U.S. Fed still expecting rate cuts but risks tilted to slower pace

U.S. Fed still expecting rate cuts but risks tilted to slower pace

March 20, 2024 |Nathan Janzen

All but two FOMC participants continue to expect interest rate cuts this year.

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Bumpy recovery for Canada’s housing market

Bumpy recovery for Canada’s housing market

March 18, 2024 |Robert Hogue
February offered valuable clues on the direction Canada’s housing market is taking. Improving sentiment among buyers and sellers—no doubt stoked by growing expectations the Bank of Canada’s next move will be a rate cut—halted the series of monthly price...
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A Growing Problem: How to align Canada’s immigration with the future economy

March 13, 2024 |Benjamin Richardson & Cynthia Leach

The mismatch in immigrants' skills and the labour market’s long-term needs, along with pressure on the country’s infrastructure capacity is leading to negative economic outcomes.

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BoC holds rates steady in March

BoC holds rates steady in March

March 07, 2024 |Claire Fan, Economist, Royal Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada (BoC) held the overnight rate unchanged for a fifth consecutive meeting, extending a pause that started after the last hike in July last year. 

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Proof Point: Weak productivity is threatening Canada’s post-pandemic wage growth

February 28, 2024 |Nathan Janzen
Canadian wage growth has been unusually high, but looks more modest when measured against surging inflation and relative to acute labour shortages earlier in the pandemic recovery. Now lagging productivity in Canada (along with a softening labour market...
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RBC Canadian Inflation Watch

Canadian inflation outlook still murky but January CPI growth slowed

February 20, 2024 |Nathan Janzen and Abbey Xu
Canadian inflation outlook still murky but January CPI growth slowed Year-over-year CPI growth slowed to 3.2% in January from 3.4% in December. Energy and food price growth slowed, but the Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of broader price pressure...
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End of the correction? Canada’s housing market is warming up

End of the correction? Canada’s housing market is warming up

February 14, 2024 |Robert Hogue
It may be the unusually mild weather or the modest drop in fixed mortgage rates since November—or both—but Canadian house hunters have more energy this winter. Importantly, they’re landing more deals. Home resales in Canada increased for the second month...
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Davos 2024: A year of creative destruction, or just destruction?

January 23, 2024 |John Stackhouse

The World Economic Forum is always a contradiction of hope and anxiety. This year’s version felt like peak paradox.

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December inflation readings edged up on mixed details

January 16, 2024 |Claire Fan and Abbey Xu
Energy component pushed headline inflation reading higher with food price growth holding steady after slowing for 5 straight months. The BoC’s preferred core CPI measures bounced higher, although the breadth of inflationary pressures over the last three...
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U.S. labour market ended the year with strength

U.S. labour market ended the year with strength

January 05, 2024 |Claire Fan, Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
US labour market data ended 2023 with strength. Payroll employment was up 216k in December while the unemployment rate held at 3.7% after declining to that level the prior month. As was the case for much of the year, the employment gain in December was...
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