Canada's economy is expected to nearly halt in May on weakness in wholesale and retail sales. Gross domestic product will increase 0.1% in May according to the MNI economist median, following gains of 0.3% in April and 0.5% in March. Advance reports for May showed wholesales sales down 1.8%, the biggest drop in over three years. Retail sales fell 0.1%, but after stripping out price changes the volume of sales was far worse with a 0.5% decline. What keeps the economy growing for a third straight month is a 1.6% gain in factory sales and signs that homebuilding advanced. Even a modest expansion for May will still keep ... (full story)