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It’s day 85 since Canada’s 100th coronavirus case. The number of cases is 93,042 as of publication time, up 632 since yesterday—a 21 per cent decrease from the seven-day prior average of new cases and the lowest number of new cases in 66 days (March 29). On their respective 85th day, U.S. daily new cases were down 15 per cent from the seven-day prior average; the U.K. was down 22 per cent in daily new cases from the seven-day prior; and in Italy, new cases were down 27 per cent.*
Tiff’s first day: “The severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy … appears to have peaked,” the Bank of Canada said Wednesday, maintaining its overnight rate at 0.25 per cent. Canada’s first-quarter GDP performance fell in the middle of the central bank’s projections, and while it’s predicting a 10 to 20 per cent decline between April and June, it expects growth to pick up again after that. “Decisive and targeted fiscal actions, combined with lower interest rates, are buffering the impact of the shutdown on disposable income and helping to lay the foundation for economic recovery,” the country’s monetary policy authority said. Tiff Macklem takes over as governor today.
