Bank of Canada Watch Tightening bias will soon become unnecessary The outgoing Governor Carney's last scheduled statement next week (May 29th) is unlikely to hint at any shift in policy. Nor do we believe that his replacement Stephen Poloz, due to take over next... 24th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Apr. 13) Another rise in new home sales in March means that February’s unexpected dip has now been almost fully reversed. And with sales up by 29% over the past year, nearly double the 15% growth seen in the... 23rd May 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Retail Sales (Mar.) Despite the healthy 0.7% m/m gain in retail sales volumes in March, earlier reports showing far more tepid increases in manufacturing and wholesale trade suggest that the economy ended the first... 22nd May 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Apr. 13) The underlying recovery in existing home sales continued in April. But the real news in today’s NAR release was the drop in distressed sales and the gain in the inventory of homes for sale. 22nd May 2013 · 1 min read
US Chart Pack Low inflation gives Fed more flexibility The fall in inflation to well below the Fed's 2% target rate is another reason why the central bank will be in no hurry to slow the pace of its monthly asset purchases. Headline CPI inflation fell to... 21st May 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Household spending less supportive to growth After shoring up economic growth over the second half of last year, economic indicators suggest that household consumption will be less supportive to growth over the first half of this year and... 20th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly US making progress on deficit reduction Over the next two years, America is expected to reduce its government budget deficit by more than the largest European economies. This won’t come without a cost. But the big difference is that America... 20th May 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Price Index (Apr.) The official core inflation figure, which declined to a slightly lower than expected 1.1% in April from 1.4% in the previous month, might slip below its target range as economic growth disappoints... 17th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Apr.) A dip in housing starts in April had been widely expected. Although the drop was much larger than the consensus forecast, other forward-looking indicators strongly suggest that April’s slump will be... 16th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Prices (Apr.) Further falls in core inflation may make some Fed officials concerned about the possibility of very low inflation, or even deflation. This could mean we are jumping the gun a bit by expecting the Fed... 16th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Rise in dollar against the yen to hit automakers most The recent strengthening of the dollar against the Japanese yen is unlikely to put a major dent in US inflation or activity. What’s more, the competitiveness of US manufacturers may not be eroded too... 15th May 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Survey of Manufacturing (Mar.) Although manufacturing sales volumes rose by a small 0.2% m/m in March and February's gain was revised down to 1.8% m/m from 2.5% m/m, first-quarter GDP growth is still likely to accelerate to between... 15th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Data Response Industrial Production & Producer Prices (Apr.) The delayed effects of previous falls in commodity prices and signs of a further easing in industrial activity will continue to weigh on pipeline price pressures. Over the next year at least... 15th May 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Apr.) Although house prices rose on a month-on-month basis in April, the annual growth rate slipped to a three-and-a-half-year low of 2.0%, from 2.6% in March. As home sales continue to fall, we expect... 14th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Apr.) Broad money growth has remained largely unchanged over the past six months, even after the Fed restarted its quantitative easing. The annual growth rate of our M3 measure picked up slightly to 6.4% in... 14th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Are mortgage credit conditions loosening? Mortgage-dependent buyers have been unable to play the sort of role in this housing recovery that they have in previous cycles because mortgage credit conditions have remained tighter for longer. But... 14th May 2013 · 1 min read
