Has Canada acquired partial immunity to U.S. economic disease?
“In the past we used to say if the U.S. catches cold, Canada gets pneumonia. Now it’s if the U.S. gets pneumonia, Canada gets a good case of the sniffles, because Canada has diversified and is trading more with China, and Europe and Brazil.” CP – With the U.S. economy apparently heading toward recession this fall, many economists believe Canada may be in the best position it has ever been to withstand the strong headwinds coming north. Friday brought fresh evidence that the U.S. economy is sinking fast – retail sales and industrial production rising a feeble 0.3 and 0.2% respectively in August – while in Canada, the economy floats above the fray, manufacturing shipments gaining a surprisingly strong 2.3% in July. The divergent directions of the two economies once thought to be joined at the hip pushed the Canadian dollar higher for the fifth straight day to 97.04 cents US, the highest close in nearly 31 years. There is normally a lag before U.S. contagion drifts north, but the continui
