August 1, 2017
So far, the global economy has generally been improving in 2017 with this growth broadening across more countries. A number of countries are now considering moving away from their historically low interest rates, which were put in place to encourage more economic growth. The Canadian economy continued to be fairly strong in the second quarter […]
May 23, 2017
Most foreign stock markets had a very strong first quarter in 2017 and witnessed very low price volatility. Trump’s pro-growth policies and somewhat more positive economic data were factors that helped support the rise in these markets. There are still many lingering uncertainties among investors including; the implementation of Trump’s policies, Brexit negotiations, European elections, […]
January 24, 2017
The equity markets had another strong quarter in the fourth quarter of 2016, reflecting more positive reports on potential improvements in many developed countries worldwide. The surprise election of Donald Trump also helped equity markets as many felt that his pro-business stance would be beneficial for the markets. The U.S. Federal Reserve increased interest rates […]
October 31, 2016
The equity markets had a strong third quarter as the surprise Brexit vote result and other market concerns had a less apparent impact in the quarter. Monetary stimulus in many regions was still a catalyst for supporting the equity markets. Some countries, like Japan, were also contemplating fiscal stimulus to help support their slow economic […]
August 17, 2016
Global equity markets remained volatile in the second quarter, largely influenced by the Brexit vote and the uncertainty this result created. A flight to safety after Britain voted to exit the European Union led to falling stock prices and bond yields reaching near all-time lows. Safe-haven assets (e.g. gold, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen) all rallied. […]
July 28, 2016
The investment results in the first quarter of 2016 were almost a complete reversal of the equity returns in 2015. Commodity prices rebounded strongly in the second half of the first quarter, especially oil prices and most metal prices. These price increases led to a large and surprisingly quick rise of the Canadian dollar since […]
January 1, 2016
Markets were largely influenced in the fourth quarter by three factors: concerns over the level of global economic growth, lowering commodity prices, and the effect of the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Commodity prices dropped largely due to slowing growth and oversupply in some areas. The price of oil continued its decline (30% drop […]
October 30, 2015
The third quarter of 2015 experienced high volatility and a large sell-off in the equity markets due to several factors. These factors included concern over high developed market valuations, fear of the U.S. Federal Reserve increasing interest rates, falling commodity prices, and increasing concern over China’s economic slowdown being more severe than initially expected. U.S. […]
July 1, 2015
The second quarter of 2015 was one of high volatility in both the bond and equity markets due to several factors. The global bond market was largely affected for much of the second quarter by an expected improvement in economic growth. This led to a drop in bond prices and hence an increase in bond […]
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Market Commentary – Third Quarter 2017
October 30, 2017
In 2017, the global economy continues to perform reasonably well so far in both developed and emerging markets. Economic activity and corporate earnings have both had improved results which has helped move stock markets higher. Central banks have been responding to the improved economic performance with the Bank of Canada raising interest rates twice in […]