The U.S. election was held on Tuesday, November 6 and Donald Trump won the race for the presidency, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to earn a second term in the White House. The Republican party also won the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Equity markets reacted favourably to the news, with the Dow… Read More
The You First Blog
After an aggressive rate hiking cycle in both Canada in the United States during 2022, inflation data showed that the rate hikes have been effective. After peaking in the ~9% range, inflation has come down significantly and the Bank of Canada announced recently that inflation is now back at it’s 2% mandated target. The Bank… Read More
On Wednesday June 5th, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem announced a policy rate reduction of 25 basis points to 4.75%, down from 5.00%. In the announcement, Macklem cited easing inflation (April 2024 CPI at 2.7% y/y), core inflation measures slowing, and lower-than-expected first quarter GDP growth. BoC’s three-month measures suggest continued downward momentum. Macklem… Read More
Stock markets have provided healthy returns in the first five months of 2024, reaching new all-time highs led by U.S. and Japanese stocks. U.S. firms have delivered strong earnings, reflecting a resilient economy. Although positive for investors, the pace of these rallies and the rising valuations are cause for caution, and could lead to near-term… Read More
Over the past two years, investors have navigated through both the peaks and the troughs of financial markets. The notable double-digit decline in equities during 2022 was swiftly succeeded by a robust recovery in the concluding months of 2023. The final two months of 2023 saw a positive shift across asset classes, signaling broad market… Read More
The first half of 2023 was defined by contrasting themes. On the recessionary data side, we saw a slowdown in the manufacturing sector, coupled with tighter credit conditions following March’s banking turmoil. On the soft-landing side, the labour market remains strong, with unemployment rates hovering near all-time lows. Inflation has moderated only slightly, despite the… Read More