If the doughnut-loving stereotype turns out to be false, perhaps Canadians can fall back on optimism as a national trait. According to Greenwich Associates, Canadian companies and institutions scored higher than those in other countries when asked if the global recession will end within the next 12 months.
About half of the Canadians surveyed believe the economy will recover within a year, well ahead of the international average of 41 per cent. Fourteen per cent of Canadian companies and institutions believe the recession is already over.
Interestingly, the results did range wildly. U.K. companies were the most pessimistic, with just 20 per cent of respondents believing the recession will end within a year.
You do have to wonder if local stock market returns - a decent gauge of earnings expectations - have any influence on the survey's results. Canada's S&P/TSX composite index has risen about 20 per cent this year, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 has risen a mere 6.5 per cent since the start of the year. The S&P 500 is somewhere in the middle, with a gain of 11 per cent.
David Berman