Featured Article

Going for gold: European investors pour nearly $1bn into gold ETFs in July

Posted by Alex Hamer and Emma Boyde, ft.com

on Thursday, 26 August 2021 10:03

European investors poured nearly $1bn into exchange traded funds that invest directly in gold in July, more than offsetting outflows from US funds and indicating the emergence of divergent views on inflation, the global economy and future direction of the precious metal.

European funds attracted net inflows of $999m, equivalent to 17.1 tonnes of gold, while ETFs domiciled in North America, led by large US funds, saw net outflows of $402m or 7.3 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council, an industry body. Overall, WGC data showed a 0.3 per cent rise in assets under management in gold ETFs in July, driven mostly by the buying in Europe, although Asia also recorded net inflows.

“Gold is currently in transition,” said Mobeen Tahir, associate director of research at WisdomTree in Europe, which manages a range of gold exchange traded products…read more.

The best journey takes you home: Trudeau vows two-year ban on foreign homebuyers if re-elected

Posted by Kait Bolongaro, bnnbloomberg.ca

on Wednesday, 25 August 2021 10:19

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to introduce a two-year ban on foreign home buyers to tackle housing affordability in Canada if he’s re-elected.

The proposed restriction is an attempt to cool a housing market that has soared during the Covid-19 pandemic. Surging prices have become a central issue in the campaign for the Sept. 20 vote, in which Trudeau hopes to regain a majority in parliament, with all three major parties promising crackdowns…read more.

End of housing market on ‘steroids’ to hit growth: Macquarie

Posted by Ian Vandaelle, bnnbloomberg.ca

on Tuesday, 24 August 2021 8:43

Macquarie Group is warning the slowdown in Canadian housing activity may have a material impact on the country’s economic growth.

David Doyle, the head of North America economics and strategy at Macquarie, said in an interview Tuesday the decline in existing home sales is likely to weigh on growth through the back half of the year by about one percentage point due to the domestic economy’s outsized reliance on the housing sector.

“I don’t foresee a significant pullback in price imminently, interest rates are likely to remain low, and when the [Bank of Canada] does start to hike, probably will be very gradual in its approach,” he said…read more.

Delta variant may mute Q3 earnings performance at the Big Six banks

Posted by Paul Bagnell, bnnbloomberg.ca

on Monday, 23 August 2021 9:47

For the past two quarters, Canada’s big banks have crushed earnings expectations and their shares have enjoyed sharp post-earnings rallies. They also began releasing large sums of money previously set aside for loans that could potentially go bad – all of which flowed directly to the bottom line.

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, however, may slow down that trend when the banks report fiscal third-quarter results next week.

“When we exited Canadian bank earnings season in early June,” wrote Bank of Nova Scotia banking analyst Meny Grauman in a recent report, “we thought that by the time Q3 reporting rolled around, COVID would be a fading memory.”…read more.

Mike’s Comment – Aug. 21st

Posted by Michael Campbell

on Saturday, 21 August 2021 10:36

The PM says this election will decide policy that could impact us for decades – Mike agrees – and gives pivotal 2 examples so please pay attention.