Black Friday spending surprised to the upside despite a softening macro backdrop

Black Friday spending surprised to the upside despite a softening macro backdrop

December 11, 2023 |Carrie Freestone
Retail sales ticked up in November in the midst of the holiday shopping period. Even after adjusting for inflation, real retail sales (excluding autos) were tracking an increase relative to October. Clothing stores and gasoline were responsible for the...
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Fall market stuck in a low gear across Canada

November 07, 2023 |Robert Hogue and Rachel Battaglia

Fall market stuck in a low gear across Canada

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Bank of Canada extends pause on rate hikes, expects slower growth

October 25, 2023 |Claire Fan, Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
In line with our and market’s expectations, the Bank of Canada (BoC) opted to hold the overnight rate steady at 5% at today’s meeting, extending a pause after also foregoing a hike in September. The central bank (also as expected) maintained a clear hiking...
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house illustration.

More sellers, fewer buyers take pressure off housing prices in Canada

October 05, 2023 |Robert Hogue
The most striking trend that emerged in recent months has been the return of sellers to the housing market. September was a case in point where new listings increased sequentially in all major markets (for which early reports from local real estate boards...
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U.S. inflation picked up in August on surging energy prices

U.S. inflation picked up in August on surging energy prices

September 18, 2023 |Claire Fan and Abbey Xu

RBC Economics provides a monthly analysis of the key indicators on price trends in the United States.

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Revisiting Discount Bonds

June 16, 2023 |Nathan Fickel
Would you buy a GIC yielding 7.6%? Unfortunately, that’s not possible, but perhaps there’s an appealing alternative... Discount bonds are something we’ve been favourably disposed to for the better part of the last year. Following the Bank of Canada’s...
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Q1 2023 Newsletter

April 27, 2023 |Nathan Fickel
Economic Overview Heading into the year we were quite concerned about a global slowdown and in particular, the lagged effects of elevated inflation and borrowing costs. Fortunately, our worries have yet to materialize and in fact the opposite has occurred...
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Time to buy bonds again?

March 02, 2023 |Nathan Fickel
Inflation is coming down, that’s clear. What’s in focus now is the level at which it ultimately settles. Do we return to a period like the previous decade where inflation is tame and often considered an afterthought for investors? Or have secular trends...
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Proof Point: Is Canada becoming a nation of renters?

December 07, 2022 |Robert Hogue and Rachel Battaglia

Burgeoning rentership will put tremendous pressure on our rental stock—already stretched and inadequate in many parts of the country.

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Fixed Income - GICs & Corporate Bonds

November 21, 2022 |Nathan Fickel
The latest U.S. CPI (inflation) report showed preliminary signs of decelerating price growth and, as a result, bond yields have declined. Since the report, the Government of Canada 10 year yield decreased from roughly 3.60% to 3.02% and the 5-year from...
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