US Housing Market Focus Is US housing more expensive than everyone thinks? The rapid increase in US house prices over the past year, and the sharp run up in mortgage interest rates over the past few months, have brought issues of housing valuation and affordability into... 20th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Chart Pack Residential investment growth set to slow We expect GDP growth to accelerate over the next few quarters as the Federal fiscal tightening begins to ease although, at the same time, it looks like the economic recovery will receive less support... 19th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Threat from twin deficits begins to recede The incoming news over the past couple of weeks suggests that the so-called twin deficits – the current account and Federal budget – are both improving, in the case of the Federal budget quite... 19th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Some exporters could benefit from European recovery Canada's trade with the euro-zone is small, so any sustained European recovery would provide only modest support to Canadian export growth. That said, there are a few industries that might benefit... 19th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Jun.) Despite a strong rebound in petroleum refining, June's surprising 1.3% m/m decline in manufacturing sales volumes, which wasn't related to the floods in Alberta, suggests that second-quarter GDP... 16th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Data Response Uni. of Mich. Consumer Confidence (Aug.) The drop in the University of Michigan's measure of consumer confidence to a four-month low of 80.0 in August, from 85.1, reversed only part of the sharp gains of the previous three months. Since most... 16th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Productivity stagnation bodes ill for potential GDP growth After incorporating the revisions to the historical GDP figures, America's recent productivity performance looks even worse. The stagnation in productivity isn't going to have any major impact on Fed... 16th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Jul 13.) The increase in housing starts in July was driven by the multi-family sector, with single-family starts posting a small decline. The recovery in multi-family starts has been the driving force behind... 16th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Current account deficit unlikely to re-emerge as threat Despite the recession in Europe and the slowdown in economic growth in China, the US current account deficit has continued to narrow. Our calculations suggest that in the second quarter it hit a 15... 15th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Home sales likely to drop back before year end The recent uptick in existing homes sales most likely reflects a rush by home buyers to complete deals before mortgage rates rise further. However, this has only pulled forward sales that would have... 15th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Will MBS be tapered first or last and does it matter for housing? Although the Fed may opt for the simplicity of running down purchases of both Treasuries and MBS simultaneously, we think that it makes sense to leave tapering of MBS purchases for last. That said... 15th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jul.) The Fed's continuing monthly asset purchases haven't prevented a further slowdown in the growth rate of the narrow M1 monetary aggregate, although our measure of the M3 aggregate suggests that broad... 14th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Jul.) The continued deceleration in house price inflation across most major cities in July is broadly consistent with the past slowdown in home sales. As demand and supply imbalances continue to intensify... 14th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Low wage cost pressures point to muted inflation The latest slowdown in hourly earnings provides further evidence that underlying inflation is likely to remain close to the lower bound of the Bank of Canada's target range of 1% to 3%. This supports... 13th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Homebuilders are having a Wile E. Coyote moment While housing starts have displayed some surprising resilience over the past several months, which would seem to support the consensus view that the housing market is enjoying a soft landing, more... 12th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Jul.) July's surprising 39,400 decline in employment looks bad but, since it mainly reflects less hiring of younger workers this summer, the Bank of Canada should view it as a temporary shock that will be... 9th August 2013 · 1 min read
