The National Bank of Canada

Last week brought encouraging news about the Canadian real estate market. First, the Building Permits figure for July was up 20.7% in dollar terms. Also, the Teranet – National Bank National...

This weekend was full of ups and downs on the international scene. The conflict in Syria appears to have taken a turn in the right direction, with Bashar al-Assad's regime agreeing to the...

Canada – Building permits in dollar terms were up 20.7% in July after falling 10.6% the prior month. The jump exceeded by far consensus expectations, which were calling for an advance of no more...

The Teranet - National Bank National Composite House Price Index and the New Housing Price Index were both released in Canada yesterday. They saw month-to-month growth of 0.6% and 0.2% respectively in...

The Fed has signalled repeatedly that it remains on course to reduce the size of its asset purchase program before year-end. The September FOMC meeting, which will coincide with new US economic...

Several news items captured our attention last week. On Wednesday the Bank of Canada surprised no one when it announced that its key interest rate would stay at 1%. In the press release, the Bank said...

Canada – Employment rose 59.2K in August according to the Labour Force Survey. That was well above consensus expectations which were at just +20K. The job gains were so strong that the...

The Canadian employment figures released on Friday surprised many with 59,200 jobs created in August. The unemployment rate also improved, from 7.2% to 7.1%.The news was not as rosy south of the...

To no one’s great surprise, the Bank of Canada kept its key rate at 1% yesterday, and maintained the sought-after economic criteria to end the exceptionally accommodating measures currently in...

The long awaited day is finally here! We are expecting employment figures from both sides of the border at 8:30, this morning. Economists are forecasting that 180,000 jobs were created in the U.S. and...

The central bank waltz continues this morning, with the Key Rate Decision from the Bank of Canada. Since the last meeting on July 17, Canadian indicators have been lacklustre to say the least; 39,000...

Canada – GDP grew 1.7% annualized in the second quarter of 2013. The prior quarter was downgraded to just +2.2% (previously reported as +2.5%). In Q2, the economy was restrained by trade as...

Last week was marked by fears of the U.S. staging a military attack on Syria. Currency, commodity, stock and bond markets may be volatile over next few months because of several factors: political...

The day after the long Labour Day weekend marks many things: back to school, the resurgence of traffic on the roads, increased business activities and, more action on the markets! The shorter work...

British MPs rejected a motion in favour of committing military resources in Syria, and this has weighed down on crude prices as the U.S. struggles to put together an international coalition....

Major News this WeekThe U.S Federal Reserve report, published last week, had the expected results in terms of volatility on the overall markets on Wednesday afternoon. Several members of the FOMC have...