April 6, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Canada’s Jobless Rate Remains At A 40-Year Low

Statistics Canada announced this morning that employment increased by a stronger-than-expected 32,300 in March, driven by full-time job gains. The unemployment rate was unchanged at a four-decade low of 5.8% indicating that the economy is at or near full employment. In the first quarter of 2018, employment edged down (-40,000 or -0.2%) reflecting a decrease…

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March 23, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

A More Hawkish Fed Was Expected

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met this week for the first time under the chairmanship of Jerome Powell. In a unanimous decision, the Committee hiked the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 percent. Unlike the Bank of Canada, which has a single objective of targeting…

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March 15, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Canada’s Housing Market Continues to Slow

Data released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show a second consecutive dip in home sales across much of the country. Rising mortgage rates and tighter mortgage qualification rules have hit first-time homebuyers particularly hard, and activity was pulled-forward late last year in advance of the new OSFI rules. Existing home sales dropped…

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March 9, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Canada’s Jobless Rate Returns To 40-Year Low

Statistics Canada announced this morning that Canada’s jobless rate returned to a four-decade low as job growth rebounded, confirming that the jobs market is at or near full-employment. Canada added 15,400 net new jobs last month as the unemployment rate edged downward to 5.8%, its lowest level in records back to 1976. This follows January’s…

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March 7, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Bank of Canada Concerned About Trade Risks

The Bank of Canada held rates steady today, as expected, highlighting “trade policy developments” as an “important and growing source of uncertainty for the global and Canadian outlooks.” As the seventh round of NAFTA negotiations commenced in Mexico City, President Trump dropped a bombshell late last week, threatening to impose a 25% tariff on imported…

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March 2, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media

Housing Outlook: Soft Landing

Last night, I presented the housing outlook at the Adelaide Hotel (formerly the Trump Hotel) hosted by the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University where I am an Adjunct Professor. The full PowerPoint presentation of thirty slides can be found on my website. Here are some of the highlights:

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March 2, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Q4 Growth In Canada Last Year at 1.7%, Bringing Annual Growth to 3.0%

As expected, growth in the fourth quarter of last year paled in comparison to the robust performance of the first half. Statistics Canada revised up growth estimates for the first half of the year to 4.2%, from the initial estimate of 4%. Following economic expansion of a whopping 4.0% in Q1 and 4.4% in Q2,…

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February 27, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

The Activist Budget—There Is No Problem This Government Cannot Fix

Patting himself on the back, the Finance Minister opened his speech by reminding us that “a little over two years ago…Canadians had the opportunity to stay the course. They could stick with a Government that favoured cuts and a set of failed policies that produced stubborn unemployment and the worst decade of economic growth since…

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February 15, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Canadian Home Sales Slide In January Led By Greater Golden Horseshoe

It is no surprise that housing activity slowed in January following a pulling-forward sales surge as homebuyers hurried to purchase before the mortgage rule changes in 2018. The January 1 implementation of the new OSFI B-20 regulations requires that uninsured mortgage borrowers be stress-tested at a mortgage rate 200 basis points above the contract rate…

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February 9, 2018

Category: About Sherry Articles Media Reporting on Sherry

Jobs Decline In January Following Blockbuster Year

Canada shed 88,000 jobs in January, the most significant drop in nine years, driven by a record 137,000 plunge in part-time work. Full-time employment was up 49,000 while the unemployment rate increased a tick to 5.9%–only slightly above the lowest jobless rate since 1976. January’s sharp decline brings to an end a stunning 17-month streak…

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