Canada
Double Blow for Canada
September 22, 2011
The Canadian economy is getting hit because of its close trade and financial ties with the United States and unfavorable commodity price trends. Canadian real GDP contracted 0.4% at an annualized rate last quarter when net exports exerted a drag of 5.7 percentage points on the growth rate. The rate of on-year GDP expansion was […] More
Canadian Monetary Policy Report
July 20, 2011
The 38-page quarterly Monetary Policy Report retains a mid-2012 target date for the restoration of full capacity in Canada, presents only marginally modified price and growth projections, declares medium-term price expectations to be firmly anchored around the Bank of Canada’s 2.0% target, and argues that it would be appropriate for the central bank interest rate […] More
Bank of Canada Preview
July 18, 2011
The Bank of Canada will most likely announce at 13:00 GMT Tuesday a decision not to raise its 1.0% overnight money rate target, which has been at 1.0% since early September 2010 following three consecutive 25-basis point increases. World financial markets are too fragile to risk a hike now even if that were otherwise appropriate. […] More
North American Capital Flows
July 18, 2011
Statistics Canada and the U.S. Treasury Department each released figures on net long-term capital flows today. Canada continued to enjoy a massive net inflow. Foreigners bought CAD 15.4 trillion of Canadian securities in May, twice as much as the monthly pace in the first four months of this year. Net of CAD 3.5 billion of […] More
Reassuring Economic News from Canada
July 11, 2011
After expanding at a 3.5% annualized pace between the third quarter of 2010 and first quarter of 2011, Canadian GDP stagnated in April. Industrial production that month was also flat, and that was not the full extent of sobering April news released in June. Merchandise exports fell 1.9%, contributing to a more than twofold rise […] More
Stronger and Better-Balanced Activity in Canada
February 28, 2011
Canadian real GDP expanded 3.3% at an annualized pace last quarter, accelerating from annualized growth of 2.0% over the previous two quarters. GDP was 3.2% higher than in the final quarter of 2009 and recorded similar average growth in calendar 2010 of 3.1%. While conceding that the recovery was proceeding somewhat more rapidly than they […] More
Today’s North American Data
February 22, 2011
U.S. consumer confidence according to the Conference Board survey advanced 5.6 points to 70.4 in February and by 17.1 points over the first two months of this year. More confidence is being expressed about the labor market even though employment increased merely 36K in January and at a 56K per month rate over the past […] More
Upbeat North American Data
January 31, 2011
Canadian GDP calculated from the supply-side industrial level rose 0.4% in November, the best monthly advance since March. GDP was also 3.0% higher than a year earlier. Very robust monthly increases were posted in mining and oil extraction (1.3%), retail sales (1.4%), and wholesale turnover (1.5%). This is a welcome turn of events following weaker-than-anticipated […] More
Peripheral Bond Premiums Sharply Lower; It’s Jobs Data Day in the U.S.
December 3, 2010
The dollar is mostly lower, with losses of 0.5% against the Australian dollar, 0.3% versus the yen and sterling, and 0.2% against the Canadian dollar, kiwi, and euro. Dollar-Swiss is an exception, rising 0.1%, and the yuan is steady against the greenback. In the Pacific Rim, equities rose 0.7% in the Philippines, 0.5% in Pakistan […] More
Canadian GDP Weaker Than Forecast
November 30, 2010
Real GDP expanded 1.0% at an annualized rate last quarter. In the Bank of Canada’s Monetary Policy Report published last month, officials had projected growth of 1.6%. Growth in Canada was less than half as fast as the 2.3% pace in the second quarter and less than a fifth as strong as the 5.2% annualized […] More
