US Economics Weekly Households snap up Treasuries Households appear to be making a concerted effort to hold safer assets. In fact, in the first quarter they bought more Treasuries than the Fed and overseas investors combined. Should foreign appetite... 11th June 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response LFS(May 12) & Trade (Apr 12) May's more modest 7,700 gain in employment is forgivable given the unusually strong growth in the previous two months. That said, the details were somewhat discouraging. While part-time employment... 8th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response International Trade (Apr.)12 The narrowing in the trade deficit in April is encouraging, especially given that the latest fall in the oil price will reduce the cost of imported oil. More worrying, however, are the growing signs... 8th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Modest housing improvement still holding up The weaker tone of the economic and labour market data has yet to be reflected in the housing numbers. Home sales rose by 3.4% m/m in April and are 10% higher than a year ago. The fact that improving... 8th June 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack Domestic demand prospects looking less sure Canada's economy grew by 1.9% annualised in the first quarter, matching the pace in the previous quarter and, given the recent slump in commodity and equity prices, a substantial pick-up in growth... 6th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (May) The small fall in mortgage applications for home purchase suggests that, despite record low mortgage rates, the renewed weakness in the labour market is starting to weigh on housing demand. 6th June 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada back in dovish mode The Bank of Canada's policy statement, while keeping its policy rate at 1.00%, backed off from the suggestion in the previous statement that interest rates may need to rise. The Bank is now more... 5th June 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Underlying inflation likely to turn down Although underlying inflation appears to have drifted higher over the last several months, this trend still remains well within the central bank's inflation target range. Recent movements in commodity... 4th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Banks benefiting from falling loan defaults The economy's recent performance looks better if we measure it using aggregated incomes rather than expenditures. Gross domestic income increased by 2.7% annualised in the first quarter, easily... 4th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response ISM Manufacturing Index (May) The modest decline in the ISM manufacturing index, to 53.5 in May from 54.8 the month before, was probably a lot better than most people had fearedafter the weak payrolls data and the sharp declines... 1st June 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response GDP (Q1 2012) Canada's 1.9% annualised first-quarter GDP growth was somewhat stronger than we had estimated (+1.6%), though it fell short of the 2.5% growth that the Bank of Canada had expected in its April... 1st June 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (May) May's employment report clearly suggests that labour market conditions are deteriorating again, which will undoubtedly prompt more speculation that QE3is coming soon. Non-farm payrolls increased by... 1st June 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Payroll employment (Mar.) and Balance of Payments (Q1) March's business payroll figures showed an encouraging 0.8% m/m gain in average weekly earnings and a respectable 48,950 gain in employment. Even so, given the previous declines in payroll employment... 31st May 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update More homes built for rent to drive further fall in floor space The modest improvement in housing demand combined with recent increases in homebuilder confidence are reasons to think that the fall in average new home floor space should be drawing to an end. But... 31st May 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Can the US monetary data explain the price of gold? The relationship between the dollar price of gold and the size of the US monetary base is not as robust as often assumed. Prior to the global financial crisis there was barely any relationship at all... 30th May 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Confidence (May) The fall in the Conference Board measure of consumer confidence to a four-month low of 64.9 in May, from 68.7 in April, suggests that the sharp drop back in stock markets was the dominant factor... 29th May 2012 · 1 min read
