Blogs

Please take a look at the following CBC article highlighting Calgary pediatricians that are raising the importance of mental health with local youth. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/pediatric-residents-calgary-schools-awareness-mental-health-1.6221065

It sounds really good when you hear, "The Chinese economy is now operating at 90%," but in practice that 90% capacity shines a light on the economic uncertainty moving forward. Even with the Chinese economy opening up, consumer spending has only recovered to about half of previous levels. Global unemployment is still extremely high, and even when businesses open up, the new social-distancing guidelines create a drag on the true economic rebound.

After months of lockdown due to the Coronavirus epidemic, many countries are beginning to reopen. It is a delicate balancing act to try and reopen an economy while still trying to limit the spread of Covid-19. We are starting to see government's everywhere cautiously looking for ways to restart their economy and the global economy at large. For a breakdown of where multiple countries sit on the topic of reopening, the team at Visual Capitalist have created an easy to read breakdown.

With countries starting to loosen lockdown restrictions, recently, The Economist published a video covering some of the considerations that must be made to ensure restarting the economy is done properly. To watch the video, please click HERE. 

There is no doubt that the current pandemic will forever alter retail, restaurants, and our city landscapes as we know it. Not since Prohibition, has the restaurant industry faced such a seismic shift. Recently, The Atlantic published an article discussing how not only the restaurant industry will change moving forward, but how cities as a whole will change. Economic downturns inevitably result in empty businesses and people moving to the suburbs, but in the long-run, the lower prices and vacancies in city centers can end up drawing in people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it.

On April 20th, 2020, the price of oil went into negative territory. For the first time in history, oil producers would pay traders to take oil off their hands and store it. When any significant event occurs, there is always a lot of information to sift through. So to that end, the excellent writers at visualcapitalist.com have created a simple piece explaining the causes of the decline along with what's needed to recover. For the full piece, please click HERE. 

One result of the coronavirus forcing many Canadians to stay home is a noticeable change in spending habits. With bars, restaurants, and shops closed, many people are noticing a rise in their bank account balance. Discretionary consumer spending is at extremely low levels, and a by-product of the current lock-down may be people taking a deeper look at their needs and wants.

With the coronavirus pandemic forcing many employees to work from home for the first time, the question is being asked, "Is working from home the new normal?" Writers at Forbes.com looked into the benefits and drawbacks of the current shift to remote work, such as a better work-life balance from not sitting in traffic, but on the flip-side there can be a lack of creativity from less in-person interaction. Obviously for some jobs working from home is impossible, but a long-term effect of the coronavirus may be companies saving money on renting office space and allowing people to work fr

There is no doubt that consumer retail sales have always been a driving force in in the global economy. But how those sales occur is rapidly changing. According to visualcapitalist.com, online retail sales are estimated to reach $6.5 trillion by 2023. E-commerce was always going to make up more-and-more of the entire retail space, but with the onset of the coronavirus, the global population's desire and need for online sales has only increased.

With all of the news circulating regarding Canadian Government economic assistance, we thought it would be helpful to provide a link to the Government of Canada website that contains all the information one may need. The website contains information and links for support for individuals, businesses, and industries. To go to the website, please click HERE.