013 meme, has surged over the weekend and now has a market capitalization over $2 billion. It soared above the $1 billion milestone on Christmas Day and has continued to hit new milestones. As for its price, the coin was trading at $0.018 on Sunday. Still, that’s up from $0.00000021 a coin at the beginning of December. Founder Jackson Palmer, who created the digital currency as a joke, said new found interest in Dogecoin is a concerning indicator of wide-spread frothiness in the cryptocurrency market. “I have a lot of faith in the Dogecoin Core development team to keep the software stable and secure, but I think it says a lot about the state of … [Read more...] about A cryptocurrency created as a joke about a dog meme now has a market cap above $2 billion