Subdued consumer spending will hinder US GDP print in Q1

Mar 12, 2015 16:51 pm UTC| Commentary

US retail sales were expected to rebound but actually declined 0.6 percent last month (the third straight month of declines) and the year over year increase is a paltry 1.7 percent.Internet sales were up 2.2 percent in...

Canadian household debt could accelerate more than expected in 2015

Mar 12, 2015 16:42 pm UTC| Commentary

Canadian national net worth increased 2.6%(q/q)in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 7% year-over-year - mostly on the back of the depreciation of the Canadian dollar and rising home prices. While governments scaled back their...

US first-quarter GDP growth likely to be a more modest 2.0% annualised

Mar 12, 2015 15:43 pm UTC| Commentary

US retail sales contracted by 0.6% m/m in Feb. Motor vehicle sales fell by 2.5% m/m and building materials sales fell by 2.3% m/m. In contrast, the value of sales at gasoline stations rebounded by 1.5% m/m, mirroring the...

RBI unlikely to shift its policy stance despite pick-up in inflation

Mar 12, 2015 15:17 pm UTC| Commentary

India consumer price inflation came in at 5.4% y/y in Feb, up from 5.2% in Jan (the latter was revised up from 5.1%). This was higher than most had expected (both our forecast and the Bloomberg median were 5.2%).Todays...

Canadian home price growth continued to slow in Feb

Mar 12, 2015 14:29 pm UTC| Commentary

The Teranet home price index for Canadas 11 largest cities rose 4.4% (year-over-year) in Feb, decelerating slightly from the 4.7% increase in Jan. This marks the fourth straight month of decelerating home price growth.The...

US to see better consumer spending growth ahead

Mar 12, 2015 14:20 pm UTC| Commentary

For the first time in three months, gasoline stations could not be blamed for the decline as the average cost of retail gas bounced 4.7% M/M in Feb. Excluding gasoline and autos, core sales also fell by -0.2% M/M.Aside...

S.Korea c.bank cuts rates to record low in surprise move

Mar 12, 2015 01:10 am UTC| Commentary

The Bank of Koreas monetary policy committee cut its base rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.75 percent, a media official said without elaborating. Governor Lee Ju-yeol is due to hold a news conference from 11:20...