Last week was anything but quiet on financial markets. After the Fed’s rate announcement and all the turmoil stemming from the extreme variations in the price of crude oil, it was the Bank of Japan’s turn to spook markets. In another attempt to jumpstart growth and inflation, the BoJ adopted a negative interest rate policy, which will penalize banks that refuse to increase their loan volume. Further to the announcement, the yen plummeted and the country’s stock market skyrocketed. In North America last Friday, few observers were surprised at U.S. and Canadian GDP readings. As anticipated, the U.S. economy was slowed by the export sector, while the Canadian economy continued to tread water. In another sign of sensitivity to Chinese indicators, this morning after manufacturing data came in slightly below expectations, the loonie and crude oil are both down. Today, we’ll be keeping an eye on manufacturing figures in Canada and the U.S. Have a great day! Julien Duquette
To read the entire report Please click on the pdf File Below