US Economics Weekly Markets shouldn't place so much trust in the Fed The markets have begun to heed the Fed’s bizarre warnings to ignore its own interest rate projections. But they shouldn’t be so trusting, especially when the minutes of the mid-March FOMC meeting... 14th April 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Bank of Canada stuck between a rock and a hard place Canada's economic performance over the second half of last year was slightly stronger than the Bank of Canada had assumed at the start of the year, but there have been few signs of the rotation in... 14th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Lower jumbo-conforming spread a positive for mortgage lending The unprecedented negative spread between jumbo and conforming mortgage interest rates did not last for long. But the normalisation of the gap between jumbo and conforming rates marks an important... 11th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Data Response Uni. of Mich. Consumer Confidence (Apr.) The rise in consumer confidence in April reflects a reversal of the earlier weather-related hit to confidence, as well as record high stock markets and improving labour market conditions. These... 11th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Activity measures will strengthen again soon The recent housing market activity data have been weak more or less across the board, with new and existing homes sales, as well as housing starts, all declining in February. These falls were largely... 10th April 2014 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank to remain on the sidelines for time being We anticipate that the Bank of Canada will retain its neutral bias on rates in next week's policy statement, although some dovish tweaks might surprise markets. Economic growth remains unbalanced... 9th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Latest labour market data refute Yellen's slack claims The latest round of jobs data released over the past few days would appear to refute Fed Chair Janet Yellen's recent claims that there is still considerable slack in the labour market. 8th April 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Housing downturn will drag on for much longer The recent slowdown in housing starts is just the beginning of a long-term correction that will dampen economic growth this year and next. If, as we expect, new home sales soften further, in response... 8th April 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Business confidence improves amidst uncertain outlook The modest improvement evident in the Bank of Canada's spring Business Outlook Survey is an encouraging sign, but doubts remain about the near-term outlook for exports and softening domestic demand... 7th April 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What is the outlook for US corporate bond spreads? At around 170bp, the spread over Treasuries of US corporate bonds with a 7-10 year maturity and BBB rating is now less than its average of the last quarter of a century and the smallest since before... 7th April 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Rising wage growth no threat to the inflation outlook The recent acceleration in wage inflation is an encouraging sign, especially considering the excess slack in labour markets and still uncertain economic outlook. For these and other reasons, however... 7th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Farmland: Is the bubble bursting? The rapid run-up in the price of farmland appears to be over. We suspect that the slowdown in the growth rate of farmland prices last year will develop into an outright decline in prices this year, at... 7th April 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Mar.) Employment increased by a robust 42,900 in March, driving the unemployment rate down to a four-month low of 6.9%, from 7.0%. Unfortunately, the bulk of the net jobs created last month were apparently... 4th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Mar.) The solid 192,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March, along with the bounce back in average weekly hours worked to a four-month high of 34.5, from 34.3, confirms that the recent spate of weakness... 4th April 2014 · 1 min read
Global Economics Chart Pack US rebounds but China and Japan slowing The global economy is healing, but the pace of recovery differs markedly between countries. The US is now rebounding from its weather-induced slowdown and the euro-zone is steadily gaining momentum... 4th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Dwindling spare capacity will provide boost to investment There are finally reasons to expect a more sustained pick-up in business investment this year and next. Admittedly, economists have been forecasting that business investment would become a driving... 3rd April 2014 · 1 min read
