U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in November registering a 0.2 percent increase versus an expected 0.6 percent gain. November’s result was the weakest in five months.
“Sales are growing, but they just aren’t accelerating,” said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York. “There have been some real slight hints of improvement in the labor market, but until we get sustained growth in income, spending is going to be moderate.”
Source: Bloomberg
The Canadian dollar – known as the “loonie” – continued to lose ground on fears that a slowing U.S. economy could impact the Canadian economy. Roughly seventy percent of Canada’s exports are sold into the American market and any appreciable slowdown south of the border, would directly impact the Canadian economy.
The currency traded at 97.62 cents versus the U.S. dollar at 8:12 a.m. in Toronto, compared with 97.77 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0244. It has fallen 0.2 percent this week and 3.2 percent in May.
Source: Bloomberg
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by more than expected in January according to data supplied by the US Labor Department. CPI rose by 0.4 percent compared to projections of 0.3 percent with higher food and energy prices contributing to the increase. The Core CPI which excludes these items rose by 0.2 percent.
“We are seeing turn-of-the year price increases,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said before the report. “Firms are really struggling with this. They want to raise prices and want to feel their way through and get away with it before consumers start to protest.”
Source: Bloomberg
The euro appreciated 0.2 percent to 111.38 yen at 7:30 a.m. in New York, from 111.14 yen yesterday on news that European Union official have agreed to the defining of a protocol for dealing with individual Eurozone sovereign debt. The protocol is expected to include plans for emergency funding and other tactics to protect the euro.
Source: Bloomberg
The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.3642 at 9:12 a.m. in New York, from $1.3673 on Nov. 19, after reaching $1.3786, the highest level since Nov. 11. The fall comes after Moody’s Investors Services warned that Ireland’s credit rating could drop more than previously anticipated.
Source: Bloomberg
US consumer spending failed to match predictions rising only 0.2 percent for the month of September. During the same month, incomes fell by 0.1 percent.
“The quarter ended on a softer note,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. The report “reinforces the case for the Fed to act this week. It’s getting harder and harder to argue inflation is near where the Fed wants it to be.”
Source: Bloomberg
Prices for single-family homes rose half a percent in May according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller home index survey. The results, based on an examination of home prices in twenty US cities, showed a greater-than-expected 0.2 percent increase.
“While May’s report on its own looks somewhat positive, a broader look at home price levels over the past year still does not indicate that the housing market is in any form of sustained recovery,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in a statement.
Source: Reuters
Several iconic Canadian companies have reported dramatic increases in both revenue and profit this week, boosting the Canadian dollar by more than half a cent to 97.45 US cents. The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is also expected to open higher this morning as additional earnings reports are made public.
Source: The Canadian Press
The US Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose by 0.2 percent in May. Despite the slight increase, spending on goods actually decreased in May, while spending on services increased, which the Commerce Department attributed to a greater demand for electricity.
Source: Associated Press
Following yesterday’s gain of 225 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a rise in stock futures this morning points to the possibility of a second consecutive day of gains in US stock markets. Dow futures were up half a percent in early morning trading, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 0.2 percent.
Source: Associated Press
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