July 7, 2017

Jobs, jobs, jobs!

U.S. hiring picked up in June while wage gains disappointed yet again, a mix that may continue to be a puzzle for the economy and policy makers, Labor Department figures showed Friday.

Highlights of Employment (June)

•Payrolls rose 222k (est. 178k); April-May revisions added 47k jobs
•Unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey of households, rose to 4.4% (est. 4.3%) from 16-year low of 4.3%
•Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2% m/m (est. 0.3% rise); up 2.5% y/y (est. 2.6%)

… but there are worries about wages:

While payrolls grew by more than analysts forecast and the unemployment rate barely ticked up from a 16-year low, worker pay rose a less-than-expected 2.5 percent in June from a year earlier. Separate figures on labor flows showed a record number of people found employment after joining the workforce, helping push up the participation rate.

The entry of so many people is a sign that the labor market is still absorbing slack, supporting the views of both President Donald Trump — who has talked about the need to get millions of Americans into jobs — and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who has mentioned the pool of those who could still find work.

That could help explain part of the puzzle of why hiring has shown sustained strength at the same time that worker pay has been relatively weak. One hope is that a tight labor market will eventually result in an acceleration in wages, but with more people getting into the labor force, that threshold may still be some ways away.

and here in the frozen North:

Canada added more than four times the number of jobs economists had expected in June, capping the best quarter since 2010 and solidifying the view the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates at its meeting next week.

The 45,300 gain was the seventh in a row, taking the jobless rate to 6.5 percent from 6.6 percent, Statistics Canada reported Friday from Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 10,000 job increase, with the highest prediction at 21,400, and no change in the unemployment rate.

Faster employment growth adds to evidence of a broadening economic recovery. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz has touted the improvement in recent weeks and signaled it may be time to raise interest rates from extraordinarily low levels.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.3866 % 2,304.5
FixedFloater 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.3866 % 4,228.6
Floater 3.44 % 3.45 % 80,187 18.66 3 -0.3866 % 2,437.0
OpRet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0312 % 3,069.7
SplitShare 4.69 % 4.25 % 60,414 1.45 5 -0.0312 % 3,665.9
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0312 % 2,860.3
Perpetual-Premium 5.35 % 4.30 % 72,745 0.09 21 -0.0056 % 2,786.0
Perpetual-Discount 5.22 % 5.19 % 85,814 15.19 15 -0.4519 % 2,961.1
FixedReset 4.35 % 4.30 % 190,591 6.43 97 0.1592 % 2,387.9
Deemed-Retractible 5.02 % 5.24 % 116,888 6.19 30 -0.1779 % 2,884.1
FloatingReset 2.65 % 3.03 % 49,272 4.32 10 0.1969 % 2,597.4
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible -1.44 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.52
Bid-YTW : 6.32 %
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount -1.33 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 21.99
Evaluated at bid price : 22.32
Bid-YTW : 5.46 %
TD.PF.H FixedReset -1.31 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-10-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.70
Bid-YTW : 4.08 %
BAM.PR.N Perpetual-Discount -1.04 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 21.63
Evaluated at bid price : 21.88
Bid-YTW : 5.46 %
MFC.PR.H FixedReset 1.05 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.03
Bid-YTW : 4.61 %
IFC.PR.C FixedReset 1.08 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.50
Bid-YTW : 5.31 %
SLF.PR.G FixedReset 1.17 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 17.31
Bid-YTW : 8.16 %
TRP.PR.B FixedReset 1.27 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 15.20
Evaluated at bid price : 15.20
Bid-YTW : 4.36 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
RY.PR.C Deemed-Retractible 149,990 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-08-06
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.26
Bid-YTW : -1.30 %
BAM.PR.R FixedReset 101,670 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 19.95
Evaluated at bid price : 19.95
Bid-YTW : 4.53 %
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount 94,320 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 21.99
Evaluated at bid price : 22.32
Bid-YTW : 5.46 %
W.PR.M FixedReset 83,700 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-10-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.06
Bid-YTW : 4.11 %
TRP.PR.A FixedReset 74,600 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 19.45
Evaluated at bid price : 19.45
Bid-YTW : 4.33 %
NA.PR.W FixedReset 71,900 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 21.45
Evaluated at bid price : 21.45
Bid-YTW : 4.33 %
There were 35 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
TRP.PR.A FixedReset Quote: 19.45 – 19.87
Spot Rate : 0.4200
Average : 0.2551

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 19.45
Evaluated at bid price : 19.45
Bid-YTW : 4.33 %

TD.PF.H FixedReset Quote: 25.70 – 26.09
Spot Rate : 0.3900
Average : 0.2293

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-10-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.70
Bid-YTW : 4.08 %

MFC.PR.L FixedReset Quote: 21.11 – 21.52
Spot Rate : 0.4100
Average : 0.2705

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.11
Bid-YTW : 6.37 %

MFC.PR.I FixedReset Quote: 23.99 – 24.22
Spot Rate : 0.2300
Average : 0.1343

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.99
Bid-YTW : 5.01 %

PWF.PR.T FixedReset Quote: 22.90 – 23.22
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2351

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 22.51
Evaluated at bid price : 22.90
Bid-YTW : 4.17 %

TRP.PR.E FixedReset Quote: 22.55 – 22.75
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1292

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-07-07
Maturity Price : 22.22
Evaluated at bid price : 22.55
Bid-YTW : 4.24 %

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