Stephen Poloz named next Bank of Canada governor

Stephen Poloz, the head of Export Development Canada, has been named as the surprise pick to be the next governor of the Bank of Canada.

Poloz, who has experience in both the public and private sector, replaces Mark Carney, who is leaving his post to lead the Bank of England.

At a Thursday afternoon press conference in Ottawa, Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty said the search for the new governor was extremely thorough and sought out candidates from around the world.

"It has taken us some time to get to this point," Flaherty said, adding that the appointment process was scrupulously followed.

Flaherty said he is confident Poloz will perform with "distinction" as he guides the Bank of Canada for the next seven years.

"The bank's employees are its greatest strength, and thanks to their efforts, the Bank of Canada enjoys a tremendous reputation globally as one of the world's most effective and highly regarded central banks," Poloz said.

"I pledge to do my utmost to live up to the high standards set by those who came before me."

Carney, who was also on hand for the announcement in Ottawa, said he appreciated the "sharp insights" Poloz offered on the Canadian and global economies.

Carney is set to leave June 1 for London, where he will be the first non-Briton to serve as governor of the Bank of England.

Surprise pick

The selection of Poloz came as a surprise to many — most analysts had predicted that Tiff Macklem, the central bank's senior deputy governor, would succeed Carney.

Poloz studied at Queen's University and later received a master's degree and PhD in economics from the University of Western Ontario.

He comes to the Bank of Canada from EDC, where he most recently served as president and CEO. But the Oshawa, Ont., native has previous experience at the Bank of Canada — he joined the central bank in 1981 and worked there for 14 years, a statement released by the bank says.

'Markets will look at this with a certain degree of skepticism and uncertainty. He's not really known outside of Ottawa circles.'—John Stephenson, First Asset Investment Management Inc.

John Stephenson, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at First Asset Investment Management Inc. in Toronto, said he doesn't understand the rationale behind the appointment of Poloz — especially when he is compared to Macklem, whom many had considered the front-runner for the post since Carney announced his resignation five months ago.

"Tiff was well respected.… Maybe Tiff didn't want it, but it seemed like he did," Stephenson said, adding that he thinks some may react negatively to the choice of Poloz.

"For one, I think Tiff was the likely odds-on favourite, so you kind of wonder why it went to No. 2," he said. "I think that's going to be a hard wall of worry for [Bay Street] to overcome."

Stephen Poloz, left, will replace Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of Canada. Carney is leaving to lead the Bank of England. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Macklem was not on hand for the news conference, and Flaherty declined to offer details about others who may or may not have sought the job. However, Carney noted that Macklem and Poloz had previously worked together. The outgoing governor said Macklem "welcomes" the appointment and looks forward to working with Poloz.

Stephenson says that there are still a lot of unknowns about Poloz — whether he is hawkish or dovish, and what his positions are on monetary policy.

"Markets will look at this with a certain degree of skepticism and uncertainty," he said. "He's not really known outside of Ottawa circles."

In a note to clients, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said: "The choice of Stephen Poloz as the new governor of the Bank of Canada is a huge surprise."

"Why did the finance minister decide to take this direction as opposed to the widely expected choice of going with the current senior deputy governor? The answer may be that the minister would like to see a governor with more experience with dealing directly with the private sector."

Poloz had been considered by some as a possible candidate for the bank's top position.

Ian Lee, an assistant professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, said Poloz was a "very good choice" who has some skills that the search team may have been looking for — notably, his understanding of global trade.

"He has private sector business experience — he's got trade. This is a government that has bet the farm on trade and prosperity, and this guy knows trade," Lee said on CBC's Power & Politics.

Douglas J. Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, said he doesn't expect a significant shift in the Bank of Canada's policy in the near future, despite the uncertainty surrounding Poloz

"Mr. Flaherty's biggest concern is household debt, and he would not have approved a choice who had a significantly different view," Porter said in a note.

He added that with the recent uptick in Canadian GDP, auto sales and trade, there is less pressure on the central bank to drop its "very mild" tightening bias on interest rates.

Carney, who was appointed to the top job at the Bank of Canada in 2008, has held the bank's influential overnight interest rate at the historic low of one per cent since 2010 in an attempt to spark business activity and help the country recover from the lingering effects of the global recession of 2008-09.

With files from The Canadian Press

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What the new Bank of Canada governor's signature may say about him

Stephen Poloz, who currently heads the Export Development Corporation, was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada on Thursday for a seven-year term that starts June 3.

As Governor of the Bank of Canada, Poloz will be responsible for monetary policy, overseeing the country's financial system and the production and distribution of the new polymer currency.

As well, every new Canadian banknote will carry his signature.

Now that we know that Poloz will be the next governor, we thought it would be fun to ask a handwriting expert to analyze the signatures of the last few governors, as well as the next man to sign Canadian banknotes.

Elaine Charal analyzes handwriting for clues about someone's personality; companies consult her in their executive hiring decisions. Graphology is not science —for a critique, see the link in the left column by former Simon Fraser University pyschologist Barry Beyerstein.

Here's a synopsis of Charal's take on the signatures of the future of Bank of Canada governor and his four predecessors.

Stephen Poloz

Newly announced Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz. (CBC)

Stephen's signature moves up dramatically on his page, indicating his positive, optimistic outlook. The underscore under his name indicates his self-reliance.

His signature is illegible, indicating that while he has created a trademark signature, he is also a very private person who does not wish to be known to others.

There is a figure-eight stroke formation in the capital S of Stephen's first name and a figure-eight stroke between the E and P of his first name, indicating his fluid quick-mindedness — this allows Stephen to anticipate what someone will say and then smooth over or troubleshoot the issue without anyone fully realizing he has shifted the subject to safe waters.

The angled strokes between some of his letters indicates his drive to achieve.

Mark Carney

Soon-to-be-ex-Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney. (CBC)

Mark's high capital letters indicate his confidence. Mark's writing is obviously quick, indicating his quick mind.

The angle stroke between the initial upward stroke of his M indicates his wit; the angled upward wedges of his capital M indicates his investigative thinking — few tell Mark what to do.

The hook at the end of the capital M in his first initial, as well as the hook on the Y of his family name, indicates his tenacity. He doesn't give up until all prospects have been explored, and once he achieves something, it is his to keep.

The needle-pointed R in his family name indicates his sharp mental perceptions.

His straight downstroke on the Y of his family name indicates his determination.

The underscore effect of the Y of his family name indicates Mark's self-reliance.

Mark's A is pinched, indicating he'll tend to do more for others than he realizes. His A resembles an O, indicating Mark works hard and makes it look easy.

David A. Dodge

Former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge. (CBC)

David's initials and family name all join together, indicating his fluidity of mind. This fluidity helps David dodge verbally around difficult issues and helps him change the subject without anyone fully realizing what he is doing.

His delta D in his family name indicates his literary ability and creativity.

The figure-eight G in David's family name further indicates fluidity of mind.

David's greek E at the end of his signature indicates further his literary ability and creativity.

The long, straight stroke at the end of his signature indicates his caution: as quickly as he thinks, he tries to think things through one more time before he acts.

The star shape in David's capital A in his middle initial indicates his tenacity.

Gordon Thiessen

Former Bank of Canada governor Gordon Thiessen. (CBC)

Gordon's high capital letters indicate his good level of confidence.

The circling effect in his signature is a protective stroke that keeps only those close to him within that inner circle.

The breakaway V-stroke in the H of his family name indicates his initiative. Gordon doesn't wait for much, but goes after what needs to be done.

The needle points throughout the rest of his family name indicate his quick, comprehensive thinking. Gordon will do best when he is communicating with people who are as quick-minded as he is.

His signature is illegible, which indicates he has created a trademark signature, and, on a deeper level, that Gordon is a private type of individual who does not readily communicate who he is to others.

John Crow

Former Bank of Canada governor John Crow. (CBC)

John's very high capital letters indicate a high level of confidence.

The flat-bottom loop on his capital J indicates his need to excel and to best his personal best.

The underscore effect of John's capital J indicates his self-reliance.

John's family name is a print-writing (part printing/part writing), which suggests above-average intelligence.

The final stroke of John's W flips back, shielding the second portion of his letter W, suggesting that John is not the best when it comes to accepting advice from others.

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U.S jobless rate drops to 4-year low of 7.5%

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, and hiring was much stronger in the previous two months than the government first estimated. The job increases helped reduce the unemployment rate from 7.6 per cent to a four-year low of 7.5 per cent.

The report Friday from the Labor Department was a reassuring sign that the U.S. job market is improving despite higher taxes and government spending cuts that took effect this year.

The government revised up its estimate of job gains in February and March by a combined 114,000. It now says employers added 332,000 jobs in February and 138,000 in March. The economy has created an average of 208,000 jobs a month from November through April — above the 138,000 added in the previous six months.

The number of unemployed fell 83,000 to 11.7 million.

"This is a good report," said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo. "There's a lot of strength... It's good for the economy. It's good for people's income."

The stronger job growth suggests that the federal budget cutting "does not mean recession," Silvia said. "It does not mean a dramatic slowdown."

Stock prices soared when trading began on Wall Street at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow was up 146 points in early trading.

The unemployment rate has fallen 0.4 percentage point since the start of the year, though it remains high. The Federal Reserve has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates at record lows at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 per cent.

The hiring last month was broad-based. The only sectors of the economy that cut jobs last month were construction and government.

Some higher-paying sectors added workers. Professional and technical services, which includes accounting, engineering and architecture, added 23,000 jobs. Education and health services added 44,000.

But some of the bigger job gains were in lower-paying fields, such as hotels and restaurants, which added 45,000 jobs, and retail, which added 29,000. Temporary help firms gained 31,000 positions.

The job growth is occurring while the U.S. economy is growing modestly but steadily. It expanded at a 2.5 per cent annual rate in the January-March quarter, fueled by the strongest consumer spending in two years.

The global economy, by contrast, is slowing. The European Union warned Friday, for example, that the 17 countries that use the euro currency will shrink by a collective 0.4 per cent this year. And unemployment across the eurozone is expected to hit an average of 12.2 per cent. In Greece and Spain, it's forecast to reach 27 per cent.

Both Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi have suggested that governments need to focus on stimulating growth and not just on spending cuts and deficit reduction.

In April, more Americans said they had part-time jobs even though they wanted full-time work. That figure rose 278,000 to 7.9 million, reversing a steep drop the previous month.

Some economists worry that restaurants, retail chains and other companies are hiring more part-time workers in preparation for the implementation of health care reform. Companies with more than 50 full-time employees in 2013 will be required to provide health insurance to their full-time staff next year.

The revisions to the March and February figures were unusually large. Retailers, restaurants and hotels added 48,000 more jobs in February than previously reported. They accounted for three-quarters of that month's revision.

The government revises each month's job totals twice in the following two months. The revisions occur because many companies in the survey submit their responses late.

The average workweek for private-sector employees declined 0.2 hour to 34.4 hours, but average hourly earnings rose 4 cents to $23.87. In the past year, wages have risen faster than inflation.

The number of people who have been unemployed for more than six months dropped 258,000 to 4.4 million. Over the past year, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 687,000.

A fire overnight at the Labor Department's headquarters shut down the building for most employees. Members of the news media were allowed in for the release of the jobs report.

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Cheaper pizza for Canadians on the horizon

Pizza lovers could soon be paying less for their favourite pies.

A ruling made this week by the Canadian Dairy Commission could soon allow Canadian restaurants to buy deeply discounted mozzarella cheese.

The commission changed the rules used to classify mozzarella cheese, putting the milk product in its own class and essentially removing it from supply-management pricing. Before the ruling, the price for mozzarella cheese in Canada was artificially high when compared to the world market.

The new class, to take effect June 1, is expected to result in lower costs for Canadian-made mozzarella for restaurants that prepare and cook pizzas on site.

Bob Abumeeiz, who owns Arcata Pizzeria in Windsor, Ont., said the ruling could drop the price of a large pizza by as much as 10 per cent.

Price drop 'unheard of'

"I've been in this business 17 years, and this is the first time cheese has ever gone down," Abumeeiz said. "It's unheard of."

Abumeeiz said when he first started in the business, a kilogram of cheese cost $6.75. Today, he said it costs him $10. He spends $17,000 a month on mozzarella cheese.

Abumeeiz said he's "ecstatic about this news."

"Of course, it's going to affect the price" Abumeeiz said. "The more people that know about it, people are going to ask 'cheese prices went down — how come the pizza price is the same?' The customers are aware of what's going on around them. It's going to affect the bottom-line of the pizza price."

Mario Dalimonte, who owns Bullseye Pizza in LaSalle, Ont., praised the ruling.

'This is like gas going down to 80 cents a litre.'— Mario Dalimonte, Bullseye Pizza

"This is like gas going down to 80 cents a litre. It's better for everyone," he said.

Dalimonte said cheese is two-thirds the cost of a pizza. He said lowering the cost would allow him to hire more people and give staff more hours of work.

Restaurant and pizzeria owners have been calling for cheaper cheese for almost 15 years, ever since frozen pizza makers — including frozen-food giant McCain — won an exemption from Ottawa that allowed them to buy cheese at the cheaper world market price.

"There's been an inequity with frozen pizza versus fresh pizza with the exact same mozza cheese, and we've been pushing and pushing and pushing (for changes)," said Garth Whyte, president of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association. "This is a major first step on dealing with this issue, and will be significant savings to our members who sell pizza."

Chains use cheaper 'pizza kits'

While frozen pizza makers have been allowed to buy cheaper cheese, a number of restaurant chains recently began circumventing hefty cheese tariffs by importing their mozzarella by way of pizza topping kits.

The Canada Border Services Agency last year designated the boxed cheese-and-pepperoni combinations as a food preparation, rather than simply cheese, meaning they could be imported duty-free.

Bob Abumeeiz says cheese accounts for between 50 and 70 per cent of the cost of a pizza. (Melanie Ferrier/CBC News)

"This puts us all on a level playing field," Dalimonte said.

It remains to be seen whether dairy processors will pass the savings from the new '3d' classification on to restaurant owners. Canada's restaurant industry purchases $2.5 billion worth of dairy products annually.

Cheese accounts for between 50 and 70 per cent of the cost of a pizza.

High prices are part of the reason some pizzeria owners were turning to contraband cheese, smuggled into Canada from the U.S.

Last fall CBC News learned three men, including one current and one former police officer from the Niagara Falls area, were charged in connection with an international cheese-smuggling network.

The men are accused of smuggling caseloads of cheap cheese from the U.S. to sell to Canadian pizzerias and restaurants.

'Farmers have hoisted the white flag.'— James McIlroy, trade consultant

"It looks as though the farmers have hoisted the white flag," said James McIlroy, an international trade consultant based in Toronto, who called the mozzarella move the thin edge of a wedge that will only drive down prices for other milk products.

"This is going to go on and on," said McIlroy. "There's going to be more and more foreign processed products coming into Canada, using foreign dairy products, which are going to cause problems for our processed cheese industry."

Canada-U.S. price gap

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz called the move "good news for Canadian dairy farmers, processors and our restaurant industry."

But there will likely always be a price gap between Canadian products and those coming in from bigger markets, particularly the United States, Ritz said.

"At the end of the day I can get a hotel room in the same chain cheaper in the U.S., I can get a steak dinner (for less), it just goes on and on and on," said Ritz. "It comes down to economies of scale."

Ritz applauded the new mozzarella milk class as a good public relations move for Canada's dairy farmers and expressed hope that it would result in more consumption of Canadian-made cheese.

How many times a month do you or your family order pizza each month?

With files from The Canadian Press

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GTA home sales dip 2% in April as prices rise

Home sales dipped two per cent in the Greater Toronto Area in April, but selling prices were also up, according to the latest report from the Toronto Real Estate Board.

The board said Friday that area realtors reported 9,811 sales last month through the Multiple Listing Service, down from 10,021 in April 2012.

Meanwhile, the board said average prices advanced two per cent to $526,335, while the MLS HPI composite benchmark prices were up 2.9 per cent, even as both new and active listings also grew on a year-over-year basis.

"Despite the headwinds we have experienced in the housing market this year, April sales came in quite strong in comparison to last year," board president Ann Hannah said in a statement.

"As we move through the spring and into the second half of 2013 the demand for home ownership should continue to firm up relative to last year," Hannah added.

She noted that it has been almost a year since the federal government enacted stricter mortgage lending guidelines in a move to restrict the growth in already record-high consumer debt.

"It is realistic to surmise that some households, who originally put their decision to purchase on hold, are once again looking to buy," Hannah said.

Condo sales drive growth

The board said the condominium apartment segment in Toronto was a key driver of price growth in April, with both the average selling price and the MLS HPI apartment index up on a year-over-year basis.

"The improved condo sales picture, with Toronto sales down by only one per cent compared to last year, suggests that interest in condo ownership may be improving," said Jason Mercer, TREB's senior manager of market analysis.

On a segmented basis, sales of detached homes totalled 4,939 in April, down 1.6 per cent, with the average price up 1.1 per cent year over year to $656,170, However, there was a sharp disparity in prices between homes in the 416 area at $852,090 and the 905 area at $588,784.

Sales of semi-detached homes were down 1.4 per cent at 1,096, although overall prices were up 2.7 per cent at $480,660.

Sales of townhouses were down 1.9 per cent at 1,521 at an average selling price of $390,562, up 3.1 per cent, while condo apartment sales were down 3.1 per cent at 2,061, with an average selling price of $349,493, also up 3.1 per cent year over year.

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Joe Fresh vows to be 'force for good' in Bangladesh

The founder of Loblaw's discount clothing chain Joe Fresh vowed to keep sourcing materials from Bangladesh while raising the standard for building codes there in the wake of the factory disaster that killed 400 people.

Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw, and Joe Mimran, the fashion retailer who founded Loblaw's Joe Fresh line of discount fashions, addressed members of the media on Thursday to discuss the tragedy at a Bangladesh textile factory last week.

The facility supplied clothes for, among numerous other retailers, Joe Fresh.

"I'm very troubled," Weston told reporters. "I'm troubled by the deafening silence from other apparel retailers on this.

"Thirty companies were having goods manufactured, but only two have come forward to speak publicly," Weston said.

Weston said Loblaw has always ensured all facilities in its supply chain adhere to rigorous standards in areas including local labour laws and work conditions.

"Nothing in those reports suggested a problem, but the scope of the audits does not cover structural integrity," Weston said.

Weston said he was "troubled" by practices that saw it fit to send workers back into this building after it was declared dangerous.

Joe Fresh will stay in Bangladesh

Other international firms, such as Disney, have already announced intentions to withdraw from Bangladesh. But Mimran said Joe Fresh has no plans to do that, arguing more can be done to make the apparel industry "a force for good" in the world by working with local authorities to improve conditions.

"Properly inspected, well-built factories play an important role in countries like Bangladesh," Mimran said. "Recent events have shown we should be auditing for building standards, something that has never been done before."

Mimran pledged that any garment made for the Joe Fresh line will be built in a facility that respects local building codes, as well as labour laws.

"The apparel industry can be a force for good," Weston said. "They can help lift people out of poverty in countries like Bangladesh."

Similar to the reaction to child labour violations in the 1990s, Weston said "the apparel industry must come together again and fundamentall y address the issue."

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CIBC offshore accounts targeted in U.S. tax-evasion probe

Rich Americans are using offshore bank accounts at a CIBC subsidiary in the Caribbean to evade taxes, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the tax agency is now going after them.

In one case, "tens of millions of dollars" were transferred into and out of the United States using numerous accounts held by a U.S. taxpayer and by several shell companies he controlled, the IRS said in a court filing this week.

The taxpayer "did not report any income arising from the transactions," according to the agency.

In a half-dozen other cases, accounts at CIBC's FirstCaribbean International arm — which operates in 18 Caribbean countries — were used to funnel money by people charged with or convicted of crimes including tax evasion and conspiracy to launder money, the IRS said.

In all, the agency said it has tallied at least 129 people who kept secret accounts at CIBC FirstCaribbean and its predecessors before ultimately deciding to come clean and disclose their previously unreported income.

"Numerous U.S. taxpayer clients" of the bank "evaded substantial income taxes," the IRS said in documents filed in U.S. Federal Court in California.

Because there could be many more such accounts, the IRS asked for and obtained a judge's approval on Monday to chase down information on other U.S. taxpayers with accounts at FirstCaribbean. The authorization means the IRS can issue what's called a "John Doe" summons demanding details on any FirstCaribbean account holders from Wells Fargo, an American bank that does business with the CIBC subsidiary, which does not have its own U.S. presence.

CIBC FirstCaribbean has an account at Wells Fargo that it can use on behalf of clients to send and receive wire transfers and cheques to and within the United States.

"We will review the summons and respond as legally required," Wells Fargo said in a statement late Tuesday.

Robert Wood, a tax lawyer in California who has closely followed the U.S. government's efforts to crack down on offshore tax evasion, said getting the requested details on CIBC's FirstCaribbean clients would be "another huge step for the IRS."

"The assumption is that it will lead to U.S. account holders who probably thought that because this Caribbean bank had no U.S. offices and no U.S. branches, [it] was safe," Wood said. "It appears that that's not the case."

'Safe haven' promotion

The IRS makes no allegations of wrongdoing against CIBC FirstCaribbean itself in its court application. The filing does say that at one point, an employee of the bank assured a tax-dodging U.S. resident "that no bank information would be given to the United States without a legal request."

CIBC's Caribbean arm has 69 branches in the region, in countries from the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos, offering retail banking to locals but also offshore accounts to non-residents. The branch in Curaçao, for instance, touts on its website that it's located in "a favourable jurisdiction to offshore activities [sic]" that offers a "safe haven."

CIBC FirstCaribbean said in a statement to several U.S. media outlets that it is "committed to complying with all laws and regulatory requirements."

"It is our intention to co-operate with authorities in accordance with the respective laws of all jurisdictions involved," the statement continued.

It's not the first time the IRS has gone after an offshore bank with a "John Doe" summons to try to nail U.S. residents for tax evasion. The agency obtained one against Swiss banking giant UBS in 2008, which ultimately resulted in the bank handing over the names of 4,450 American clients and paying $780 million US in fines to avoid prosecution for aiding tax evasion.

The U.S. government has recouped billions in unpaid tax from the UBS account holders and others who were prompted to come forward by the disclosures.

"I don't know that anyone 10 years ago could have ever imagined that all of this stuff would happen," Wood said.

If you have more information on this story, or other investigative tips to pass on, please email investigations@cbc.ca

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4 Canadian banks on Top 10 list of world's strongest

Four of Canada's biggest banks have landed among the top 10 in a global ranking of the strongest banks, although two of them have seen their rankings slip from last year.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg Markets magazine, CIBC, Royal Bank, Scotiabank and TD were ranked 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th, respectively, on the publication's annual ranking of the world's strongest and safest lenders.

Bloomberg Markets maintains a list of global banks with at least $100 billion US in assets. This year, 78 firms made that cut-off.

The magazine then ranks the lenders based on five broad categories, including the size of their capital reserves, the amount they keep on hand to cover bad loans, the percentage of their assets that are inefficient or considered 'non-performing' and the amount they take in deposits.

Qatari bank rated No. 1

According to Bloomberg's metrics, the world's strongest bank is Qatar National Bank, the state-controlled financier that's quickly grown to become the largest and one of the most profitable banks in the Middle East.

The Qatari bank displaced Singapore's Oversea Chinese Banking Corp, which slipped to No. 2 on the list after being in the top spot for the past two years.

Among the Canadian banks. Royal Bank and Scotia saw their ranking improve, while CIBC and TD slipped. In TD's case, the bank slipped from 4th in the world to 8th.

A particular source of strength for Canadian lenders is how big their Tier 1 capital ratios are. That's the financial term for a lender's cash reserves and how many of its own shares it owns — both of which are valuable assets to have act as shock absorbers if and when the economy hits a rough patch.

"Every year, our stress tests tell us we're stronger than the previous year," Toronto-Dominion bank president Ed Clark told the magazine. "You don't have to go out on the risk curve to look after the shareholder, and it's a foolish bet to do that," he said.

Although they continue to compare favourably internationally, Canadian banks aren't immune to the signs of slowdown in the global and domestic economies. Ratings agencies Moody's and S&P each downgraded their outlooks for most of Canada's major lenders late in the year. And official data shows Canadians' debt loads continue to tick alarmingly high, a trend that could make the banks who loaned out all that debt vulnerable.

Another eye-opening placement on the list is U.S lender Citibank. Bloomberg Markets ranked America's biggest lender in fifth overall.

Citi's presence so high on the list is significant because it wasn't that long ago — 2008 to be precise — that the bank was saved from bankruptcy thanks to a $45 billion US bailout from the U.S. government.

Citi was disqualified from Bloomberg's rankings as recently as last year because it failed the U.S. Federal Reserve's so-called "stress test" of banks that may be vulnerable to financial shocks.

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Love at 1st sight for most new homebuyers, poll suggests

Looking for a perfect home can be an emotional roller-coaster, but a new study suggests finding the right property often comes down to love at first sight.

In its report titled Psychology of House Hunting, the Bank of Montreal found that 80 per cent of prospective homebuyers know if a house is the right one for them the moment they step inside.

But it's usually a long journey before they get to that point.

The study found that on average, house hunters visit 10 homes before they decide to buy a home, while 68 per cent say they're willing to settle for a property that's not "perfect."

Thirty-three per cent say they feel rushed into making a purchase, with that figure rising to 39 per cent among first-time homebuyers.

House hunting an emotional experience

Those looking for a new home also express a wide variety of emotions, from 48 per cent saying they're excited, 41 per cent saying they feel cautious and 31 per cent saying they're optimistic. Twenty-five per cent of those polled say they're stressed through the process, while 21 per cent say they feel anxious.

First-time homebuyers are also more likely to feel stressed and anxious, compared to those who have owned a property before.

"It's important to take a practical approach when house hunting and have a clear idea of where you stand financially to ensure you make a responsible home buying decision," said Laura Parsons, a mortgage expert with BMO.

"Doing research ahead of time and setting realistic expectations can help you avoid making an uninformed or rushed purchase."

The study also looked at the motivations behind a home purchase. It found 44 per cent buy because they felt it was a good investment and 37 per cent say it was a good time to jump into the market.

Twenty-three per cent say exploring a new neighbourhood was one of the reasons why they bought a new home, while 18 per cent say it was because they were expecting a baby.

The survey was conducted by Pollara using online interviews with a random sample of 2,000 Canadians 18 years of age and over conducted between Feb. 25 and March 5.

The polling industry's professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

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Canada swings to slight trade surplus

Canada sold more goods and services to the rest of the world than we bought from others in March, as the economy swung from a 1.2 billion trade deficit to a small, $24 million surplus.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that Canada exported some $40.5 billion worth of goods and services in March. The trend in exports has been inching higher since July 2012, the data agency said.

The uptick in exports was more than enough to offset an increase in imports, which rose to $40.4 billion, their second highest level on record.

StatsCan credited higher exports of motor vehicles and car parts with the export bump, as well as higher exports of energy products. Canada shipped out 24.8 per cent more natural gas in March than the country did in February.

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