A rise in longer-term bond yields would arguably be seen as doing some of the Fed's tightening work. |
Basically whatever high level of investment there last year, there will be even more this year. But we have some good gains in other areas too. |
Commodity currencies are being hit particularly hard but other currencies are holding up well as interest rate expectations for the other two regions are rising. |
Even with the Canadian dollar appreciating some 6 U.S. cents through the year, both exports and imports in 2005 surged to record high levels. |
Every one of them gets to be pretty important when considering the Fed is going to be watching the data ever more closely to figure out where interest rates are going. |
Everything this week is going to be hinging on the Bank of Canada early on -- there are also some important data points which should be supportive overall -- but the question really is the statement. |
I suppose the Ivey may be having some small effects, but we don't think it should be. Fundamentally we don't think there's been any real shift in the Canadian economy. |
I think the next interest rate increase is pretty much anticipated. We (forecast) another interest rate increase coming right after that as well, we think this is pretty supportive of that. |
In terms of how it affected financial markets, it did have an immediate impact, but I don't think it's long-lasting at this point until we know a little bit further what the situation is surrounding it. |
It is likely that the level of starts in both months was helped by milder than normal weather (the previous month, for example, was the strongest level of starts since January 1987), though they still represent strong underlying demand. |
It looks like the Canadian dollar has really recovered. Part of the reason has to do with the commodity story. |
It's difficult to pinpoint the move on any one thing at this point, but with the commodity prices coming off, that could be one of the factors. |
The Bank of Canada has talked about the risks to 2007 on the downside. We would see the Canadian dollar weakening. |
The Bank of Canada is more likely to move more than the U.S.. |
The business conditions survey is going to take center stage for Canada, maybe in particular because the Canadian dollar seems to be playing an important role in the Bank of Canada's thinking now. |