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 TD Bank Group reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its provisions for credit losses rose.The bank says its net income totalled $2.96 billion or $1.57 per diluted share for the quarter ended July 31, down from $3.21 billion or $1.75 per diluted share a year earlier.Revenue totalled $12.78 billion, up from $10.93 billion in the same quarter last year.Provisions for credit losses amounted to $766 million, up from $351 million a year earlier.On an adjusted basis, TD says it earned $1.99 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from $2.09 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of $2.04 per diluted share, based on estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 202

All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when he delivers the keynote speech at the central bank’s summer symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.Just one year ago, when Powell spoke during this same time, he sent the stock market careening with warnings of economic “pain” that might result from the Fed’s relentless fight against inflation.”While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” he said. “These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”Instead, inflation has shown mostly steady signs of declining, falling from a peak of 9.1% to 3.2% over the past year – even as the labor market has remained surprisingly resilient. 

Fed’s Powell may open the door to another rate hike in Jackson Hole speech | Fox Business

Royal Bank of Canada says its third-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago, helped higher by strength in its personal and commercial banking and insurance operations.The bank says its net income amounted to $3.87 billion or $2.73 per diluted share for the quarter ended July 31, up from $3.58 billion or $2.51 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.Revenue totalled $14.49 billion, up from $12.13 billion a year earlier.Provisions for credit losses amounted to $616 million, up from $340 million in the same quarter last year.On an adjusted basis, RBC says it earned $2.84 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from $2.55 a year earlier.The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of $2.71 per share, according to figures compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2023.

• Beijing’s deteriorating economic fundamentals have become starkly apparent in recent months, with July’s data broadly missing expectations.
• China’s headline consumer price index fell 0.3% year-on-year in July to register deflation for the first time in two years, presenting an opposing problem to that faced by major central banks in the West.
• “Persistent deflation in China would likely spill over to developed markets, as a weaker yuan and an elevated inventory-to-sales ratios lower the cost of Chinese goods abroad,” said Pimco economists.

China’s deflation could spill over into a global concern, economists say (cnbc.com)

 Published: 8/23/2023 5:49 PM ETThe Canadian market ended on a firm note on Wednesday, aided by strong gains in technology, materials, financials and real estate stocks.Several stocks from utilities, consumer discretionary and industrials sectors too posted notable gains. Energy stocks struggled a bit due to weak crude oil prices.The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 188.58 points or 0.96% at 19,879.79, after scaling a low of 19,713.51 and 19,907.28 intraday.Technology stocks climbed higher amid optimism about strong earnings from U.S. tech giant Nvidia. The Information Technology Capped Index climbed 2.73%.Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) gained nearly 5%. Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Dye & Durham (DND.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Open Text Corp (OTEX.TO), Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) gained 1.5 to 3.6%.

Materials shares Wesdome Gold Mines (WDO.TO), Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Centerra Gold (CG.TO), K92 Mining Inc (KNT.TO) and Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) climbed 5 to 7.2%.In the financials sector, National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) and Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) advanced 1 to 1.5%. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) also ended notably higher.On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed retail sales in Canada likely increased by 0.4% from the previous month in July, according to a preliminary estimate. On a yearly basis, retail sales sank 0.6% in June, the first decline since the pandemic-driven slump in May 2020.

Published: 8/23/2023 5:40 AM ETOil prices were moving lower on Wednesday as weak business activity reports from Asia and Europe stoked concerns over waning demand.The downside remained capped somewhat as bullish inventory data suggested overall supply conditions are still tight.Benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.8 percent to $83.33 per barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 0.9 percent at $78.95.Data showed Japan’s factory activity shrank in August and Australia’s business activity contracted at the fastest pace in 19 months, adding to concerns over slowing global growth.Elsewhere, Eurozone business activity contracted further in August as the region’s downturn spread further from manufacturing to services, according to PMI survey data published earlier today.

The S&P Global composite index flash reading fell to 47.0 from 48.6 in July, hitting its lowest since November 2020.The U.K. manufacturing PMI fell from 45.3 to 41.5 in August, hitting a 39-month low, while the services PMI fell from 51.5 to 48.7, touching a 7-month low.On the positive side, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has reported a 2.418-million-barrel draw on U.S. crude inventories last week, following the massive draw of 6.2 million barrels a week earlier.The weekly report from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the day.

Published: 8/23/2023 5:52 AM ETGold prices inched higher on Wednesday, the dollar traded mixed against rivals and bond yields retreated as traders looked ahead to the Jackson Hole symposium at the end of the week.Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,903.62 per barrel, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,932.40.The economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week will feature meetings by global central bank leaders as well as a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, with traders hoping for some clarity on the Fed’s plans to keep inflation on a downward path.Gold prices also drew some support from signs of weakening global growth following weak business activity reports from Asia, Europe and the U.K.Data showed Japan’s factory activity shrank in August and Australia’s business activity contracted at the fastest pace in 19 months.

Elsewhere, Eurozone business activity contracted further in August as the region’s downturn spread further from manufacturing to services, according to PMI survey data published earlier today.The S&P Global composite index flash reading fell to 47.0 from 48.6 in July, hitting its lowest since November 2020.The U.K. manufacturing PMI fell from 45.3 to 41.5 in August, hitting a 39-month low, while the services PMI fell from 51.5 to 48.7, touching a 7-month low.

Monday August 21, Germany producer prices (8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new housing price index for July. Estimate is an increase of 0.2 percent from June and down 0.6 percent year-over-year.

Earnings include: BHP Group Ltd ADR–

Tuesday August 22(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for July. The Street is projecting an annualized rate decline of 0.3 per cent.

Earnings include: Canadian Solar Inc.; Lowe’s Companies Inc.; Macy’s Inc.; Medtronic PLC; Zoom Video Communications Inc.–

Wednesday August 23 Japan and Euro zone PMI(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for June. The Street expects a flat reading month-over-month (or down 0.3 per cent excluding automobiles).(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for August.(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for July. Consensus is a rise of 1.4 per cent on an annualized rate basis.

Earnings include: Analog Devices Inc.; Autodesk Inc.; NetEase Inc.; Nvidia Inc.; Peloton Interactive Inc.–

Thursday August 24(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian manufacturing sales for July.(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of August 19. Estimate is 240,000, up 1,000 from the previous week.(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. durable goods orders for July. The consensus forecast is a decline of 4.0 per cent month-over-month with core orders unchanged.(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July.(11 a.m. ET) U.S. Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity for August.

Earnings include: Canoe EIT; Dollar Tree Inc.; Foran Mining Corp.; Intuit Inc.; Royal Bank of Canada; Snowflake Inc.; Toronto-Dominion Bank; Workday Inc.–

Friday August 25Japan CPI and department store salesGermany GDP(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for July(10 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment for August. The Street expects a flat reading of 71.2 per cent month-over-month.(10:05 a.m. ET) U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell speaks on the economic outlook at the Jackson Hole conference.Also: Ottawa’s budget balance for June.

Canada’s main stock market posted on Tuesday its biggest decline since October after hotter-than-expected domestic inflation data and U.S. retail sales numbers fanned concerns of more interest rate hikes.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 390.75 points, or 1.9%, at 19,899.79, its lowest closing level since July 11.“Investors are coming around to the view that perhaps they’ve been a little too optimistic about the whole inflation picture improving rather soon and central banks taking their foot off the pedal in terms of tightening monetary policy,” said Elvis Picardo, portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth.

Canada’s annual inflation rate surged more than expected to 3.3% in July as core measures eyed by the central bank remained stubbornly high.Wall Street stocks also fell after stronger-than-expected retail sales data stoked worries interest rates could stay higher for longer, while U.S. big banks dropped on a report that Fitch could downgrade some lenders.The Toronto market’s financial sector, which accounts for 29% of the TSX’s weighting, fell nearly 2%. All ten major sectors ended lower.“

This week we have seen some signs of macro concerns in other big economies,” Picardo said. “Given that the Canadian market is joined at the hip to the global economy, I think those (concerns) are impacting specific sectors like materials and energy today.” The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 3.4%, while energy was down 2%. Oil settled 1.8% lower at $80.99 a barrel. Suncor Energy is continuing talks with French oil major Total Energies about buying its nearly one-third stake in the Fort Hills oil sands mine, the company’s CEO said. Suncor’s shares were down 1.2%.U.S. stocks fell and oil slid over 1% on Tuesday as investors renewed fresh concerns over whether the Federal Reserve was done hiking interest rates and the resilience of China’s economy.

All three major U.S. equity indexes ended the trading day lower, after a stronger-than-expected report on U.S. retail sales data. The U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales had increased by 0.7% in July, ahead of the 0.4% boost economists had anticipated, leading investors to wonder if the Fed may have longer to go on its rate-hiking campaign to tame inflation.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.02%. The S&P 500 dropped 1.16% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.14% in value.The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, was last down 1%.“Given the fact that we are so hyper-vigilant about the Fed and what their next step will be in September, it isn’t surprising that the market reacted with jitters, given that the retail sales number might indicate that the Fed would continue to raise rates,” said Peter Anderson, founder of Andersen Capital Management in Boston.

However, others argued the single surprise in economic data is likely not enough to fundamentally change Fed thinking.“Yields on both 2-year and 10-year treasuries moved a bit following the report but the sales data do not support any material change in expectations for the next Fed meeting,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields briefly hit 10-month highs, reaching as much as 4.274% earlier in the day before dipping back to 4.217% later. Elsewhere, concerns about the strength of China’s economy weighed on oil markets, where crude dipped by as much as 2% on sluggish economic data from the country and concerns Beijing’s surprise rate cuts were insufficient. Brent crude settled down 1.48% at $84.93 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 1.84% at $80.99 per barrel. Cuts to China’s one-year loans to financial institutions, at 15 basis points, were the largest since the outset of the COVID pandemic. Industrial output and retail sales growth both slowed from a month earlier to a year-on-year pace of 3.7% and 2.5% respectively, missing expectations.Russia’s central bank, meanwhile, hiked its key interest rate by 350 basis points to 12%, an emergency move to try to halt the rouble’s recent slide after a public call from the Kremlin for tighter monetary policy.The rouble pared gains after the decision to stand 0.6% weaker at 97.09, but still significantly above lows near 102 on Monday which had not been hit since the early weeks of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Emerging markets remained in focus a day after Argentina devalued its currency by nearly 18%, while Russia’s central bank on Tuesday raised interest rates by 350 basis points at an extraordinary meeting following a fresh slide in the rouble.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, was roughly flat, up 0.03% to 103.222.

Reuters