Bank of Canada’s interest-rate hold, RBC’s terminated CFO and Liberals’ pre-budget housing plans: Business and investing news for April 14

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Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.

Bank of Canada holds key interest rate at 5%

The Bank of Canada kept its policy interest rate at 5 per cent for the sixth consecutive time and offered no timeline for rate cuts. But Governor Tiff Macklem said he was more confident that inflation is heading back to the bank’s target – which may open the door to rate cuts this summer. He also said a rate cut at the next policy meeting in June was “within the realm of possibilities.” The bank downgraded its forecast for inflation while upgrading its forecast for economic growth. The next Bank of Canada interest rate announcement is on June 5.

RBC terminated CFO after complaint sparked probe

Royal Bank of Canada terminated Nadine Ahn, its chief financial officer, after an investigation revealed she had a personal relationship with another employee which led to preferential treatment. A Globe exclusive by Stefanie Marotta, Tim Kiladze and James Bradshaw found that an employee complaint sparked the internal investigation. The investigation concluded that Ms. Ahn influenced promotions and pay raises for Ken Mason, a vice-president in the bank’s treasury department. David Milstead also reports Ms. Ahn stands to lose millions of dollars in pay from the termination.

Decoder: The drawn-out decimation of restaurant jobs

The hospitality sector, which suffered a significant setback during the pandemic, still hasn’t rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, employment in the accommodation and food services industry is down nearly 10 per cent from February, 2020 – which translates to roughly 120,000 fewer people working in this field. Meanwhile, the rest of the labour market is up 7.2 per cent. Matt Lundy comes to some interesting conclusions about the industry in this week’s Decoder.

The Liberals’ latest pre-budget housing announcements

Amid ongoing pressure to ease the country’s housing crisis, the federal government announced a series of new measures this week. First, Ottawa said it will allow first-time homebuyers to take out 30-year mortgages for newly built homes. Housing advocates have long called for a longer amortization period in an effort to make mortgage payments more affordable, and this is the first time in more than 10 years that Ottawa has eased its mortgage rules, Rachelle Younglai reports. The Liberal government also unveiled its overarching housing plan with new pledges, including plans to crack down on mortgage and real estate fraud.

Bell executives defend media job cuts in committee testimony

During a House of Commons committee hearing, Bell’s chief executive officer Mirko Bibic defended the company’s decision to cut its work force by 4,800. He, along with two other executives, told the committee that the federal government has been too slow to aid media companies in crisis. They urged Ottawa to speed up regulations that even the playing field so Canadian providers can compete with global streaming giants. “Let me be clear, we’re not asking for special protections. We’re asking for a level playing field with global media web giants,” Mr. Bibic said.

Costs for CRA’s bare trusts rules neared $1-billion, survey of accounting firms suggests

Canadian accountants and their clients may have spent close to $1-billion while trying to comply with Canada Revenue Agency’s controversial new reporting rules for bare trusts, according to a survey of Canadian accounting firms. This was before CRA made a last-minute decision not to enforce them for the 2023 tax year. Erica Alini reports that the reversal caused an uproar among taxpayers and accountants, who bemoaned the loss of money and hours of work spent on efforts to comply with the complex rules. The deadline for filing taxes in Canada for 2024 is April 30. As the big day approaches, The Globe and Mail offers advice on how to maximize returns, find credits and avoid an audit in our full series on tax tips.

Now that you’re all caught up, test your knowledge with our weekly business and investing news quiz and prepare for the week ahead with the Globe’s investing calendar.