Financial news

(March 18, 2008) -- The 75 basis point cut will translate immediately into lower rates for consumers and businesses as banks cut their prime lending rate by a similar amount.

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(March 18, 2008) -- The lofty annual growth in both the all-items and core PPI indices would normally raise concerns about upside risks to inflation. However, in the current environment, this risk is being overwhelmed by the weakness in credit markets and attendant upward pressure on the cost of capital. As a result, monetary policy in the near-term is expected to be focused on preventing the economy from slipping into a prolonged downturn.

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(March 17, 2008) -- In America, drop in production blamed on weather and the current account deficit narrows unexpectedly.

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(March 17, 2008) -- The manufacturer of industrial and consumer products reported a loss of $168.9 million or $5.05 per share on revenue of $237.5 million for the fourth quarter, from a $121.9 million loss or $5.87 per share on revenue of $221.9 million for the last three months of 2006.

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(March 14, 2008) -- Today’s consumer price report helped take a bite out of inflationary concerns with overall prices in February unchanged relative to January.

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(March 13, 2008) -- "This cocktail's been whipped up by the Federal Reserve," said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com, a Tampa, Fla., trading firm.
"There's really no end in sight to this."

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(March 13, 2008) -- On a year-over-year basis, retail sales were up 2.6 percent, the weakest pace of growth since January 2007. Today's data points to markedly slower consumer spending in the first quarter, consistent with RBC Financial’s forecast for spending to basically stall over the January/March period.

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(March 10, 2008) -- Canadian authorities report that February housing starts rose a phenomenal 15.4 percent to an annualized 256,900 from 222,700 in January. Expectations within financial markets had been for starts to moderate to 207,500.

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(March 10, 2008) -- Net income for the quarter was $21.6 million, up 18 percent from $18.3 million last year. Sales for the quarter were $599 million, up 3 percent from $584 million last year.

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(March 7, 2008) -- But, in America, the February employment report was disappointing, with jobs unexpectedly declining 63,000 in the month and building further onto a downwardly revised drop in January of 22,000.

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(March 6, 2008) -- Crude oil rose to $105.97 a barrel, the third day this week New York prices have reached a record, as the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest ever against the euro.

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(March 6, 2008) -- In America, on a more stable year-over-year basis, productivity is up an impressive 2.9 percent which offsets about three-quarters of the 3.9 percent rise in compensation. Unit labor costs are well below a perceived inflation target of the Fed of around 2 percent.

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(March 4, 2008) -- With inflation measures already showing a sharp slowing – the core CPI inflation rate dropped to 1.4 percent in January from 2.5 percent last June – the Bank decided to act aggressively and trim the overnight rate by 50 basis points to offset the downside risks facing the economy and see a return of “inflation to target over the medium term”.

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(March 3, 2008) -- The lofty Canadian dollar and extended holiday-related shutdowns at several manufacturing facilities contributed to the massive 8.5 percent contraction in exports in the fourth quarter.

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(Feb. 29, 2008) -- Rising personal incomes credited for increases in consumer spending in America. But, due to declining consumer sentiment, RBC Financial anticipates that spending will slow noticeably in the first quarter.

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(Feb. 29, 2008) -- Due to the weakening dollar and the rising fear of inflation, investors have put money into commodities, oil included. Right now, there's a lot of trading based on emotion -- emotions are high and that could keep crude oil at elevated levels, but the market faces the risk of a price collapse.

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(Feb. 28, 2008) -- A new report did indicate some shifts in the composition of output that, on net, implied a slightly weaker picture of the economy at the end of 2007, but the economy grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter.

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(Feb. 27, 2008) -- In Congressional testimony this morning Fed Chairman Bernanke indicated that a number of negative factors present downside risks to an already sluggish outlook. Although stressing that the Fed had not taken its eye off inflation, he indicated that the central bank was prepared to act in a timely manner to support growth.

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(Feb. 26, 2008) -- RBC Financial’s forecast assumes that spending will basically stall in the first half of the year. However, in the second half, spending will get a boost from the hefty fiscal stimulus package to advance at a pace just below 2 percent, on average, in 2008.

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(Feb. 26, 2008) -- The weakening in consumers’ assessment of current conditions, fueled by a combination of less favorable business conditions and a sharp rise in the number of consumers saying jobs are hard to get, suggests that the pace of growth in early 2008 has slowed even further.

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