Global Insight Monthly - March 2023
Global Insight 2023 Outlook
I am pleased to share the latest investment strategy report from RBC Wealth Management—Global Insight, which provides our latest thoughts on asset classes, the economy, and timely issues that impact investment strategy. This month’s topics include:
Global equity: Tight fitting
We’re seeing the two components of so-called “tight money” that are typically present simultaneously in the run-up to a recession. As the expected economic downturn draws ever nearer, so too do the challenges it will present for equity investors.
Global fixed income: Making the most of second chances
For investors who may have feared that they missed out on the opportunity last fall to put higher yields into their bond portfolios, we think another window to do just that has opened.
U.S. recession scorecard: History would argue a U.S. recession will arrive later this year
Three of our seven leading indicators of U.S. recession indicate an economic downturn is coming. Three of the remaining four are moving in the wrong direction
The SVB collapse: Reverberations and reactions
The stunning demise of Silicon Valley Bank sent shock waves across the banking sector and broader financial markets. RBC Wealth Management’s Global Portfolio Advisory Committee examines regulators’ fast action to stem the damage and what the “costs” of that may be, as well as highlights how the entire episode may cause the Fed to rethink its rate hiking plans.
Silicon Valley Bank collapse: What happened and why it matters (Audio)
What caused the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank? What’s at stake for markets, businesses, and investors? This episode, Stu Kedwell, Co-Head of North American Equities with RBC Global Asset Management, weighs in on the current situation. [21 minutes, 03 seconds] (Recorded: March 13, 2023)
Interest Rates and Inflation
(Audio) Inflation is down, right? So why is my grocery bill so high: Recent data showed overall inflation losing steam…yet prices for everything from lettuce to dog food are giving us indigestion. The 10-Minute Take podcast will explain (in simple terms) what the latest economic data mean and why you should care. Hosted by RBC Economists Carrie Freestone and Claire Fan, it’s everything you wanted to know but were too shy to ask—in less than 10 minutes. Available to listen to on the following platforms:
Spotify I Google Podcast I Apple Podcast
BoC officially moves to the sidelines: The BoC held its overnight rate steady at 4.50% today after hiking at each of its past eight meetings (425 bps cumulatively).
U.S. inflation easing, but still sticky: U.S. headline inflation will be anxiously awaited next week as Fed officials debate how much to raise interest rates.
Maturity options: How to look beyond RRSPs
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Locked-in Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) or Locked-in Retirement Accounts (LIRAs) are effective tools to save for your future. There are several maturity options available to access your RRSP assets and each has specific advantages and disadvantages. Click the link below to learn more about the various options and associated tax implications.
Special Report - Real Estate
Canadian housing market outlook: The bottom of the downturn is in sight
The Canadian housing market correction has yet to run its course but it’s gradually letting up. We think activity will hit bottom sometime this spring. Prices will level out a few months later—provided the Bank of Canada is done raising interest rates. All told, our forecast calls for a 15% peak-to-trough decline in the national RPS Home Price Index. Roughly half of that is still to come.
What happens next will disappoint housing bulls. We see the recovery phase starting slowly later this year as affordability issues and a weaker economy continue to hold back buyers. The pace should progressively pick up in 2024 once the economy clears its soft patch, inflation returns to target and the Bank of Canada reverses part of the massive rate increases it’s imposed since March 2020.
This information is not investment advice and should be used only in conjunction with a discussion with your RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Investment Advisor. This will ensure that your own circumstances have been considered properly and that action is taken on the latest available information. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time obtained but neither RBC Dominion Securities Inc. nor its employees, agents, or information suppliers can guarantee its accuracy or completeness. This report is not and under no circumstances is to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. This report is furnished on the basis and understanding that neither RBC Dominion Securities Inc. nor its employees, agents, or information suppliers is to be under any responsibility or liability whatsoever in respect thereof. The inventories of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. may from time to time include securities mentioned herein. RBC Dominion Securities Inc.* and Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. *Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund. RBC Dominion Securities Inc. is a member company of RBC Wealth Management, a business segment of Royal Bank of Canada. ®Registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. © 2022 RBC Dominion Securities Inc. All rights reserved.