Each Office Independently Owned & Operated
Posted by: Kim Stenberg
This morning’s Jobs Report was again solid. Job creation, though more tempered than in earlier months, is still robust. The unemployment rate remained at 5.0% for the fourth consecutive month. Very troubling to the Bank of Canada was the wage inflation, still above 5%. No doubt the Bank does not welcome this news. But the […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Are you looking to sell your home? We have a few tips to help you make the most of the spring season! Hire an Experienced Realtor: Before preparing your home for the Spring market, you will want to hire an experienced realtor! A good realtor will serve as your guide through the entire sales process, helping […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Federal Budget 2023 … Press the Snooze Button As promised, there would be nothing much in this year’s budget for fear of stimulating inflation. The federal government faces a challenging fiscal environment and a weakening economy. Ottawa promised it would err on the side of restraint. Instead, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced a $43 billion […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Further Decline in Inflation in February Will Keep the Bank of Canada on Hold in April All eyes will be on the Federal Reserve tomorrow when they decide whether to hold rates steady because of the banking crisis or raise the overnight rate by 25 basis points (bps). Before the run on Silicon Valley […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Housing Market Could be Poised for a Spring Rebound The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in February bounced 2.3% from the previous month. Homeowners and buyers were comforted by the guidance from the Bank of Canada that it would likely pause rate hikes for the first time in a year. The Canadian aggregate benchmark […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Silicon Valley Bank (SVP) had a sterling reputation among the many tech start-ups it helped to finance. What brought SVB down was an old-fashioned bank run set off in 2021 by a series of bad decisions. That year, the stock market boomed, interest rates were near zero, and the tech sector was flush with cash. […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
The Bank of Canada HOLDS RATES STEADY Even as the Fed Promises to Push Higher As expected, the central bank held the overnight rate at 4.5%, ending, for now, the eight consecutive rate increases over the past year. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening. This is the first pause among major […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Statistics Canada released the real gross domestic product (GDP) figure for the final quarter of 2022 this morning, showing a marked slowdown in economic activity. This will undoubtedly keep the central bank on the sidelines when they announce their decision on March 8. The Bank had estimated the Q4 growth rate to be 1.3%. Instead, […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Canadian inflation decelerated meaningfully in January despite the continued strength in the economy. Labour markets remain very tight, and retail sales continue strong. Nevertheless, the Bank of Canada’s jumbo rate hikes over the past eleven months have tempered inflation from a June ’22 peak of 8.1% y/y to 5.9% in January. The 3-month average growth […]
Read MorePosted by: Kim Stenberg
Today’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) for January was much stronger than expected, once again calling into question how long the Bank of Canada’s rate pause will last. This report showed no evidence that the labour market is slowing in response to the vast and rapid runup in interest rates. Employment surged by 150,000–ten times more than […]
Read More