The Canadian economy added more jobs than expected last month, driven by hiring in construction and a recovery in full-time positions, data showed on Friday, though economists still expect the central bank to take its time raising interest rates again.
Canada created 32,300 jobs in March, Statistics Canada said, topping economists’ forecasts for an increase of 20,000. The unemployment rate held at 5.8 per cent, while the participation rate was unchanged at 65.5 per cent.
Average hourly wages were up 3.1 per cent from a year ago, matching February’s annual growth rate. Wages are a key measure being watched by the Bank of Canada, with policymakers still seeing slack in the labor market.
But the US was a bit softer than expected:
■ 103,000 jobs were added last month. Wall Street economists had expected an increase of about 185,000, according to Bloomberg.
■ The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent for the sixth straight month.
■ Average earnings rose by 8 cents an hour and are up 2.7 percent over the past year.
■ The Labor Department revised its estimate of February’s job growth upward, but January’s figure was revised sharply downward. The net result was a loss of 50,000 jobs relative to prior estimates.
Meanwhile there are soothing babblings about NAFTA:
Nafta talks have entered a new, intensive phase of discussions and will continue in the coming days, Canada’s foreign minister said after meeting with her U.S. and Mexican counterparts in Washington.
Chrystia Freeland, speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, said the tone of talks is positive and that the three countries are making progress. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking elsewhere the same day, said he hoped to get “positive news in the coming times” as talks continue.
And some less soothing babblings:
The Republican president’s renewed ramblings on trade dominated U.S. equity markets this week, with a tweet-induced swoon on Friday leaving the S&P 500 Index 1.4 percent lower than where it started on Monday. The gauge swung wildly, notching four moves of at least 1 percent in the five days, and the Cboe Volatility Index spiked above 20, nearly double its level for the past year.
…
Trump’s impact on the market was on full display over the past five days. The week began with a 2.2 percent tumble after Trump battered Amazon.com Inc. on Twitter, exacerbating a selloff in megacap tech shares. It didn’t help that China put out a list of products it would target with retaliatory tariffs after the White House issued its own the night before.A three-day rally of more than 3 percent followed, as White House officials insisted the trade bluster was a negotiating tactic. But Trump upended that notion late Thursday, ordering a review of even harsher tariffs that sparked a bookend rout.
| HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices Values are provisional and are finalized monthly |
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| 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 | -1.1330 % | 2,922.6 |
| FixedFloater | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -1.1330 % | 5,362.9 |
| Floater | 3.42 % | 3.62 % | 104,160 | 18.28 | 4 | -1.1330 % | 3,090.7 |
| OpRet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.2571 % | 3,163.4 |
| SplitShare | 4.55 % | 4.52 % | 78,968 | 5.14 | 4 | 0.2571 % | 3,777.7 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.2571 % | 2,947.5 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.58 % | -8.74 % | 79,769 | 0.09 | 11 | 0.0750 % | 2,858.3 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.40 % | 5.41 % | 73,904 | 14.83 | 24 | -0.0014 % | 2,939.1 |
| FixedReset | 4.33 % | 4.65 % | 169,255 | 5.83 | 104 | -0.2165 % | 2,496.2 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 5.16 % | 5.85 % | 90,831 | 5.68 | 28 | -0.1567 % | 2,925.8 |
| FloatingReset | 2.97 % | 3.08 % | 34,305 | 3.60 | 11 | -0.2578 % | 2,744.0 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| GWO.PR.S | Deemed-Retractible | -1.66 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.23 Bid-YTW : 5.85 % |
| BAM.PR.C | Floater | -1.41 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 16.75 Evaluated at bid price : 16.75 Bid-YTW : 3.62 % |
| MFC.PR.N | FixedReset | -1.40 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 22.59 Bid-YTW : 5.94 % |
| BAM.PR.T | FixedReset | -1.37 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 20.21 Evaluated at bid price : 20.21 Bid-YTW : 5.12 % |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | -1.24 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 16.68 Evaluated at bid price : 16.68 Bid-YTW : 3.64 % |
| BAM.PR.Z | FixedReset | -1.22 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 22.88 Evaluated at bid price : 24.20 Bid-YTW : 4.99 % |
| PWF.PR.A | Floater | -1.20 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 20.50 Evaluated at bid price : 20.50 Bid-YTW : 2.97 % |
| CCS.PR.C | Deemed-Retractible | -1.20 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.07 Bid-YTW : 6.47 % |
| HSE.PR.A | FixedReset | -1.12 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 17.60 Evaluated at bid price : 17.60 Bid-YTW : 5.00 % |
| MFC.PR.G | FixedReset | -1.11 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.16 Bid-YTW : 4.97 % |
| TRP.PR.H | FloatingReset | -1.08 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 16.53 Evaluated at bid price : 16.53 Bid-YTW : 3.59 % |
| MFC.PR.F | FixedReset | -1.07 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.55 Bid-YTW : 7.76 % |
| SLF.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | 1.13 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 22.36 Bid-YTW : 6.76 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| W.PR.K | FixedReset | 78,574 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2021-01-15 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.63 Bid-YTW : 4.25 % |
| RY.PR.H | FixedReset | 67,600 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 22.71 Evaluated at bid price : 23.15 Bid-YTW : 4.58 % |
| GWO.PR.T | Deemed-Retractible | 53,100 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.40 Bid-YTW : 5.62 % |
| GWO.PR.M | Deemed-Retractible | 51,400 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-05-06 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 26.10 Bid-YTW : -30.96 % |
| CM.PR.S | FixedReset | 39,000 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 22.86 Evaluated at bid price : 24.16 Bid-YTW : 4.53 % |
| BAM.PF.A | FixedReset | 31,254 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2048-04-06 Maturity Price : 22.97 Evaluated at bid price : 23.75 Bid-YTW : 5.12 % |
| There were 16 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| IAG.PR.G | FixedReset | Quote: 23.10 – 23.95 Spot Rate : 0.8500 Average : 0.4962 YTW SCENARIO |
| TRP.PR.G | FixedReset | Quote: 23.60 – 24.40 Spot Rate : 0.8000 Average : 0.5450 YTW SCENARIO |
| GWO.PR.S | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 24.23 – 24.67 Spot Rate : 0.4400 Average : 0.2840 YTW SCENARIO |
| CCS.PR.C | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 23.07 – 23.70 Spot Rate : 0.6300 Average : 0.4862 YTW SCENARIO |
| GWO.PR.G | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 24.10 – 24.45 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2211 YTW SCENARIO |
| MFC.PR.G | FixedReset | Quote: 24.16 – 24.48 Spot Rate : 0.3200 Average : 0.1928 YTW SCENARIO |