Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Economists agree that the Bank of Canada will likely keep interest rates at its present level until July 2011.

They believe that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will wait for developments in the U.S. economy and the eurozone.

The Canadian central bank is expected to release its decision on the key lending rate on Tuesday after the monetary board meeting.

The current key lending rate is still a low 1 percent. The governor kept it at that level due to uncertain economic conditions and a lower-than-expected third quarter growth rate due to weak trade and real estate investments.

The fixed-income markets predict 50-50 odds that the Bank of Canada will increase key lending rates in March and 100 percent chance in April.

According to the C.D. Howe Institute, the central bank should keep benchmark interest rates on Tuesday and on Jan. 18. It also forecast that by July next year the key lending rate should not exceed 1.5 percent.

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Delhi, India (Citizen News Service) – Tobacco use, tuberculosis (TB), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are all burgeoning problems in resource poor settings. The evidence of their potentially devastating effects on global public health is increasing and they require a coordinated approach for control.

These diseases all occur in predominantly resource-poor countries. They are perpetuated by poverty and inadequate resources, was the clear mandate from the consultative workshop organized by the TB and Poverty sub-working group of the Stop TB Partnership in India (29-30 October 2010). It is expected that the scientific deliberations at the 41st Union World Conference on Lung Health in Berlin, Germany (11-15 November 2010), will address these concerns on a well-coordinated response to these epidemics.

The secretariat of the TB and poverty sub-working group of the Stop TB Partnership has now moved to India, housed at the South-East Asian office of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) since August 2010.

Statistically, there is 1 TB-related death that takes place every 18 seconds, and 1 smoking-related death every 13 seconds. The enormous public challenge posed by the combined epidemics of tobacco smoking, TB and COPD, is undoubtedly alarming. In countries like India where the TB disease burden is the highest, the situation is only grimmer with majority of tobacco use happening in form of either leaf-rolled tobacco (beedi) or chewing tobacco.

But is there a link between TB, COPD and tobacco use? Do they increase the risk of each other?

“At the beginning of 21st century we really are facing convergence of several epidemics like TB, COPD and tobacco smoking among others” had said Richard N van Zyl-Smit to CNS at the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health in 2007. Dr Richard works with Lung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

“Tobacco smoking is unquestionably the primary risk factor for COPD. The importance of “total burden of inhaled particles” (occupational, household, environmental) is increasing” said Richard.

“Smokers have two fold higher risk of developing active TB disease” shared Dr Madhukar Pai from McGill University and Montreal Chest Institute in Canada. Dr Pai was referring to three meta-analysis studies from 2007/2008. “Tobacco smokers have 2 times more risk of dieing of TB” added Dr Pai, referring to the data from India. India has enormous tobacco use and COPD rates, and also the highest TB burden in the world.

There are studies to show that passive smoking escalates risk of developing active TB disease by three times.

Tobacco smoke increases the risk of pneumonia, influenza, menningococcal meningitis, among others. Evidence is accumulating that smoking is a risk factor for TB.

At least 15 more studies have been published since the three major meta-analyses in 2007/2008. All studies report a positive association between tuberculosis and tobacco smoking. Studies also show that current male smokers have a higher risk for active TB disease than former smokers. In a study conducted in India, 900 non-medical staff monitored 1.1 million people for 3 years for cause of death taking place in this population. TB was the biggest cause of death reported in this study in India, and 66% of those who died of TB during the study, were active smokers.

Mortality rates, particularly from Asian countries suggest that there is an urgent need to target TB patients for smoking cessation interventions.

The second edition of the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), which is an official component of the WHO Stop TB Strategy also mentions tobacco smoking cessation among other measures to improve TB treatment outcomes. The ISTC standard 17 says: “This plan should include assessment of and referrals for treatment of other illnesses with particular attention to those known to affect treatment outcome, for instance care for diabetes mellitus, drug and alcohol treatment programs, tobacco smoking cessation programs, and other psychosocial support services, or to such services as antenatal or well baby care.

Tobacco cessation is an important part of the comprehensive tobacco control programme, but not the only part. So all components of the comprehensive tobacco control measures should be implemented for improving public health outcomes. All countries should implement the global tobacco treaty formally known as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Comprehensive tobacco control programmes can yield major public health outcomes, as 30% of male TB patients die of tobacco smoking.

According to PATH Canada factsheet, “For the poor, daily spending on tobacco represents a daily drain on scant family resources. Yet in many countries it is precisely the poor who use tobacco the most. In Bangladesh, smoking rates are twice as high in the lowest income group as in the highest.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “it is the poorer and the poorest who tend to smoke the most. Globally, 84% of smokers live in developing and transitional economy countries.” The WHO further adds: “Together, tobacco and poverty create a vicious circle. In most countries, tobacco use tends to be higher among the poor. Poor families, in turn, spend a larger proportion of their income on tobacco. Money spent on tobacco cannot be spent on basic human needs such as food, shelter, education and healthcare. Tobacco can also worsen poverty among users and their families since tobacco users are at much higher risk of falling ill and dying prematurely of cancers, heart attacks, respiratory diseases or other tobacco-related diseases, depriving families of much-needed income and imposing additional costs for healthcare.”

The risk to develop active TB disease is higher when tobacco smoking is combined with alcohol.

The poor people are undoubtedly most hard hit by TB, tobacco and COPD, and are least likely to have access to existing services. Collaboration between different single disease or other programmes that are addressing poverty in communities will be truly beneficial and have major public health outcomes.

Reporting by Bobby Ramakant of Citizen News Service

The author serves as the Director of CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and was conferred upon the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General’s WNTD Award in 2008. . Email: bobby@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org

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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – An International Monetary Fund staff mission to Canada has backed the decision by the Canadian central bank to keep interest rates at their present level. The mission said the benchmark rate strikes the right balance between risks to the outlook and Canada’s advanced expansion.

However, the IMF warned Ottawa Thursday not to be complacent because weakening global demand, high household debt and protectionism could slow down Canada’s economic recovery.

Because of these threats, IMF Mission Chief for Canada Charles Kramer said in a statement, “In this context, Canada faces three main policy challenges: managing the exit toward a neutral macroeconomic policy stance; cementing fiscal stabilization; and incorporating the lessons from the crisis for financial supervision and regulation.”

Kramer said Canada is in a good position to adapt to international financial reforms that would improve supervision and regulations. He said Canada’s resilience during the crisis provides lessons on arrangements for promoting stability.

The IMF will release its final findings on Canada by the end of 2010.

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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Bank of Canada announced Tuesday it is keeping the overnight lending rate at 1 percent because of the change in Canada’s economic outlook.

From a strong first quarter growth, the Canadian central bank said it expects economic recovery to be slower than its original projection in the July Monetary Policy Report. Under the revised projection, the bank said the gross domestic product growth rate is forecast to reach 3 percent in 2010, 2.3 percent in 2011 and 2.6 percent in 2012.

The bank attributed the more modest growth projections to a reflection of the gradual global recovery and reduced consumer spending as households give higher priority to paying off debts. With this development, the bank said household spending would slow to a pace closer to income growth.

The overall impact of this would be demand in Canada would veer from government and consumer spending to business investment and net exports.

The bank said Canada’s inflation rate is slightly below its July forecast.

The bank said the combination of all these factors led it to maintain the benchmark lending rate at 1 percent. By using this strategy, the bank said there would still be considerable monetary stimulus in place, which would be consistent with reaching a 2 percent inflation target during a period of significant excess supply in Canada.

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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Statistics Canada will use the new but shorter census form when the agency conducts a head count next year.

The Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities in Quebec had attempted to secure a judicial review of the Ottawa decision to scrap the mandatory long census form. However, Federal Court Judge Richard Boivin on Wednesday dismissed the federation’s application.

The federation argued the use of the shorter voluntary survey form would result in less reliable information about minority French-speaking communities. This, in turn, would stand in the way of the federal government’s ability to fulfill its obligations under the Official Languages Act.

In rejecting the petition for a judicial review, Brown said the act did not specify the tools that government must use to support and serve minorities who use different languages. The justice added it is too early to judge if the voluntary survey form would yield unreliable data, as groups opposed to the change in census form point out.

Marie-France Kenny, president of the federation, was disappointed with the court’s decision, but said they have not yet decided if the group would appeal the ruling.

A similar petition has been filed by some First Nations group.

Industry Minister Tony Clement said that because of advice from StatsCan about the importance of questions pertaining to the Official Languages Act, the new census form would include questions about support for official languages. These questions will remain mandatory, according to Clement.

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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – In over three decades, sources of fresh water in southern Canada went down at an average of 3.4 cubic kilometers (2.11 cubic miles) a year. The 8.5 percent loss in water yield is equivalent to the water in 1.4 million Olympic-size swimming pools, according to Statistics Canada.

About 98 percent of Canada’s population live in the country’s southern regions. They draw their water needs from Canada’s yearly renewable freshwater supply estimated at about 3,470 cubic kilometers (2,156 cubic miles), or the approximate volume of Lake Huron. The estimate combined precipitation and melted ice over and under the ground, which later reach Canada’s rivers and lakes.

The University of Saskatchewan’s Center for Hydrology laid the decline to climate change. According to center director John Pomeroy, evaporation increases because of shorter winters. He added that since the 1970s, when temperature rise was initially observed, the Great Lakes had more ice-free periods and longer evaporation periods.

The decline in renewable fresh water sources was worsened by uneven distribution of the water resources. The prairies – which count Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – get only 12 percent of new water from precipitation while it registered a population increase of 2.9 million from 1971 to 2006.

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A lot of Traders have turn out to be extremely wealthy Trading in the Forex Marketplace. And, many people who trade in the Forex Marketplace on a daily basis have found a great way to replace their day jobs. Some even became millionaires almost overnight by just Trading in this economic Marketplace.

Trading in the Forex Marketplace can be very attractive. However, you should also know that there have been people who suffered extreme financial losses in the Forex Marketplace. It is true that the Forex Marketplace offers a very good money-making opportunity to a lot of people, but it also has its risks.

It is a fact that people who didn’t have the right knowledge and skills Trading in the Forex Marketplace suffered huge financial losses and some even went into debt. So, before you enter the Forex Marketplace, it is essential that you should have the necessary knowledge and skills as a Forex trader in order to minimize the risk of losing money and maximize the potential of making money.

Many people who were doing well in the Forex Marketplace have went through a Forex Course to get the knowledge and skills needed to successfully trade in this very liquid and very large economic Marketplace.

In a Forex Trading Education, you will learn about when it is the right time to buy or sell, chart the movements, spot Marketplace trends and also know how to use the different Trading platforms available in the Forex Marketplace.

You will also be familiarized with the terminologies used in the Forex Marketplace. Even the basic knowledge about Trading in the Forex Marketplace can be a great help with your money-making venture in the world’s largest Marketplace.

There are different Forex Trading lessons offered, all you need to do is select one that suits your requirements as a trader. Even crash courses where all the basic things about Forex will be taught to you in a short period of time, full time online courses, where you will learn all about Forex through the internet and there are also full time real life classroom courses where you can learn the ropes about Forex in a real classroom with a live professor.

You can also become an apprentice. On the other hand, in order to become skilled at a lot about Forex as an apprentice, you need to make sure that you have a seasoned Forex trader who can share a lot of things to you about the Forex Marketplace.

Forex Trading Online – 5 Reasons Why You Should.

Forex never sleeps

Forex Trading online offers great leverage

Forex prices are predictable

Forex trading online is commission free

Forex trading online is instant

The FX market is astoundingly fast! Your orders are executed, filled and confirmed usually within 1-2 seconds.
Since this is all done electronically with no humans involved, there is little to slow it down!

Forex trading online can get you where you want to go quicker and more profitably than any other form of trading. Check it out and see what Forex trading online can do for you!

A high-quality Forex Trading lessons will also clarify a lot about the primary and technical analysis of charts. As a trader, knowing how to analyze a chart is an essential skill that you should have. So, when you are looking for a Forex Trading lessons, you should look for a lessons that offers essential and technical analysis instruction.

Stress plays a vital part in Forex Traders. Knowing how to deal with stress is also a skill that you should develop. A good Forex Trading Education should teach you how to deal with stress and trade successfully and efficiently.

As much as possible, you should look for a Forex Skill that offer real Trading systems where students can trade real currency on the Forex Marketplace or at least trade on dummy accounts in a simulated Forex Marketplace. This hands-on knowledge will greatly benefit you. In addition, the best way to learn about anything is by actually experiencing it. Live Trading and simulations should be offered in a Forex Trading course.

Forex trading online can get you where you want to go quicker and more profitably than any other form of trading. Check it out and see what Forex trading online can do for you!

Author: Zevs Borealis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

Forex Trading: Opportunities Lost and Gained

Forex trading (the buying and selling of one currency against another to capitalize on fluctuating currency values) never sleeps. With only very minor exceptions on the weekend, Forex trading is ongoing in some time zone, in some country of the world. There is no opening or closing bell on the Forex market.

Inherently, the Forex market is structured in a way that invites investing missteps and missed opportunities. Because markets are opening and closing continuously, changes to the market are occurring continuously, and unless you are a person that never, ever sleeps or eats, the potential for you to miss out (or worse, lose out) is ever-present.

The only way to even the playing field in your favor is to use an automated Forex trading system to do your work for you. In fact, these systems are the very tools the pros use so that they never miss a currency trading beat.

Forex Automated Trading Systems Explained

Automated Forex trading systems are used to buy and sell on the Forex markets any time of the day; that means that you can still enjoy optimal Forex trading and get on with the rest of your life.

Automated Forex systems (expert advisors) work according to your trading instructions. On your own, or with the help of a trading mentor, you set the parameters of your Forex trading program and instruct the system to move accordingly. The rules that you use to program your system, your trading instructions are signals to exact points of entry and exit into markets.

A number of parameters can be set within your automated Forex trading system. You can define price patterns, market trends (such as fading or counter trends, following trends, or breakout trends), price points, averages, technical indicators, price level proximity and such as your rules for trading. The system will then use the parameters to create an algorithm that will work automatically on your behalf-any time of the day or night, any day of the year in any market the world over.

Improve Forex Trading With Automated Forex Trading Systems

By now, no doubt you’ve noticed a theme; automated Forex Trading Systems manage your currency trading portfolio all the time. They trade exactly as you would if you were able to do nothing else but sit by your computer and manage trades all day and night long, all week and year long. With a good automated Forex system, there is no worry that you will miss an important investment opportunity or bail-out point overnight or while at work; and there are no hounding phone calls at inopportune times from your broker who requires immediate instruction. This is the most crucial advantage of Forex trading with automated Forex trading systems, and the best reason to use one.

But the advantages of automated Forex trading systems are not limited to their “always on” capabilities. Automated Forex systems also take a lot of the human element-that element that is so oft responsible for lapses in heat-of-the-moment judgments, out of the trading equation.

Automated Forex systems allow you to carefully examine your own trading style ahead of time and design the system that works the best for you. You can tailor your trading to your own risk tolerance levels, which are inputted into your system. In so doing, the responsibility for making pressured decisions on-the-spot in an ever changing market is removed.

Automated Forex systems take the stress and emotion out of currency trading decisions. Guesswork and room for interpretation are eliminated; fear and greed are eliminated; reliable, predictable progress is what remains; in the end, all you see is the results.

To sum it up, automated Forex trading systems take the least advantageous elements of the human side of trading out of the process, and replaces it with reliable, precise currency trading instruction. In a currency market that is always evolving, the only way to maximize results is to let this modern technology work for you.

Author: Giselle Sanchez
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty tariff