Numbers are a universal language - no matter where you are in the world, despite any language barrier, you could easily express a number with your hands, with math (we’ve all negotiated somewhere with a calculator) or with a symbol.

Numbers are all around us and referenced in so many ways: what time is it? What day is it? What’s the phone number? What floor is it on? What’s the score? How much does it cost? How many calories is that? How old am I? How do I rank? How fast or slow am I going? How much did I earn? How much do I owe? What’s the rate of return? What’s the yield? What’s the dividend rate? I could go on and on…

Numbers give us a pulse of what’s going on. An idea of what to expect in the future and an understanding of the past. This is especially true of our economic health. Here are some key numbers from this week:

• 26,000 – the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 26,000 for the first time in opening trades, up by more than 200 points on Tuesday and closing at 26,071.72 today
• 7.1% - the 10 year annualized return for the S&P 500; putting that into perspective after a fantastic year (19.4%)
• 40 pts – the USD/JPY rebounded 40 points from the overnight low on Tuesday (spot 110.89; low 110.48) after Finance Minister Aso said sharp moves were a cause for concern.
• 85% - Markets priced for an 85% chance of a hike ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting - in particular because of very strong job gains, a multi-decade low in unemployment and increasing signs of capacity pressures from the BOS.
• 1.25% - As expected the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to an overnight rate of 1.25% from 1%
• 3.45% - On Thursday, all banks increased their prime rate to 3.45%.
• $63.49 – the price of oil (WTI crude) after a steady 6 month climb
• $0.8004 – our loonie relative to the USD; don’t expect it to stay here for much longer
• -0.2% - the prospect of another U.S. government shutdown is weighing on the greenback and exerting upward pressure on bond yields. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index (-0.2%) is headed for its sixth week of losses.
• 2.63% - U.S. 10-year Treasuries are sitting near their highest level since 2014 at 2.63%

Lately, as we approach RRSP & tax season I’m hearing more numbers in the form of a question; what’s my RRSP limit? What’s my TFSA limit? What were my realized gains? What is my max CPP benefit? To help with these numbers, we’ve put together a 2018 handy financial planning facts sheet, which includes almost every number you might need leading into the next few months. Of course, we are happy to help make sense of things any time.

Click here to request the 2018 handy financial planning facts sheet.

Now you are in-the-know with Word on the Street.

Enjoy the weekend,

D.

Dian Chaaban
Investment & Wealth Advisor
416.842.4234