A RISING AMERICA LIFTS ALL TRADE PARTNERS:

Jobless rate falls back to 30-year-low (ROMA LUCIW, 1/05/07, Globe and Mail)

The Canadian economy defied expectations and created an astonishing 62,000 new jobs in December, pushing the unemployment rate back down to the three-decade low last seen in May and June.

The country's jobless rate dipped to 6.1 per cent from 6.3 per cent in November, as both full and part-time employment rose, Statistics Canada said Friday. Economists had been expecting the jobless rate to remain at 6.3 per cent.