The National Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada is one of the few major central banks that has remained relatively passive regarding its currency. That stance may have inflated the degree of the loonie’s overvaluation and...

Economic CommentaryThe quest for records continued on markets for a third day in a row, with the S&P 500 closing above 1,625 points, despite a U.S. economy struggling to get back up to speed, a...

The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised analysts, dropping its key interest rate for the seventh time since 2011. The Bank stated that this change was justified by the current inflation rate, which is...

Last week was a profitable one for riskier assets such as the S&P500, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the loonie, which ended the period up 1.39%, 1.78% and 0.71% respectively; spurred on...

Last week we were treated to some encouraging news: on Tuesday we learned that Canada’s Gross Domestic Product had grown 1.7% (YoY), which was 0.4% more than expected. This allowed the loonie to...

Summary• In real terms, retail trade grew at an annual rate of 1.2% in the first two months of 2013Q1 relative to 2012Q4. However, an indepth examination of retail sales by store category does...

After much anticipation, the European Central Bank reduced its key rate by a quarter point from 0.75% to 0.50%. President Mario Draghi also renewed the ECB's commitment to provide unlimited liquidity...

After disappointing ISM survey results on Thursday, the Fed maintained its key interest rate unchanged as forecast, but, more significantly, reiterated its commitment to purchase $85 billion per month...

At home, tax season is almost over and focus is shifting to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, in Italy, the new Prime Minister announced a change in focus: instead of just implementing austerity...

The Canadian dollar enjoyed a good day yesterday, smashing through the 1.0080 level and moving within a hair of parity. Considering the important news scheduled for release, reviewing your hedging...

The week began quite calmly for the loonie. However, a rebound in prices for oil and other commodities that occurred around Wednesday helped drive our dollar up 100 basis points on the week. We should...

Last week wrapped up on a down note south of the border, as first quarter GDP came in at 2.5%, well below analysts' expectations of 3.0%. It should be noted that Personal Consumption Expenditures and...

Canada - February's retail sales topped consensus expectations by rising 0.8%, though the prior month’s growth was revised down from 1% to 0.9%. Sales were up in 7 of the 11 subsectors. Auto...

We recently learned that Japan's central bank would maintain its expansionary monetary policy, which aims to reinvigorate the country's economy by keeping the yen low to favour exports, and by holding...

It appears that a hacker was able to gain access to the Associated Press's Twitter account yesterday and decided to spread a rumour about a bomb going off at the White House, injuring President Obama....

The U.K.’s Gross Domestic Product figures were released early Thursday morning. Better than forecast, the GDP grew 0.6% during the first quarter of 2013, a clear improvement of the 0.2% growth...