SHOCKING, SAID LOUIS RENAULT:

Canadian economy flat (TERRY WEBER, 4/30/04, Globe and Mail)

The Canadian economy again missed its mark in February, recording no growth in what one analyst described as a "shockingly weak" showing likely to cast doubt on the future direction of interest rates in this country.

In a report Friday, Statistics Canada said February gross domestic product growth remained stagnant, surprising economists who had been looking for a rebound in the neighbourhood of 0.4 per cent for the month.

Equally disappointing was a downward revision to January's GDP number, showing that the economy shrank by 0.2 per cent rather than the 0.1 per cent originally reported a month ago.

The news sent the Canadian dollar — already under pressure this week — lower. The loonie closed down 0.09 of a cent at 72.88 cents (U.S.).

"It's a shockingly weak number," Toronto-Dominion Bank senior economist Marc Lévesque said moments after the release of the report.

Dying nations don't sustain growing economies.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 30, 2004 6:54 PM