Last year was supposed to be a difficult one for stocks. It wasn’t. In 2023, the S&P 500 rallied an impressive 24%, the Nasdaq surged 43%, while the TSX registered a return of 8.12%. Heading into 2024, analysts continue to be cautious predicting 5% to 10% gains for the S&P 500. How Will Stocks Perform […]
Category Archives: Blog
16
Jul
Jul
U.S. stock markets ripped higher after U.S. inflationary data cooled in June fanning the flames of an interest rate cut in September. The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.1% from May. That’s the smallest increase since August 2021. On an annual basis, core inflation was up 3.3%, […]
09
Jul
Jul
In early June, the Bank of Canada cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020. The central bank cut its key overnight lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. The big question is when the next interest rate cut will come. Will the Bank of Canada Cut Rates Again in July? At […]
25
Jun
Jun
After a year in which the Canadian economy experienced virtually no growth, the economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2024, with real gross domestic product (GDP) advancing 1.7% on an annual basis. That’s slower than the median forecast of 2.2% and below the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 2.8%, but it’s […]
18
Jun
Jun
The U.S. Federal Reserve said on June 12 that it was holding its key interest rate unchanged at approximately 5.5%, a level it has held since July 2023. The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2020 to fight inflation. Inflation has fallen from a high of 9% in June 2022 to 3.4% […]
11
Jun
Jun
The Bank of Canada cut its key lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, the first rate cut since March 2020. The central bank said that further interest rate cuts were on the table should inflation continue to ease. The Bank of Canada was the first central bank among G7 nations to announce a […]
04
Jun
Jun
The performance of Canada’s main index, the TSX, and its U.S. counterparts, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, has taken Bay Street and Wall Street by surprise. After a robust 2023, in which the TSX rallied 8.1%, the S&P 500 grew 24.2%, and the Nasdaq advanced an impressive 43.4%, the outlook for 2024 was positive, but […]
28
May
May
After dealing with decades-high inflation, Canadian consumers are beginning to see the effects of the Bank of Canada’s aggressive interest rate hike policy. Statistics Canada announced that the annual inflation rate cooled to 2.7% in April, down from 2.9% in March. The lower inflation rate comes on the heels of slower growth in food prices, […]
14
May
May
When the economy is booming, it’s not uncommon, or always newsworthy, if the stock market hits a new record high. In fact, there are times when the S&P 500 seems to hit a new record high every few weeks. But in this economic climate, one plagued by stubbornly high inflation, interest rates at decade highs, […]
07
May
May
Persistently high interest rates are taking a big bite out of the Canadian economy. In February, Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew just 0.2% on a month-over-month basis. That’s lower than the 0.3% economists were expecting and well below Statistics Canada’s own advanced estimate of 0.4%. On an annual basis, Canadian GDP grew 0.8%, well […]
