These are stories with fundamentally different themes.
Peter Andersen is a retired deputy chief economist at the Bank of Canada who now writes on the state of affairs in the Canadian and American economies for CEOs belonging to TEC Canada.
And his latest report paints a picture of two countries on divergent paths.
The US economy is showing a lot of resilience and received a shot of fuel when the Federal Reserve cuts its interest rates. In Canada, the economy is in trouble with government spending being the only catalyst for growth.
And the Bank of Canada has moved from inflation fighting to economic stimulus as excess capacity grows and mortgage payments leave consumers feeling the squeeze.
That has banks worried about credit quality and, he says, Canadians in cities with high housing costs are maxing credit cards and missing car payments.
Canada is falling further behind in home building, forcing more people into the rental market.
Lower interest rates will push the Canadian dollar lower, something that will help our exports in coming months, especially to the US.
