Government austerity programs are holding back the global economic recovery. That was the message Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor, delivered to delegates at The International Economic Forum of the Americas Toronto Forum for Global Cities today. “The austerity that is going on in Europe, America and so forth is effectively a suicide pact for our economies,” he said.

Jobs lost, jobs planned and a big TV to watch it all happen.

Canada’s shrinking economy, signs of recession in the U.S. and the price of sending them back to school.

Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 7.2% in July, the lowest it’s been since December 2008. It’s been recovering, on and off, since peaking at 8.7% this time last year. This is good news, of course. But there is more to the jobs story facing Canadians. Underemployment continues to hurt thousands of families. And according to the What’s Working survey, released a couple of weeks back by consulting firm Mercer, 36% of Canadians are so dissatisfied with their job that they’re “seriously considering leaving their organization.”

Canada’s prosperity, Ratigan’s rant and the cost of collecting.

Stock markets sink, the European Central Bank intervenes and the great couch potato debate.

Assuming our friends in Washington don’t politic us into another global economic crisis, things are looking up for the Canadian recovery. The Conference Board of Canada’s new Canadian Outlook, published on Thursday, delivers ample references to “belt tightening” and “unusually high risks.” But it also offers an undercurrent of optimism that runs in the opposite direction of much of what we’re reading these days. I think these six points deserve attention.

Unemployment steady, sovereign debt politicking and trying to keep our cool.

The global economic recovery will hinge on household debt levels, and by this measure Canadians have some reason to worry. That was the message yesterday from Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winning economist and op-ed columnist for The New York Times. “Canada looks remarkably like the U.S.,” he said. “Household debt has risen at rates comparable to those in the U.S., but housing prices have not plunged … It’s a real question: Is Canada just a delayed version of the same story?”

An IMF upgrade for Canada, a new plan for Greece and another way to look at your emergency fund.