How to Reconcile Brexit Uncertainties and the Rally in Stock Markets: Don’t

“Faint and quaint” is how I am starting to describe the initial panic and consternation of financial markets resulting from the UK’s decision to exit from the European Union (EU), aka Brexit. The S&P 500 (SPY) now logs new all-time highs as if nothing ever happened. Yet, a rapid consensus has grown around reducing forecasts … Read more

The Canadian Dollar and Fiscal Policy Make the Bank of Canada “Non-Dovish”

The Bank of Canada released its latest decision on monetary policy a week ago on April 13, 2016 and left its target rate at 1/2% again. According to the Bank of Canada (BoC), the government’s fiscal policy saved the day for the Canadian economy. Global growth is slowing. The strength in the Canadian dollar (FXC) … Read more

The Bank of Canada Is Done With Rate Cuts

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 9, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Bank of Canada decided once again to hold its target overnight interest rate at 0.5%. The overall message from the statement on monetary policy is that economic developments are unfolding … Read more

The Bank of Canada Avoids the “R” Word

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 14, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) As expected, the Bank of Canada left rates unchanged in its latest decision on monetary policy (September 9, 2015). Also as expected, the Bank did not interpret recent GDP data as … Read more

The Canadian Dollar’s Rapid Devaluation: A Precarious Predicament for the Bank of Canada

A year ago, the Bank of Canada (BOC) delivered the first of two rate cut surprises for the year. So with oil still cratering ever lower, I can understand why the market seemed braced for yet another rate cut last week. Instead, the BOC not only stood still on rates, but also it expressed an … Read more