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- balance of payments or
international balance of payments (balance
des paiements ou balance
des paiements internationaux).
-
An accounting of all the economic transactions between one country and
the rest of the world over a given period. It is composed of the current
account and the capital account.
In principle, the current account and capital account should balance each
other out. If Canada buys more goods, services and the like than it sells
(i.e., has a current account deficit),
it has to sell its assets, or go into debt, to finance the spending (i.e.,
run a capital account surplus). In
theory, therefore, the balance of payments is always zero. Because so much
economic activity now involves financial or monetary transactions, a
country's balance of payments provides a good picture of its international
transactions.
- balance of trade
(balance
commerciale).
-
The difference between the value of the goods and services that a
country exports and the value of the goods and services that it imports.
If a country's exports exceed its imports, it has a trade surplus;
if imports exceed exports, the country has a trade deficit.
- bank (banque).
-
A federally regulated financial
institution that, in general, engages in the business of taking
deposits, lending, and providing other financial services.
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
(Banque
des règlements internationaux (BRI)).
-
A central banking institution owned and controlled by central banks,
with a board comprising the governors of the central banks of the Group of
Ten countries. The BIS has become an important forum for international
monetary and financial co-operation between central bankers and,
increasingly, other regulators and supervisors. For more information,
visit the Bank for International Settlements
Web site.
- Bank of Canada (Banque
du Canada).
- Canada's central bank. It is responsible for
Canadian monetary policy, issuing bank
notes, regulating and supporting Canada's principal systems for clearing
and settling payments, and acting as fiscal agent for federal government
debt. For more information, visit the Bank
of Canada Web site.
- bank rate (taux
d'escompte).
-
The minimum lending rate of the Bank of Canada. It
is applied to advances to institutions that are members of the Canadian
Payments Association, and to purchase and resale transactions with key
investment dealers in the money market. It is also the primary indicator
of Bank of Canada monetary policy. The
bank rate is an important tool because it is seen as the trend-setter for
other short-term interest rates.
Changes in the bank rate often lead to changes in the prime rate, which is
the rate of interest that commercial banks charge to
their lowest-risk customers. Other rates can be affected including those
for mortgages, cars and business loans, as well as rates paid to savers on
deposits and investment certificates.
- bankers' acceptance (acceptation
bancaire).
-
Short-term negotiable commercial paper
issued by a non-financial corporation but guaranteed by a bank.
- basis point (point
de base).
-
One one-hundredth of a percentage point. If the bank
rate decreased from 5.45% to 5.35%, it went down 10 basis points.
- Basle Committee on Banking Supervision
(Comité de Bâle sur le contrôle
bancaire).
-
A committee of banking supervisory authorities established by the
governors of the central banks of the Group of Ten
countries in 1975. The committee provides a forum for regular co-operation
between its member countries on banking supervisory matters. For more
information, visit the Bank for International Settlements Sponsoring
Committees Web page.
- benchmark bond
(obligation
de référence).
-
Specific issue outstanding within each class of bond maturity. It is
considered by the market to be the standard against which all other bonds
issued in that class are evaluated.
bid (cours
acheteur).
-
Price a buyer is ready to pay for a given asset (e.g. stocks, bonds).
The bid-offer spread is the difference between the bid and offer prices.
- borrowing authority
(pouvoir
ou autorisation d'emprunter).
-
The legislative authority requested from Parliament for the fiscal
year to go to the private market to borrow funds. It has traditionally
been tied to the financial requirements
forecast for that year, adjusted for estimated Exchange
Fund earnings.
- budgetary spending
(dépense
budgétaire).
-
The spending over which the federal government has responsibility.
See also non-budgetary spending.
- budgetary transaction
(opération
budgétaire).
-
Transaction that affects the net indebtedness of the government.
See also non-budgetary transaction.
- business cycle
(cycle
économique).
-
The succession of periods of recession and recovery. Economic activity
tends to fluctuate: periods when real gross
domestic product (GDP) is falling are called recessions; periods when
real GDP is rising are called recoveries.
- Business Development Bank of Canada (Banque de développement du Canada)
- The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) provides small- and medium-sized businesses with financing, consulting services and venture capital. BDC supports the needs of entrepreneurs at every stage of growth.
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