Canadian businesses are setting a cautious tone for 2012 as a precarious U.S. recovery and debt woes in Europe continue to weigh on the country's business climate.
That was the picture painted by the Bank of Canada's latest business outlook survey, which showed that while hiring intentions and equipment investment remain on track credit conditions for Canada's businesses tightened in the last quarter for the first time since 2009.
In all, 28% of businesses surveyed said credit conditions had tightened in the past three months, compared with 23% that said they had eased. That marked the first time since the second quarter of 2009 that businesses did not report an easing in lending conditions but one expert said it would be premature to call this the start of an ongoing credit crunch: "What we're actually seeing is no further easing, rather than a tightening in lending conditions."
