The loonie's slippery slide to oblivion.

0 Comments | Alberta Report, August, 1999 | by BYFIELD, MIKE

* The 66-cent Canuck buck will drop to 50 cents U.S. within a decade, forecasts a veteran economist. "I think currency union with the Americans will inevitably follow, based on current trends which appear very unlikely to change," says Warren Blackman, a professor emeritus from the University of Calgary who is currently writing his third book on international banking. He points to the following factors:

* The Bank of Canada continues to charge lower interest rates than the U.S. "That policy guarantees that investors--both foreign and Canadian--will continue withdrawing money from this country, which puts downward pressure on our dollar," Mr. Blackman says. "But the Bank of Canada cannot raise interest rates without increasing our already-high unemployment rate,...