The National Bank of Canada

Things are resuming of late. President Obama is officially launching into his second mandate, facing an entrenched Republican Party determined to make him cave on the country's budget crisis. The...

Canada – In November, manufacturing shipments rose 1.7%. The prior month’s figure was revised up from -1.4% to -1.2%. Sales in November advanced in 12 of the 21 broad industries covered....

Housing starts in the U.S. were 954,000 in December, up 104,000 from November. On Thursday, the announcement of 335,000 initial jobless claims also made headlines; this is the lowest level since...

Bottom Line: To say Italy is facing significant challenges is an understatement. In the short term, the upcoming elections scheduled for Feb. 23/24 could have a destabilizing impact on Italy and the...

Chinese economic indicators released yesterday came in slightly ahead of expectations. Fourth Quarter GDP and December Retail Sales were at 7.9% and 15.2% respectively, or 0.1% more than forecast....

FACTS: Canadian manufacturing shipments rose 1.7% in November, topping consensus expectations. There was also a 2-tick upward revision to the prior month to -1.2% (from -1.4%). In November, sales rose...

The EUR/USD pairing hit a wall yesterday when European markets closed, as Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker stated publicly that the euro is currently trading at dangerously high levels. The...

After muddling through last year, the global economy is set for another year of unspectacular growth in 2013. Our call for just 3.3% world GDP growth is based on our anticipation that advanced...

Traders were impatiently awaiting Ben Bernanke’s speech at the University of Michigan, in hopes of getting a clearer picture of the date for the end of the bond-buying program. Unfortunately,...

After gaining more than 300 bps against the greenback last week, the euro continues to rise, albeit at a much slower pace than immediately after ECB President Mario Draghi's last press conference....

Last week produced many newsworthy items from outside North America. First, at a news conference on Thursday, Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, declared that the eurozone...

Canada – The November trade report was disappointing as the anticipated rebound in auto exports was offset by weakness elsewhere. The merchandise trade deficit widened to CAD 2 billion from a...

The holiday season was quite eventful, with the U.S. avoiding its fiscal cliff with an eleventh-hour agreement. Following months of conflict, Republicans and Democrats finally agreed to delay budget...

Risk-taking was back with a vengeance in the last couple of weeks of 2012 buoyed not just by improving US economic data, but also by the Fed’s decision to expand monetary policy stimulus,...

Canada – In December, employment rose 40K according to the Labour Force survey. This was miles above consensus expectations for a 5K increase. The job gains, coupled with a flat participation...

Canada’s stellar December employment report has led to a significant increase in rate hike expectations in 2013. At this writing, our colleagues in the NBF fixed income derivatives group...