These are stories Report on Business is following today. Get the top business stories through the day on BlackBerry or iPhone by bookmarking our mobile-friendly webpage.
BMO's 10 fun facts The deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns today offers his clients 10 "fun facts" to impress at parties heading into the holiday season.
"Between buying gifts, attending functions, deciding whether to tip the dog walker, and visiting family, there's just no free time," said Douglas Porter. "On top of all of that, one is expected to be witty, entertaining and cutting edge at all gatherings."
Mr. Porter's missive is aimed at surprising and impressing friends "assuming of course your friends are easily surprised and impressed by economic and financial data."
1. The economies of Canada and the U.S. had almost the same growth rates this year, as they did last year and likely will again next year. "Despite Canada's fabled stellar economic performance through this cycle, the economy just can't pull away from the U.S., with Canada growing 2.9 per cent this year and the U.S. by 2.8 per cent."
2. Consumer discretionary stocks formed the strongest group in the S&P 500 this year, gaining almost 20 per cent. "The U.S. consumer, all but written off for dead, quietly staged a modest comeback this year."
3. Europe's peripheries were among the strongest stock markets in the world. "Sure, everyone will realize that the stock indexes of Greece, Spain and Ireland were clobbered this year, but Sweden, Denmark, Urkaine, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania saw some of the heftiest gains in the world (the latter two were up by more than 60 per cent)."
4. Silver is golden, rising sevenfold against natural gas in the past five years. "All the nattering nabobs will be talking about gold this holiday season, but it was silver that really stole the show in 2010, soaring almost 60 per cent. At the back of the pack was natural gas, which sadly for Canada fell more than 20 per cent."
5. Vancouver posted the fastest increase in house prices among major Canadian cities this year, averaging 15 per cent. "Tougher mortgage insurance rules, a 13-per-cent slide in sales in the city, a 13-per-cent rise in new listings this year, the new HST, a feature story in Business Week about how Vancouver was the last housing bubble in the world, a website comparing million-dollar homes in the city to crack houses ... none of it mattered when stacked up against shrewd investors from China."
6. The almighty buck was basically flat. "While many are chattering about the U.S. debasing its currency, and the wild overheated rhetoric of the currency war, the U.S. dollar actually rose more than 3 per cent in 2010 on a trade-weighted basis against the major currencies."
7 Japan had the strongest currency. "Japan has some of the ugliest demographics, a massive government debt load, decades of deflation, a central bank that entervened to undercut the currency, was the only major economy to cut interest rates this year and sports bond yields of little more than 1 per cent. No worries, buy the yen."
8. Some U.S. interest rates turned negative, notably 5- and 7-year TIPS. "While yields edged higher late in the year, one still has to pay the U.S. government for the privilege of holding their inflation-protected securities for five years."
9. For the first time in more than 10 years, at least for one month this year, Newfoundland and Labrador did not have the dubious distinction of having the country's highest jobless rate. PEI's was higher in September. N&L can claim the fastest-growing economy in Canada this year, at 4 per cent, and one of just two provinces with a budget surplus.
10. More Buicks were sold in China than in the U.S. "China now sells more cars than the U.S., Canada and Mexico combined. The most light vehicles ever sold in a single year in the U.S. was 17.3 million in 200, a level China is on pace to surpass."
Youth leaving work force Canada's jobless rate has dropped to its lowest level since the depths of recession in early 2009, but don't be fooled by the dip. And note that the nation's youth are giving up looking for work.
The economy created about 15,000 jobs in November, helping to push down the rate of unemployment from 7.9 per cent a month earlier, The Globe and Mail's Tavia Grant reports.
The jobless rate at is now at its lowest since January of 2009, Statistics Canada said today.
But beneath that lower rate were some disappointing signs. The number of full-time jobs fell, though gains in part-time work compensated for that. In fact, over the course of the past year, part-time work has far outpaced full-time jobs growth.
And though employment in Canada is at an all-time high, young people are leaving the labour force. While unemployment in that age group fell 1.4 percentage points to 13.6 per cent, the rate of participation in the labour force sank to its lowest level since the summer of 1999 as more than 40,000 quit the market.
The dip in the jobless rate, noted BMO Nesbitt Burns deputy chief economist Douglas Porter, was almost all due to the overall drop in the labour force that brought the participation rate to 66.9 per cent, and that heavily influenced by young people.
"It likely reflects the fact that they are struggling to find work, and deciding to stay in school longer," Mr. Porter said.
Scotia Capital economist Derek Holt said, though, it can be tricky to interpret just what is happening. Young people may have seen the slowing trend in jobs growth, and given up looking, but one month's numbers could also be exaggerated by seasonal factors.
Overall, said Pascal Gauthier of Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Statistics Canada report was disappointing.
"A trend improvement in private-sector employment is still needed at this important juncture," Mr. Gauthier said.
"In light of the fiscal austerity that all levels of government will have to apply in the coming years, public-sector employment simply cannot be expected to be the engine of job creation it has been."
He noted that the public sector has been responsible for creating more than six of every 10 jobs since the beginning of last year, boosting its share of employment to the highest since the mid-1990s.
U.S. jobs also disappoint The U.S. jobs crsis shows no signs of easing. Just 39,000 jobs were created in November, far, far fewer than economists had expected, and the unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 per cent.
According to Wall Street Journal calculations, that means 15 million Americans who want to work cannot find a job.
The corporate sector accounted for 50,000 jobs, while the public sector cut.
"November's U.S. employment report is a painful reality check for those hoping that a meaningful acceleration in economic activity was underway," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.
"The truth is that the economy is going nowhere at a time when companies are not willing to boost hiring."
Managing director Sophia Koropeckyj of Moody's Analytics, noting that the jobs picture is still shy despite other positive signs in the U.S., said she expects job growth over the next few quarters to be well below what's needed to bring down the unemployment rate.
"In the meantime, as more previously discouraged workers enter the labour market, the unemployment rate is again expected to breach 10 per cent. Employment growth is not expected to hit its stride until the end of 2011 or early 2012."
RBC misses estimates Royal Bank of Canada missed analysts' estimates in reporting a dip in fourth-quarter profit and revenue today, Globe and Mail banking reporter Grant Robertson writes.
Canada's biggest bank earned $1.12-billion in the quarter, down 9 per cent from a year earlier, as a loss associated with the sale of its Liberty Life division pushed down profits. RBC's fourth-quarter profit is equal to 74 cents a share, compared to a profit of $1.24-billion, or 82 cents a share, a year ago.
On a cash basis, RBC's earnings were 84 cents a share. Analysts were, on average, expecting earnings of about $1 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.
National Bank Financial analyst Peter Routledge described the results as "an across the board miss."
- RBC quarterly profit falls 9 per cent
- TD profit slips to $994-million
- Trading operations pull down CIBC
- National Bank boosts dividend, restructures investment arm
Scotiabank profit climbs Bank of Nova Scotia met estimates with a 21-per-cent jump in fourth-quarter profit to $1.1-billion or $1 a share. That was up from 83 cents a year earlier, The Globe and Mail's Tara Perkins reports.
its quarterly dividend unchanged at 49 cents.
Like its peers, Scotiabank's bottom line this quarter was lifted by its consumer and business banking operations, while its capital markets businesses were a drag on profits compared to a year ago.
China to tighten policy China plans to tighten its monetary policy next year, according to the country's top leaders. Troubled by inflation, authorities are expected to boost interest rates again.
China's official news agency, Xinhua, said today that the Politburo declared it should shift monetary policy from the "relatively loose" nature now.
Authorities have already moved to cool down a hot economy, which has troubled investors who fear China will slow its demand for commodities.
From today's Report on Business
- Canadian Natural to set own pace on Horizon expansion
- Fairfax's Prem Watsa sees commodity bubble brewing
- GM targets green Canadians for Volt rollout
- Adhocracy: A master of persuasion gives up the secrets
And, read our Streetwise blog and Your Business section.