Defence Blog Canada

Canadian executive directors were
pessimistic about future gross sales for the first clip in more than than
six old age last one-fourth as they struggled with recognition shortages
and weak U.S. demand, a Depository Financial Institution of Canada study found.

Thirty-eight percentage of companies said they anticipate sales
growth to decelerate in the adjacent year, compared with 36 percent
predicting faster growing -- the first clip there were more
negative sentiments since the 4th one-fourth of 2001, the Ottawa-
based cardinal bank's said.

''The gross sales Numbers and the general mentality propose there
needs to be a small more than slump inch the nightlong rate,'' said
, a senior foreign exchange strategian at ABN Amro
Inc. in Chicago. Thomas Reid predicted the Depository Financial Institution of Canada will cut its
main loaning charge per unit by 50 footing points at its April 22 meeting.

The lag in the U.S. economic system and a deficiency of credit
worldwide will prevail and may eventually pare demand for
Canada's commodities, Depository Financial Institution of Canada Governor said
in an interview with Bloomberg News on April 12. The depository financial institution cut
its benchmark by one-half a point to 3.5 percentage on March 4 and
signaled more than decreases would be needed.

Canada ships three-quarters of its exportations to the U.S.,
where the collapse of the subprime mortgage marketplace last year
sapped consumer assurance and pared demand for Canadian lumber
and cars. The study establish more than optimism among companies in
western Canada, where lucks are tied to planetary terms for
oil, corn and other trade goodss rather than mill exports.

Credit Markets

''Firms negatively affected by the weaker U.S. economic
situation are generally expecting gross sales growing to moderate,
while those less open are more than optimistic,'' the depository financial institution said.

Forty-one percentage of the executive directors said recognition markets
''tightened'' inch the past three calendar months and 17 percent said they
had ''eased,'' according to the Depository Financial Institution of Canada's quarterly
survey of about 100 companies from Feb. Twenty-Two to March 20. Those
results were close to the bank's last survey, which establish the
most restrictive adoption statuses since mid-2003.

Companies in the most recent opinion poll also were less likely to
buy new equipment and reported fewer labour shortages.

Trading in hereafters contracts shows investors are betting
the cardinal depository financial institution will take down its benchmark loaning charge per unit by at
least a one-fourth point next week, after moderation by a percentage
point since December.

Policy shapers put to maintain rising terms at or
close to 2 percent, and the concern study indicated that
prices won't rush past times that mark.

Forty-four percentage of executive directors said they would have
''some'' Oregon ''significant'' trouble filling unforeseen
orders, down from 60 percent in the last survey, which was the
highest since the 3rd one-fourth of 1999.

The per centum of companies predicting rising prices of at
least 2 percentage over the adjacent two old age rose 1 point to 69
percent. Still, that reading was 80 percentage two living quarters ago.

To reach the newsman on this story:
in Ottawa at
.