OTTAWA - With economic recovery still looking shaky, the next move by the Bank of Canada may be to just start printing money.
The price can be high. Devaluation of the loonie and run-away inflation down the road.
But with economies running on empty, central bankers are inclined to focus more on solving the mess at hand than theoretical messes of the future.
CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld says printing money is becoming a key tool used by central bankers to try and keep the recession from turning into a lasting depression.
Avery and other economists don't expect Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to go nearly as far as his counterparts in the United States and Britain, who have pumped trillions of dollars into the market, unless conditions seriously deteriorate.
But they note, with the prospects of a quick recovery receding and the bank's trendsetting interest rate near zero, Carney may have to resort to unusual measures to spark borrowing and boost the economy.
