Some equity strategists predicted nothing but doom and gloom for the summer of 2012, but most markets globally have managed to post positive returns since the beginning of June.
There were few strong economic reports last week. Perhaps the most impressive print was the U.S. Initial Jobless Claims, which fell to 350,000, but the bounce from this data was tepid at best.
In the U.S., domestic consumption has historically been a large contributor to economic growth, so the country is more likely to see a decline in holidays spending due to current economic conditions.
With barely two days to go — one if you’re in Australia — before 2011 is consigned to the dustbin of history, investment experts the world over are furiously fashioning forecasts. Keeping one eye trained on the road ahead and the other on the rear view mirror, Doug Porter, deputy chief economist, BMO, offers some […]
Despite a growing of risk of a credit rating downgrade, the U.S. remains in denial and unwilling to shake off its decade long fiscal laxity. Rather than cutting to address the disturbing deterioration in fiscal and debt metrics, the U.S. administration remains fixated on spending, says Philip Poole, global head of macro and investment strategy, […]
Earlier this week the U.S. Treasury revised its estimate for when Washington will hit the $14.294 trillion statutory limit on government borrowing. The limit is now expected to be reached between April 15 and May 31, having previously been pegged at April 5 to May 31. The announcement was accompanied by the usual dire warnings […]
The U.S. economy is strengthening and will set the tone for the global investment landscape in 2011, according to the chief economist of Laurentian Bank. “Two significant events occurred at the end of 2010 that generated significant momentum for the American economy,” says Carlos Leitao, pointing to the second wave of quantitative easing and the […]