Some of the rise in interest rates on “less-than-prime” debt, which occurred during the autumn because of concerns in global markets about risk and liquidity, has reversed. And the availability of credit is slowly improving. This is not to say that we are completely out of trouble yet; or that there is no longer considerable uncertainty out there.
But, for the reasons I have discussed, I certainly do not believe that the scenarios of worldwide recession and deflation are very likely as we look ahead. As for Canada, it is true that we have been hit hard by the more than 15% decline in commodity prices over the past year.