The National Bank of Canada

FACTS: Canadian GDP grew just 0.6% annualized in the third quarter of 2012, two ticks below consensus expectations. Compounding the bad news was the one-tick downward revision to Q2 growth to 1.7%. In...

It appears that the fiscal stalemate in the U.S. is even further away from an early conclusion than President Obama's speech early this week had led us to believe. According to the Speaker of the...

Thursday, President Obama intensified his call for Congress to pass a “fiscal cliff” plan before the holidays. House Speaker John Boehner stated he was confident that they would come to an...

HighlightsThe Ministry of Finance forecast BC’s real GDP to grow by 2.0% in 2012 and 1.8% in 2013, against 1.8% and 2.2% respectively in Budget 2012.Deficit forecast for the current fiscal year...

HighlightsThe deficit for the first six months of 2012-2013 was $1,330 million, $553 million higher than projected in the spring budget. The 2012-13 deficit forecast remains in the $2.3-to-$3billion...

FACTS: The Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) reports that Quebec’s trade deficit narrowed $762 million in September, to $1.76 billion, from the record gap of August. The value of...

The global economy remains saddled with recession in Europe and below-trend growth in North America and emerging economies, including China. Adding salt to the global economy’s wounds is Japan...

We think QE will be extended through the first quarter of 2013 and the size of the purchase program is likely to be brought to $85 billion a month as Operation Twist comes to an end.With economic...

The profitability of Canadian manufacturers deteriorated in Q3. According to just-released data from Statistics Canada, operating profits of manufacturers (excluding petroleum and coal products)...

The Wall Street Journal published this morning an alarming article on the Canadian Economy which is considered “facing its strongest economic headwinds in years.” In our view, the Canadian...

Major News this WeekMuch like all the U.S. consumers who beat a path to stores on Friday in search of bargains, investors made massive investments in risky assets last week, following the publication...

Canada: In September, retail sales rose just 0.1%, much worse than consensus expectations which were at +0.5%. There were stronger sales in 7 of the 11 subsectors. Auto dealership revenues rose 0.6%....

FACTS: Both headline (+1.2% y/y) and core CPI inflation (+1.3%) remained unchanged in October. On a monthly basis, headline CPI (+0.2%) and core inflation (+0.3%) were both up. On a seasonally...

Global industrial output fell 0.4% in September according to just-released data, the third drop in six months. As today’s Hot Chart shows, the decline was concentrated in the advanced economies...

FACTS: Canadian retail sales rose just 0.1% in September, much worse than expected by consensus. There were stronger sales in 7 of the 11 subsectors including autos whose sales rose 0.6% in the month....

NUMBERS: The Institut de la statistique du Québec re ports that Quebec real GDP at basic prices edged down 0.1% in August, the same as for Canada as a whole. The retreat follows a 0.3% advance...