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Remember those crazy, hazy days of yore? When prices for crude oil still resembled Sidney Crosby's jersey number and we were all drunk on the potential for hydrocarbon exports?

It's hard to believe it was only eight weeks ago. But on Tuesday, Statistics Canada gives us a chance to relive that golden era when it releases its rundown on gross domestic product (GDP) in October.

The report will provide some clues as to how much momentum the Canadian economy possessed before the full impact of cheap oil smacked it in the face. Economists don't expect the number to be pretty but they do believe it will be positive: The consensus forecast, according to Bloomberg, is for GDP to have advanced 0.1 per cent from September.

A stronger-than-expected figure would fan hopes that the U.S. recovery is beginning to make its effects felt on this side of the border by boosting demand for Canadian exports. On the other hand, a weak reading would add to worries about what lies ahead for Canada as plunging prices for crude undermine the case for oil patch investment.

Capital Economics is one observer that doesn't much like what it foresees. The analysis firm predicts that Canada's economic growth will slow from 2.4 per cent this year to 2 per cent in 2015 and a paltry 1 per cent in 2016.

"The outlook for Canada's economy is, at best, mediocre," it says. It warns of a "significant risk" that a further collapse in oil prices will combine with a housing correction to drag the economy into recession.

But let's not cry in our eggnog just yet. Toronto-Dominion Bank Economics has a much sunnier view, and predicts healthy 2.3-per-cent growth in 2015 with only a slight downshift to 2.2 per cent in 2016.

The bank argues that low oil prices will deliver the equivalent of a tax cut to consumers in the form of cheaper gas costs, thereby encouraging all of us to run out and consume more goods and services. Despite the obvious threat to the oil patch from falling prices, "Canada's economy appears well positioned to weather the storm," it says.

The one thing that both optimists and pessimists agree on is that there is little danger of any immediate boost to interest rates. But it's still anyone's guess if cheap money is enough to overcome the impact of cheap oil.

About that Japanese recovery …

Amid all this turmoil, rest assured that a snowy haired gentleman in a far off land has been busily preparing treats for delivery this week.

I refer, of course, to Haruhiko Kuroda. The governor of the Bank of Japan will be in the spotlight on Wednesday when the central bank unveils the minutes of its recent monetary policy meeting.

The next day, the government will release a flurry of key reports on industrial production, inflation, household spending and jobs.

The data deluge should help track the progress of Abenomics, the controversial program of economic rejuvenation launched by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe two years ago.

Mr. Abe, who won a snap election earlier this month, has succeeded in driving down the value of the yen and boosting the stock market, but has yet to spur much growth. The economy contracted at an annualized rate of 1.9 per cent between July and September, following an increase in Japan's consumption tax in April.

As part of Abenomics, Mr. Kuroda is pumping cash into the economy to help boost inflation and break Japan out of its deflationary funk.

He is also pleading with business leaders to boost consumption by distributing more of the profits that result from the weak yen to shareholders and workers.

The slump in oil prices may help his crusade. Japan, a major importer of oil, stands to benefit from cheaper energy. If its growth picks up next year as a result of lower oil costs, it will be a much-needed boost for a sputtering global economy.

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