(source: Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/markets, MSCI https://www.msci.com/end-of-day-data-search and ARG Inc. analysis)

What happened last week?

• The major North American equity indices gained 1% to 2.5%.  The TSX did well, lifted by the increasing price of oil, which climbed to its highest level since 2014.  Additionally, Financials, the largest sector within the TSX, is being aided by the expected increase in interest rates.

• Beyond expected rate increases at the Fed and Bank of Canada, the jobs reports on both sides of the border provided more input to markets last week.  The U.S. economy exceeded expectations by adding 467,000 jobs.  Average hourly wages grew by 5.7% compared with one year ago, and labour-force participation rate rose sharply.  Total employment is 1.7 million less than pre-pandemic levels, but demand for workers, job openings and rising wages suggests the U.S. economy has weathered the Omicron surge well. (Source)

• For workers, the Canadian economy was not as resilient.  In January, 200,000 jobs were lost, with the hospitality and food service sectors suffering most severely.  Thankfully, employment levels are still above pre-pandemic levels despite these losses, which should be temporary once the current restrictions begin to be lifted. (Source)

• Lastly, volatility for equities has lowered, which should provide some additional respite. (Source)

What’s ahead for this week?

• In Canada, the merchandise trade balance for December will be released as the Canadian earnings season proceeds with Thomson Reuters, Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis, Great-West Life, Manulife, Enbridge, Sun Life, RioCan REIT and Magna on the calendar.

• In the U.S., December's consumer credit, goods and services trade balance and wholesale inventories will be announced.  The most significant economic indicator scheduled for release is January’s consumer inflation on Wednesday.  American companies reporting quarterly earnings include Amgen, Peloton, Pfizer, Disney, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Twitter and Uber.

• Globally, Germany’s industrial production, trade surplus and consumer inflation, along with Japan’s machine tool orders, household spending, bank lending and current account surplus will be released.

For more information contact: [email protected]

www.iaic.ca | Tel (519) 291-2817 | 135 Main Street, East | PO Box 68 | Listowel, ON N4W 3H2

This report is produced by Independent Accountants' Investment Counsel Inc (“IAIC”) in conjunction with ARG Inc.  All graph and chart statistical data contained in this report has been supplied by ARG Inc. The views and opinions expressed in this report are based on market statistics.  No guarantee of outcome is implied, and opinions may change without notice.  Investors should not base any of their investment decisions solely on this report nor should any opinions expressed within this report be construed as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned herein.  Although the information contained in this report has been obtained from sources that IAIC believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy, and as such, the information may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions, estimates and other information included in this report constitute our judgment as of the date hereof and are subject to change without notice.

Please contact your IAIC representative if you have any questions regarding this report. 

©Copyright 2022 Independent Accountants’ Investment Counsel Inc. All rights reserved.