Category: Breaking News

  • Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead

    Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead

    The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved its first interest rate increase in more than three years, an incremental salvo to address spiraling inflation without torpedoing economic growth.

    After keeping its benchmark interest rate anchored near zero since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said it will raise rates by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points.

    That will bring the rate now into a range of 0.25%-0.5%. The move will correspond with a hike in the prime rate and immediately send financing costs higher for many forms of consumer borrowing and credit. Fed officials indicated the rate increases will come with slower economic growth this year.

    Along with the rate hikes, the committee also penciled in increases at each of the six remaining meetings this year, pointing to a consensus funds rate of 1.9% by year’s end. That is a full percentage point higher than indicated in December. The committee sees three more hikes in 2023 then none the following year.

    The rate rise was approved with only one dissent. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard wanted a 50 basis point increase.

    The committee last raised rates in December 2018, then had to backtrack the following July and begin cutting.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xIt16/2/

    In its post-meeting statement, the FOMC said it also “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate.” Addressing the Fed’s nearly $9 trillion balance sheet, made up mainly of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities it has purchased over the years, the statement said, “In addition, the Committee expects to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at a coming meeting.”

    Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at his post-meeting news conference hinted that the balance sheet reduction could start in May, and said the process could be the equivalent of another rate hike this year.

    The indication of about 175 basis points in rate increases this year was a close call: The “dot plot” of individual members’ projections showed eight members expecting more than the seven hikes, while 10 thought that seven total in 2022 would be sufficient.

    “We are attentive to the risks of further upward pressure on inflation and inflation expectations,” Powell said at the news conference. “The committee is determined to take the measures necessary to restore price stability. The U.S. economy is very strong and well-positioned to handle tighter monetary policy.”

    Officials also adjusted their economic outlook on multiple fronts, seeing much higher inflation than they expected in December and considerably slower GDP growth.

    Committee members bumped up their inflation estimates, expecting the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy to reflect 4.1% growth this year, compared with the 2.7% projection in December 2021. Core PCE is expected to be 2.7% and 2.3%, respectively, in the next two years before settling to 2% over the longer term.

    “Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the statement said.

    On GDP, December’s 4% was sliced to 2.8%, as the committee particularly noted the potential implications of the Ukraine war. Subsequent years were unchanged. The committee still expects the unemployment rate to end this year at 3.5%.

    “The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing tremendous human and economic hardship,” the statement said. “The implications for the U.S. economy are highly uncertain, but in the near term the invasion and related events are likely to create additional upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic activity.”

    Stocks initially reacted negative to the announcement but then bounced back. Bond yields momentarily moved higher, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 2.22% before receding.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NLKKa/1/

    “Ultimately, they’ve come through with a clear message, that the Fed has a path forward to continue to tighten in response to this overwhelming concern around inflation,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “The question is, will it be enough and are they even recognizing that they’ve … perhaps fallen behind the curve?”

    Changing course

    The central bank had slashed its federal funds rate in the early days of the pandemic to combat a shutdown that crippled the U.S. economy and financial markets while sending 22 million Americans to the unemployment line.

    But myriad factors have combined to force the Fed’s hand on inflation, a condition that policymakers last year dismissed as “transitory” before capitulating. Officials over the past two months have strongly indicated that interest rate hikes are coming, with the main question left for investors being how many increases and how quickly they would come.

    The current trend of price increases, at their fastest 12-month pace in 40 years, has been fed by demand that has far outstripped supply chains that remain clogged if less so than their pandemic-era peaks. Unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary stimulus — more than $10 trillion worth – have coincided with the inflation surge. And the Ukraine war has coincided with a major spike in oil prices, though that has abated in recent days.

    Heading into this week’s FOMC meeting, markets had been pricing in the equivalent of about seven 0.25% hikes this year, according to CME Group data. However, traders were split about 50-50 over whether the Fed might hike 50 basis points in May, as some officials have indicated could happen if inflation pressures persist.

    Prices are up 7.9% year over year, according to the consumer price index, which measures a wide-ranging basket of goods and services. Energy has been the biggest burden, as gasoline prices have risen 38% in the 12-month period.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xqhN6/1/

    However, price pressures have broadened out from simply gas and groceries.

    For instance, clothing prices, after plummeting in the early days of the pandemic, have risen 6.6% over the past year. Motor vehicle repair costs are up 6.3% and airline fares have jumped 12.7%. Rent of shelter costs, which make up nearly one-third of the CPI, have been moving up sharply in recent months and are up 4.8% year over year.

    All of those cost increases have left the Fed’s 2% inflation target in the dust.

    The Fed in September 2020 approved a new approach to inflation, in which it would let it run hotter in the interest of a full and, most notably, inclusive employment goal that spans across race, gender and wealth. However, the change in approach was followed almost immediately by more pernicious inflation than the U.S. economy had seen since the days of the Arab oil embargo and inflation that peaked in the early 1980s at nearly 15%.

    In those days, the Paul Volcker-led Fed had to jack up interest rates to a point where they tipped the economy into recession, something central bankers now want to avoid. Back then, the funds rate eclipsed 19%.

    Baird said the Fed will need to live up to its promise to be “nimble” if it is to continue to assuage market fears about runaway inflation.

    “Will the path that they’ve laid out be enough to bring inflation back down to more comfortable levels in some reasonable time frame? The possibility certainly exists that they could get more aggressive,” he said.

  • Earthquake jolts Japan’s northeast coast, triggers tsunami warning

    Earthquake jolts Japan’s northeast coast, triggers tsunami warning

    A woman prays in front of a temporary altar at the Hibiya Park in Tokyo, Japan, on March 11, 2022 to commemorate the victims of a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011.

    A woman prays in front of a temporary altar at the Hibiya Park in Tokyo, Japan, on March 11, 2022 to commemorate the victims of a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan’s northeast on March 11, 2011.Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

    A strong earthquake jolted Japan’s northeast coast on Wednesday, shaking buildings and triggering a tsunami warning.

    The tremor registered magnitude 7.3 and as high as a 6-plus on the Japanese shaking intensity scale in some areas — too strong for people to stand, according to public broadcaster NHK.

    The same region was hit by a major quake followed by a tsunami in 2011 that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

  • The Fed is about to hike rates. Here’s what history shows should happen to the stock market next

    The Fed is about to hike rates. Here’s what history shows should happen to the stock market next

    The Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates for the first time since 2018 to rein in inflation, and here’s how the stock market could react to the move, if history is any guide.

    The central bank is widely expected to raise its target fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point from zero at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday. The Fed will also release its new forecasts for rates, inflation and the economy, given the uncertainty from the escalated geopolitical tensions.

    Here’s the bottom line: When the Fed embarks on a series of rate hikes in a row, the stock market still typically manages to go higher during that time, but the gains are harder to come by than normal times, or when the central bank is lowering rates.

    It especially struggles in the short term, according to Sam Stovall, CFRA chief investment strategist, who studied market performance and the Fed’s moves going back to 1946.

    The S&P 500 has edged up an average of 1.3% six months after the start of a rate-hiking cycle since 1946, compared to an average gain of 5.5% six months after a rate cut, according to the data.

    The underperformance continues 12 months and 18 months later with the S&P 500′s returns significantly lagging the periods after an easing cycle begins, the data showed.

    Perhaps it’s not too surprising that the market tends to underperform during a tightening cycle as contractionary monetary policy is intended to slow down overheated economic growth and curb surging price pressures. Boosting interest rates increases the cost of borrowing and could negatively impact growth-oriented company performance.

    Tech stocks are seen as sensitive to rising rates because increased debt costs can hinder growth and can make their future cash flows appear less valuable. They have suffered a particularly severe sell-off recently with the Nasdaq Composite falling into bear market territory recently, or down more than 20% from its record high.

    Will market struggle more this time?

    Some investors believe history may not be the best guide this time around and the stock market could struggle even more because the Fed is not dealing with a typical economic upturn. Inflation is the highest in four decades, which could cause the central bank to act faster and bigger than is typical of past rate cycles.

    “Investors need to recognize that this hiking cycle could in all probability look very different than recent ones, and its exact nature is still ill-defined,”  said Scott Ruesterholz, a portfolio manager at Insight Investment.

    “Higher inflation could force the Fed to move even more quickly than our expected 5 hikes this year while additional growth shocks could mean the economy needs fewer hikes than currently expected to slow sufficiently to stifle inflation,” Ruesterholz added.

    Inflation hit a fresh 40-year high of 7.9% in February. Notable investor Jeffrey Gundlach said he sees the likelihood for inflation to hit 10% this year, calling for more aggressive tightening than the market expects. Current pricing indicates the equivalent of seven total rate increases this year — or one at each meeting.

    “To the extent that the Fed can continue down the path the market expects — deliberate rate hikes all year long — the areas that have held up since the stock market became unglued five months ago look set to continue functioning as havens,” said Jeff Weniger, Head of Equity Strategy for WisdomTree.

    Weniger said opportunity lies in indexes that have lighter exposures to “trouble” groups such as consumer discretionary and speculative tech stocks.

  • Federal and Ontario governments commit millions for Honda plant upgrades to manufacture hybrid cars

    Federal and Ontario governments commit millions for Honda plant upgrades to manufacture hybrid cars

    Canada’s prime minister and Ontario’s premier both say manufacturing hybrid vehicles at an Ontario Honda plant will help ensure good auto jobs into the future.

    Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford were in Alliston, Ont., today to formally announce the $131.6-million each government will spend to support upgrades at the Honda manufacturing plant that will eventually make hybrid vehicles.

    Honda Canada Inc. says retooling the plant to build the 2023 CR-V and CR-V Hybrid vehicles will cost $1.4-billion over six years.

    Trudeau says the development will help create jobs and contribute to a sustainable economic recovery from the pandemic.

    Ford says the announcement will help grow the province’s auto sector and ensure the “cars of the future” will be built in Ontario.

    Ford has said he wants to ramp up electric vehicle manufacturing but his government has not committed to offering incentives like rebates to help people buy them.

    Honda Motor Co’s HMC-N Canadian manufacturing arm will invest C$1.38 billion ($1.09 billion) over six years to upgrade its plants in Ontario as the automaker gears up to make its new hybrid SUV for the North American market.

    The investment would make the facility the biggest plant in the region for the 2023 CR-V Hybrid crossover and includes equal grants of C$131.6 million from the governments of Canada and Ontario, Honda of Canada Mfg said on Wednesday.

    The move comes at a time when automakers globally have sharpened their focus on producing environmentally friendly vehicles in response to rising demand.

    The investment would also help the Japanese automaker meet its goal of raising the ratio of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles to 100% of all sales by 2040.

    Having started production in 1986, Honda of Canada Mfg has the capacity to produce more than 400,000 vehicles and 190,000 engines annually.

  • LME nickel trading halted in chaotic market resumption

    LME nickel trading halted in chaotic market resumption

    The London Metal Exchange had hoped to get the global market for nickel motoring again on Wednesday after a week in limbo. It didn’t work out as planned.

    The world’s oldest metals exchange was forced to halt trading on its electronic system within a minute of opening due to a technical glitch and when it resumed in the afternoon there very few trades.

    The shambolic reopening piled more pressure on the LME, which is already facing a hail of criticism for suspending the market after a wild spike in prices last week left some traders facing billions of dollars in losses.

    LME nickel prices are used as a reference for deals between end-users of the metal and producers and the disorderly market resumption left some traders questioning whether participants might look for alternative venues.

    “This is difficult for the market and all its participants,” said Michael Widmer, head of commodities research at Bank of America.

    Nickel, the devil’s metal with a history of bad behaviour

    “If you are pricing off the LME contract but you don’t have a reference price, if you are buying your raw materials on an LME price, if you have to manage your cash flows – it’s difficult,” he said.

    By 12:25 p.m. ET, the LME’s three-month nickel contract had traded just 249 lots, or 1,494 tonnes, on track to be the slowest day since November 2006.

    On March 7, 26,150 lots, or 156,900 tonnes, changed hands.

    The LME nickel market was suspended a day later after China’s Tsingshan Holding Group bought large amounts of nickel, propelling the metal up more than 50% in a matter of hours to a record above $100,000 a tonne, sources have said.

    To prevent wild price swings when trading resumed on Wednesday, the LME introduced limits of 5% above or below an adjusted closing price of $47,986, but technical issues allowed some trades to go through under the lower limit of $45,590.

    The exchange said trades executed on the LMEselect system at the lower limit would remain, but any below would be canceled.

    “What a mess. It’s embarrassing, disorderly doesn’t even begin to describe it,” one metals trader said. “People will start thinking about moving away from the LME.”

    ‘COMPLETELY DISLOCATED’

    The price of nickel, which is used to make stainless steel and is a key material for electric vehicle batteries, had been rising steadily even before the conflict in Ukraine ramped prices up even further and triggered last week’s chaos.

    Russia accounts for about 10% of global nickel output and traders were concerned supplies could be constrained by Western sanctions on Moscow.

    In the LME’s official outcry session on Wednesday, which is conducted with hand gestures in a trading ring in London, prices also hit the lower limit but when electronic trading resumed at 1400 GMT.

    “People are waiting to be comfortable with the LME price,” said Robert Montefusco at broker Sucden Financial. “Until that happens it’s hard to see much liquidity coming back into the market.”

    Nickel trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was halted for one day last week but has since continued while the LME contract has been out of action. Nickel traded in Shanghai at 235,200 yuan a tonne, or around $37,000, on Wednesday.

    Sources said there was a lot of nickel on offer on the LME’s system earlier in the day as traders were expecting prices to fall towards those in Shanghai, especially in light of recent Tsingshan developments.

    Tsingshan said this week it had come to a standstill agreement with a group of banks, which fueled expectations that it would longer need to buy metal immediately to cover its bets on lower prices.

    The bearish sentiment was reinforced by a Wednesday report from the state-backed Shanghai Securities News that Tsingshan had agreed with two companies to swap its nickel with a purer form of the metal to close out its large LME positions.

    “LME nickel is on its own, completely dislocated from the rest of the world,” said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen. “For now, let’s say Shanghai nickel is the global market because at least it is trading.”

    WHY 5%?

    The LME said it was now considering widening its 5% limit for Thursday’s nickel trading to, “allow a resumption of prices in a smaller number of days, while ensuring that trading continues to remain orderly.”

    The LME also introduced 15% trading limits for all of its other main metals including copper and aluminum this week, the first time in its 145-year history that it has put limits on outright contracts.

    “The big questions is why did the LME set a 5% limit for nickel when they put 15% on other metals. If they had left this alone it would have probably gone down around where Shanghai is,” said Malcolm Freeman at Kingdom Futures.

    When Shanghai resumed nickel trading last week, the exchange introduced trading limits of 17%.

    Besides suspending nickel trading for only the second time in its history, the LME also canceled all trades on March 8 and extended deadlines for those with obligations to deliver physical metal against its contracts.

    The LME, the world’s oldest and largest market for industrial metals, is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.

  • Dow rallies to the highs of the session, up 400 points on hopes for Russia-Ukraine ceasefire

    Dow rallies to the highs of the session, up 400 points on hopes for Russia-Ukraine ceasefire

    The S&P 500 rallied for a second day, hitting the highs of the session on a report that Ukraine and Russia are making strides toward a peace agreement.

    The two countries have made “significant progress” on a peace plan and Russian withdrawal, the Financial Times reported, citing three people.

    The broad market index rose 1.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 494 points, or 1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.1%.

    Before the FT report, stocks were gaining on hopes that some sort of ceasefire was close. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a peace agreement was beginning to “sound more realistic” in an address to the nation Tuesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the BBC there was “some hope of reaching a compromise.” Russian State media quoting the Kremlin echoed similar sentiments overnight.

    The war between Ukraine and Russia has sent ripples through global financial markets, pushing commodity prices sharply higher and stocks lower. However, some commodities have cooled off in recent days, while the U.S. equity market tries to find its footing.

    U.S. oil traded lower on Wednesday following the FT report, after topping a multiyear high of $130 earlier this month.

    Micron Technology was among the best-performing S&P 500 stocks, gaining more than 4%. Starbucks shares also climbed 6% after an upgrade from JPMorgan, while Dow member Boeing advanced more than 2.7%.

    Several Chinese stocks rocketed more than 20% higher after China signaled its support for overseas listings, after days of worries around delisting led them to tumble. Pinduoduo surged 34% and DiDi Global jumped 38%. The China Internet ETF is on pace for best day ever, up more than 25%, after its worst day ever on Monday.

    Stocks were rallying in part on signs that a ceasefire could be possible in the Russia-Ukraine war.

    Stocks, meanwhile, are coming off a stellar session in which the Dow surged nearly 600 points, while the S&P 500 snapped a three-day losing streak.

    In economic data, consumers continued to spend in February through at a slower pace than expected, according to a Commerce Department report Wednesday. Advance retail sales grew 0.3% for the month, slightly below the 0.4% Dow Jones estimate.

    Big Fed decision ahead

    To be sure, all eyes are on the Fed on Wednesday, as the central bank wraps up a key two-day policy meeting.

    The Fed is widely expected to raise rates by a quarter-point, the first hike since 2018. Watchers are also expecting the central bank to offer a new quarterly forecast that could indicate five or six more hikes this year.

    “My guess is it’s going to sound a little more hawkish than people want it to sound, and that’s going to be a little tough to digest, particularly in the fixed income markets,” David Zervos, chief market strategist at Jefferies told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “I think the equity market might digest it a little bit better, but it’s going to be a tough swallow.”

    The Fed is expected to announce an interest rate decision and economic projections at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, which will followed by a briefing from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

  • Loblaw is buying Lifemark Health Group for $845-million in biggest deal yet to expand presence in healthcare services

    Loblaw is buying Lifemark Health Group for $845-million in biggest deal yet to expand presence in healthcare services

    Loblaw Cos. Ltd.L-T +0.11%increase is buying health clinic owner Lifemark Health Group for $845-million, the company’s largest deal yet to expand its presence in the healthcare services market.

    Lifemark, which is owned by Audax Private Equity, has more than 300 clinics across the country providing services including physiotherapy and chiropractic treatments, massage therapy, occupational therapy and mental health care.

    The acquisition is part of a larger strategy for Loblaw, which owns the Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy chain.

    “Shoppers over the past couple of years has been really focusing more on becoming a healthcare services company, with the role of pharmacists changing,” Shoppers president Jeff Leger said in an interview on Monday. “We saw that explode during the pandemic with vaccination, testing, but also helping Canadians who didn’t have access to care during that period of time. … We certainly view ourselves as more than a pharmacy.”

    The company has in recent years been investing in other businesses in a bid to own a larger piece of the Canadian healthcare market.

    For example, Shoppers Drug Mart has experimented with offering services such as cosmetic dentistry and dermatology in some locations, and in the past two years, the company has opened six clinics in Ontario under the Health Clinic by Shoppers brand. In 2016, Loblaw acquired software firm QHR Corp., which offers electronic medical record-keeping for doctors, for roughly $170-million. In 2020, the company invested $75-million for a minority stake in telemedicine provider Maple Corp., a Toronto startup that saw demand spike for its online medical services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Loblaw’s controlling shareholders, the Weston family, have participated in two financing rounds for Canadian digital health startup League Inc., in 2018 and 2019, through their private holding company Wittington Investments. And in 2020, Loblaw partnered with League to build its PC Health app, which provides services to users such as live chats with registered nurses and “care navigators” providing healthcare referrals. The retailer also tied its PC Optimum loyalty program to the new app, offering points for customers who used it to complete fitness challenges, or who purchased health and wellness-related items such as vitamins and thermometers.

    Mr. Leger said there has been “good usage” of the app so far, but did not disclose user numbers. He said the company has seen interest in navigating access to healthcare with digital tools. Lifemark was one of the company’s first partner clinics that allowed appointment booking through the PC Health app.

    “We think there’s a really interesting link there with the customers we’re seeing on the pharmacy side,” he said.

    For example, pharmacists see many customers who are managing issues with both chronic and acute pain, either with over-the-counter or prescription drugs.

    “But we know that sometimes the recovery process can or should require some physiotherapy – I just had some experience with this last summer, with a bike crash,” Mr. Leger said. “There’s an ability for people to get advice from the pharmacy side on using medications, but also maybe transition to services from physio or a kinesiologist.”

    The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, and the company expects it to close in the second quarter of this year.

  • Canada’s inflation rate hits three-decade high in February as central banks look to tame spiking price pressures

    Canada’s inflation rate hits three-decade high in February as central banks look to tame spiking price pressures

    Canada’s inflation rate hit a new three-decade high in February as consumers paid sharply more for gasoline and groceries, highlighting the tough task ahead for central bankers looking to calm the situation.

    The Consumer Price Index rose 5.7 per cent in February from a year earlier, up from January’s 5.1-per-cent pace, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. It was the 11th consecutive month that inflation has surpassed the Bank of Canada’s target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent.

    Shelter costs in Canada rose 6.6 per cent, the largest annual change since 1983. Groceries rose 7.4 per cent, the highest in more than a decade. And gas prices jumped 6.9 per cent in the month of February alone as the Russia-Ukraine war led to volatility in energy markets.

    “If it feels like everything is getting more expensive, it’s because it is,” said Royce Mendes, head of macro strategy at Desjardins Securities, in a note to clients.

    Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2018, and its U.S. counterpart, the Federal Reserve, is expected to follow suit on Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. inflation rate hit 7.9 per cent in February, the highest in 40 years.

    Central bankers could be forced to tighten monetary policy in aggressive fashion to dampen inflation, which is running higher for longer than they previously assumed. In a speech last week, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said steep inflation is spreading to more products and services, and he would not rule out a rate hike of 50 basis points later this year. (A basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point.) A hike to that degree has not occurred in over 20 years.

    The latest threat to consumer prices is the Russia-Ukraine war, which has led to surging costs of wheat, gasoline, fertilizer and other products, on fears of supply shortages. There is, however, very little that central bankers can do to calm volatility in global commodity markets.

    The concern is that consumers, who are sensitive to price hikes at gas pumps and supermarkets, come to think that steep inflation is a long-term reality.

    Inflation can be self-fulfilling, in that companies set prices and workers negotiate wages in anticipation of expected costs. Their expectations have risen substantially for the next couple years, but remain “well anchored” over a five-year horizon, the central bank has said.

    Not everyone agrees. The Bank of Nova Scotia said Tuesday that inflation expectations have already become unmoored. “This recent de-anchoring of expectations means that the bank’s monetary policy will need to be more aggressive to bring inflation back to target,” read the report, which was co-written by a former research director at the Bank of Canada.

    Scotiabank estimates the Bank of Canada’s policy rate – now at 0.5 per cent – will end the year at 2.5 per cent, by far the most aggressive course of tightening projected by a major bank.

    In turn, that will heap pressure on a Canadian consumer that’s loaded up on debt over the pandemic. The household debt burden – more formally known as the ratio of credit market debt to disposable income – rose to 186 per cent in the fourth quarter, the highest on record. The pandemic debt surge has been entirely driven by demand for residential mortgages.

  • Wholesale sales rose 4.2 per cent in January: Statscan

    Wholesale sales rose 4.2 per cent in January: Statscan

    Statistics Canada says wholesale sales rose 4.2 per cent in January to $79.8 billion, helped by gains in sales of building material and supplies, personal and household goods, and machinery, equipment and supplies.

    The agency says it was the sixth consecutive month wholesale sales have increased as five of the seven subsectors tracked by Statistics Canada climbed higher in January.

    Sales of building material and supplies rose 14.0 per cent to $14.1 billion as exports of lumber and sawmill products gained 16.3 per cent and exports of plastic and foam building and construction materials rose 20.1 per cent.

    Personal and household goods sales rose 10.6 per cent to $12.2 billion, while sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector gained 6.6 per cent at $16.8 billion.

    The motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector fell 5.8 per cent to $11.1 billion in January.

    In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 3.8 per cent in January.