Canadian economy likely headed for recession: Major banks

File photo shows a Canadian dollar coin. Two major banks say the country is headed for recession in the first half of 2015.

The US-based Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Canadian-based Nomura Bank both released statements on Thursday, warning of a financial slump for the economy of Canada.
An economic recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
Canada’s economic growth rate shrank 0.6 percent at an annualized rate in the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year.
"The economy has surprised to the downside this year and appears to have entered a recession in 1H 2015, even after policy easing in January," the Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist, Emanuella Enenajor, said.
Canada is the 14th richest country in the world based on purchasing power parity (PPP). It is also the world’s fifth biggest oil producer.
The country, however, has been hard hit by a recent slump in global oil prices because of a glut in the global supply of crude.
Analysts say the downturn is also likely to hit the Canadian dollar, which could drop down to 70 cents on the US dollar by the end of the year.
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