US Data Response Employment Report (Jan.) The 467,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in January is even stronger than it looks, as it came despite the spike in absenteeism driven by the Omicron virus wave and was accompanied by significant upward... 4th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Jan.) The Omicron outbreak took a larger toll on the labour market than anticipated in January but, as many of the coronavirus restrictions have already been lifted, employment will bounce back this month. 4th February 2022 · 2 mins read
US Commercial Property Update Falling oil prices to weigh on Houston office demand We think that elevated oil prices will help office-based employment in Houston to recover further in the coming months, but the shift to remote working will limit the associated boost to office demand... 3rd February 2022 · 3 mins read
US Housing Household formation stalls as costs mount After seeing strong gains over most of 2021, household formation stalled in the final quarter. A lack of homes for sale and rent, and the soaring cost of both tenures, is constraining household... 3rd February 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada could sell assets sooner than most One challenge for central banks as they consider reducing the size of their balances sheets is that, if they sell assets bought during the pandemic, they will likely face a financial loss. This is... 3rd February 2022 · 5 mins read
US Economics Update What explains the ongoing weakness of labour supply? Retirements still explain around half of the shortfall in labour force participation since the pandemic. While the rest of the decline reflects a broad mix of factors, the longer those workers remain... 2nd February 2022 · 4 mins read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report Product demand remains very strong for the time of the year and, if gasoline demand mounts a recovery once COVID-19 cases moderate, it could get even stronger. Although, we expect that slowing... 2nd February 2022 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Fed has better tools than a 50bp rate hike The markets are right to be sceptical of claims that the Fed could begin its tightening cycle with a “shock-and-awe” 50bp interest rate hike next month. At a time when the yield curve is already... 2nd February 2022 · 5 mins read
US Commercial Property Data Response US Metro Employment (Dec.) Progress in the labour market has been slow, with employment having recovered to pre-COVID levels in just four of the 30 metros. While Las Vegas and Orlando have seen decent job growth in recent... 2nd February 2022 · 2 mins read
Asset Allocation Update The threat to Treasuries from inflation hysteresis We envisage an end to the markedly better performance of TIPS than Treasuries since inflation compensation rebounded from an initial, liquidity-distorted, slump at the start of the pandemic. But this... 2nd February 2022 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Jan.) Mortgage rates rose to a two-year high of 3.78% in the last week of January. As yet that has done little to cool home purchase demand, with applications increasing to a one-year high. But a lot of... 2nd February 2022 · 2 mins read
US Data Response ISM Manufacturing Index (Jan.) The small fall in the ISM manufacturing index to 57.6 in January, from 58.8, suggests the Omicron virus wave hasn’t had nearly as big an impact on the factory sector as implied by some of the early... 1st February 2022 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update The US and euro-zone: different crises, different outlooks The Q4 GDP data released over the past week underline the fact that the two largest developed markets – the US and euro-zone – have so far experienced very different crises and recoveries. These... 1st February 2022 · 5 mins read
Canada Data Response GDP by Industry (Nov.) The stronger-than-expected rise in November means that GDP climbed back above its pre-pandemic level, but activity appears to have stagnated in December and November’s gain was likely reversed in... 1st February 2022 · 2 mins read
Commodities Weekly Hawkish Fed a headwind for commodity prices The US Fed announced at its meeting this week that it will “soon be appropriate” to raise interest rates and hinted that a hike was coming as soon as March. The US dollar strengthened, with the DXY... 28th January 2022 · 6 mins read
US Housing Market Outlook Home sales and prices to cool as affordability worsens Mortgage rates are on the rise, and we expect the 30-year rate will increase to 4.0% by end-2022 and 4.5% by end-2023. While that only takes mortgage rates back to where they were in early 2019, house... 28th January 2022 · 17 mins read
