HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK – Jan 16

           United States

• It was a choppy week for global markets. Oil continued its slide alongside equities before stabilizing midweek, as deflation across the euro zone heightened expectations for ECB sovereign bond buying. A patient Fed and a bullish EIA report also supported sentiment.

• Equities rallied strongly on Thursday, but the party was short lived as doubts over the ECB’s QE resolve resurfaced.

• A rally on a relatively constructive U.S. employment report failed to be sustained. The U.S. labor market added 252 thousand jobs, with revisions adding another 50 thousand. The jobless rate fell to 5.6% aided by a labor force decline. Wage growth turned negative for the month, with the weakness in the figures keeping the Fed patient.

  Canada

• Falling energy prices contributed to a notable decline in exports in November. And the sharp drop in ex­port values is only the beginning of weaker revenues to come. This will soften incomes markedly, putting renewed strain on the government coffers of energy-rich provinces and the federal government.

• Housing starts also showed pronounced weakness in December, rounding out the weakest Q4 print since 2009. Leading the descent in Q4 were the Prairie Provinces, notably Alberta.

• In contrast, the December employment data was weak but full of good news stories. However, employment growth in the resource sector of Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador has shown significant strain in the latter half of 2014.

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) 767-5442
John.Maveety@td.com