Lack of taper announcement pushes markets higher
As we entered September, investors were focused on the September meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee. The consensus was that this meeting would be when the Fed chair Ben Bernanke finally announced that they would begin to slow the pace of their massive bond buying program, signaling the beginning of the end for low interest rates. Traders were widely expecting a cut of...
Read MoreGlobal tensions and tapering talk worry investors
Investor worries over when the U.S. Federal Reserve would begin tapering its massive bond buying program re-emerged in August, pushing bond yields higher. In the U.S., the yield on the benchmark ten year U.S. Treasury Bond rose from 2.60% to 2.78%. It was the same situation in Canada, where the yield jumped from 2.45% to 2.61% on the Government of Canada ten year bond. This continued rise in...
Read MoreThird quarter starts off strong
Calmer heads prevail as economic numbers continue to improve. The third quarter started off well with gains in both stocks and bonds. Worries over higher interest rates took a back seat to improving economic fundamentals both at home and abroad. In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 3.2%, led by strong gains in gold companies, consumer staples and financials. Gold rallied by more...
Read MoreTraders spooked by prospect of early end of QE3
Watching CNBC and BNN, you would think that the end of days was upon us. Stock, bond and gold markets have tumbled in unison and many investors are running for the hills. One word – relax. It’s summer. Let’s take some time to look at this all rationally. I think a lot of the last few weeks have been an overreaction to the true situation. U.S, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke only said that he will be...
Read MoreFed uncertainty pushed yields higher
Global equity markets posted gains in May, with the U.S. leading the charge higher on improving economic data. For the seventh month in a row, the index was in positive territory. The S&P 500 rose by 2.3% in U.S. dollar terms, but when the affect of a surging U.S. dollar is taken into account, the gain was 5.3% in Canadian dollar terms. Fueling the gains was news that housing sales were...
Read MoreGlobal Markets Rally Sharply Higher
Weakness in gold and materials continues to weigh on Canadian equities Global equities continued their impressive streak of gains while Canadian equities were lower thanks to continuing weakness in the materials and energy sectors. The S&P/TSX Composite Index shed 2.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.95% in Canadian dollar terms. The star of the month was the MSCI EAFE Index gaining 4.43%,...
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