The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that signs of stalled economic growth over the summer are prompting debates among economists about the timing of the Bank of Canada's next interest-rate hike. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that Statistics Canada reported that real gross domestic product was unchanged for a second consecutive month in August, missing both economists' expectations and the agency's earlier forecast of a 0.2-per-cent gain. Wholesale trade fell 1.4 per cent in August, with most subsectors contracting. Statscan noted that motor vehicle and parts wholesalers experienced their first decline in seven months due to lower vehicle imports and weaker manufacturing activity. Statscan cited a "prolonged summer shutdown at a major auto assembly plant" to explain a 5.8-per-cent decline in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing in August. RSM Canada economist Tu Nguyen said what's notable about the August declines in these sectors is they would only partially capture the impacts of a breakdown in trade talks between Canada and the United States that month. Both sides have since levied new waves of tariffs and trade restrictions against one another.