The National Bank of Canada

Major News this WeekFollowing a short reprieve, we can only conclude that the Greek soap opera is back on. The markets were in turmoil again last week, as uncertainties continued to plague the...

Facts: Headline CPI inflation increased to 2.0% in April from 1.9% in March. Core CPI inflation was also up to 2.1% from 1.9% a month before. On a monthly basis, headline CPI was up 0.4% for a fourth...

Facts: Canada’s manufacturing sales jumped 1.9% in March, after two declines in the first two months of the year. More than a third of the increase came from a 4.5% surge in sales of petroleum...

Facts: Total employment surged in April (+58.2K) following an astonishing gain of 82.3K jobs in March. Strong gains were observed in full-time jobs (+43.9K) while part-time jobs posted also an...

Over the past few months the performance between the S&P 500 index and the S&P/TSX composite index has diverged significantly. In March 2012 the relative performance between the two indices...

Facts: Canada’s merchandise trade surplus rose marginally to CAD 0.35bn in March (top chart), a touch below consensus expectations. Exports fell 0.4%, the third drop in a row, with gains in...

In the last two months, condo starts in Toronto established a new record for a month of Marchand a month of April respectively, intensifying fears that a market correction is in the offing. As...

Facts: In Canada, an annual rate of 244.9K housingunits were started in April, up 30.1K or 14% from the rate of 214.8K units in March, and once again topping expectations. Urban starts increased 34.5K...

Canada – In February, real GDP shrank for the first time in three months. Activity fell sharply in the goods producing sector (-1.0%) after rising 0.1% the previous month. With the exception of...

From dove to hawk…One of the results of the less-austere-than-expectedfederal budget was more flexibility for monetarypolicy. Something had to be done to address what itviews as “the...

April was not a good month for U.S. labor markets. Payroll jobs expanded only 115,00, the weakest showing in six months. Even considering the upward revisions to the prior months, the jobs data were...

According to recent research done at the IMF, a stable investor base is particularly important when it comes to containing the volatility inherent to the bond market. Institutional investors -- such...

Bottom Line: The Greek election on May 6th will present the European Union (EU), which is already struggling under tough economic conditions and growing political tensions, with yet another challenge....

Canada’s disappointing February GDP report threw a wrench in the Bank of Canada’s forecast for the first quarter. February’s results were so bad that, barring a miracle in March, Q1...

Although the Bank of Canada left its key policy rate unchanged at 1% at its April rate-setting date, it did change its message significantly. Its press release said “some modest...

Just-released data by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) showed that bonds remain in favour in the eyes of retail investors. Such funds attracted $31.8 billion in March, bringing the cumulative...