Carney keeps his promise, conflicting data and working with credit counselors.

• National Post. Carney warns on growth. “Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada, warned yesterday the country has to boost its troubling productivity record or face years of sputtering economic growth that would be hard-pressed to surpass the 2% mark.”
• The Globe and Mail. Bank of Canada sticks to low interest rates. “The Bank of Canada kept its benchmark lending rate at a record low 0.25 per cent Tuesday, and reasserted a plan to keep it there through the middle of the year depending on the outlook for inflation, saying slack remains in the economy and that the global recovery still depends on government spending and low interest rates.”
• Reuters. Canadian bankruptcies rise in November. “Canadian bankruptcies rose 2.4 percent in November from a year earlier as consumers struggled to repay debts, but business bankruptcies were down sharply, suggesting the worst may be over for corporate insolvency.”
• CBC. December leading index suggests recovery underway. “The composite leading index rose by 1.5 per cent in December, its seventh straight month in positive territory, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.”
• CBC. Gasoline prices fuel inflation in December. “Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate reached 1.3 per cent in December, its highest level since last February.”
• Bloomberg. Canada retail sales fall 0.3% on winter clothes, cars. “Canadian retail sales fell for the first time in four months in November on fewer car purchases, and as a milder winter led shoppers to skip buying warm clothes, the national statistics agency said.”
• Bloomberg. Canadian wholesale sales rise 2.5% led by auto, food industries. “Canadian wholesale sales climbed more than expected in November, led by increased shipments in the automotive and food industries.”
• Canoe.ca. Fewer EI recipients in November. “There were 7,300 fewer Canadians receiving regular employment insurance benefits in November, according to government data released Thursday.”
• Toronto Star. Market rise lost on most: Survey. “Most Canadian investors have no idea about the stock market’s red-hot rise in 2009 and are not planning to buy any stocks this year, according to a new survey.”
• Canada.com. Canadians scale down retirement dreams. “Few Canadians see themselves sailing a yacht or taking a trip around the world in their retirement, according to the results of the Annual RBC RRSP Poll released Monday.”
• Canada Personal Finance Website. Canadian economy improving slowly for the season. “Canada is among the countries that are seeing an upswing in the economy, with spending up and unemployment down since last year. Canadians are expecting the economy to continue improving since the recession that lasted for three quarters.”
• The Financial Times. Self reliant Canada. “The Bank of Canada put out its quarterly Monetary Policy Report. The outlook for Canada was little changed from October, with the economy expected to return to full capacity in the third quarter of 2011.”
• Four Pillars. Lifestyle inflation – can it be avoided? “According to the mainstream media in both Canada and the US – we are in the midst of a terrible recession. Stock market crashes, layoffs, increasing unemployment mean that lifestyle inflation is not something that most people have to worry about. Or is it?”
• Canadian Finance Blog. How much do you need to retire? The 10% rule. “When trying to figure out how much you need to retire, there are many different rules of thumb you could follow. While I’ve previously discussed the 4% rule and the rule of 20, which both calculate your likely income at retirement, the most common calculation on how much to save up to retirement may be the 10% rule.”
• Million Dollar Journey. How risky is the stock market – the quiz. “We talk with people and read articles and books every day about investing, and are constantly shocked at how little most people know about the real risks and returns of the stock markets. The bear market of 2008 has only made the misconceptions worse.”
• Thicken My Wallet. What is a realistic expectation of return for stocks and real estate? “Most average investors have no conception of what an “average” return on stocks or real estate should be. As a result, there is no internal metric to determine risk/reward and a statement such as “you can return 12% in stocks” are thrown about causally without some context to determine whether this statement is realistic are not.”
• Moolanomy. Investing in gold: a case for why you should buy gold now. “Given recent economic news, more and more investors are turning to gold as a way to preserve the value of their financial portfolio. Gold has traditionally been considered a safe haven for investment, since it tends to maintain its value during times of economic crisis and upheaval.”
• Infectious Greed. Growth in a time of debt. “New research from Reinhart and Rogoff on the relationship between GDP growth and government and external debt.”
• The Economist. Pulling apart. “A year ago almost every economy in the world was being walloped. The degree of pain varied. In rich countries output plunged; in China and some other emerging economies growth slowed sharply. But the slump was as striking for its synchronicity as its severity.”
• Wise Bread. Dealing with debt: credit counselors. “I just published my third book about living debt-free. It’s called Life or Debt 2010. To go with it, I’m doing TV news stories and writing blog entries that I hope will help you find extra money in your budget to pay off debt.”

And please follow me at twitter.com/todayseconomy.