RBC Insights

The U.S. central bank is an incredibly powerful institution that can exert influence on essentially any U.S. dollar-denominated asset. However, we believe the Fed is also widely misunderstood.

It’s been a nearly unprecedented winning streak for U.S. stocks. But in this heady atmosphere there are vulnerabilities to keep top of mind. We dig into these, and how to position portfolios to balance the risks and opportunities.

Although inroads have been made, women still experience a significant gender wage gap across the world.

*Federal government efforts to limit non-permanent resident arrivals will likely slow the pace of gross domestic product growth in 2025 and beyond. *However, per-capita GDP, the unemployment rate, broader inflation pressures, and interest rate expectations should not be significantly impacted.

As all eyes focus on Q1 earnings results, we think the full-year earnings growth trajectory is more important. Growth rates for the Magnificent 7 and non-Mag 7 stocks are expected to converge, but some earnings risks remain.

Most major equity markets have moved to new high ground, propelled by expectations for interest rate cuts. But we are not out of the woods yet.