HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK – November 7
United States
• Markets continued to adopt a risk-off bias this week, as investors saw through most of the positive domestic
data, and remained fixated on the uncertainty surrounding the highly anticipated results of next week’s
presidential election.
• Strong data out of the U.S. continued to support our view of a strengthening domestic economy. The
employment report was the highlight, with payrolls up by 161k in October, following an upwardly revised
gain of 191k in September, while the jobless rate ticked down just below 5%.
• At this point, the American economic dataflow appears to be supportive of a December rate hike. Nonetheless,
a lot can change in a few weeks, with next Tuesday’s election result and the impact it has on
financial markets/stability remaining top of mind.
Canada
• Canadian financial markets were buffeted this week by rising uncertainty around the outcome of the U.S.
election next week. Falling oil prices worsened the blow, as doubts about OPEC production cuts and a
major build in U.S. inventories led to a 10% decline in the benchmark WTI price, bringing it to a five-week
low of $45.
• The Federal Government’s Fall Fiscal Update contained lower projections for economic growth and larger
budget deficits than in the spring budget. Infrastructure spending remained the focus with the announcement
of a Canadian Infrastructure Bank and spending plans carried well into the next decade.
• Policy makers received some good news on the economic front with the release of monthly GDP data for
August, which showed a 0.2% increase and marked the third straight month of positive growth.
For further information, please contact:
John Maveety Manager, Residential Mortgages – Greater Ottawa Area TD Canada Trust
T: (613) 371-1984 F: (888) 899-1984 P: (866) 767-5446
[email protected]
