Job creation remained solid in April, as businesses shrugged off uncertainty brought on by the war in Iran and higher gas prices.
Employers added 115,000 jobs last month, surpassing expectations. The unemployment rate remained at 4.3 percent.
The jobs tally was taken in mid-April, as employers were still evaluating the impact of the war in Iran. If higher gas prices persist and consumers pull back more broadly to compensate, economists anticipate that could dampen job creation and lift the unemployment rate.
April was the second consecutive month of strong job growth, suggesting that the labor market could be breaking out of its monthslong low-hire, low-fire stasis. The March numbers were revised up modestly, to 185,000.
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- Narrow growth: The labor market has become increasingly dependent on health care, which has powered job creation for months. The sector and related professions in social assistance added nearly 54,000 jobs last month, a substantial portion of total job growth. Other industries also added jobs, including transportation and warehousing, retail trade and leisure and hospitality.
- Hints of A.I?: Economists have been closely watching the information and professional and business services sectors for evidence that artificial intelligence is beginning to affect jobs. Although the technology has not yet led to widespread job losses, the April jobs report could stoke concerns. The information sector, which includes tech companies, lost 13,000 jobs last month, and finance slashed 11,000 jobs. Both sectors have announced high-profile layoffs recently.
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Consumer sentiment in early May fell to its lowest level on record, according to the University of Michigan’s long-running survey. Consumers felt slightly more optimistic about the outlook over the next year, but more pessimistic about the current state of the economy and their own finances. Gas prices, which are now above $4.50 a gallon nationally, are continuing to weigh on household finances — about a third of survey respondents spontaneously mentioned high gas prices, and nearly as many brought up tariffs. Still, in encouraging news for Fed policymakers, consumers’ inflation expectations eased slightly, suggesting Americans haven’t yet lost faith in the central bank’s ability to keep a lid on price increases.
The TXPR price index set a new 52-week high today of 706.20, just barely ahead of the old mark of 706.17 set May 6. ZPR also set a new 52-week high. The Five-Year Canada yield was down 6bp to 3.12%.
| 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 | 0.2433 % | 2,531.8 |
| FixedFloater | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.2433 % | 4,800.8 |
| Floater | 5.67 % | 5.83 % | 44,769 | 14.13 | 3 | 0.2433 % | 2,766.7 |
| OpRet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0630 % | 3,659.8 |
| SplitShare | 4.76 % | 4.50 % | 55,916 | 2.83 | 5 | 0.0630 % | 4,370.6 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0630 % | 3,410.1 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.77 % | 5.42 % | 52,811 | 0.08 | 3 | 0.0530 % | 3,043.7 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.63 % | 5.67 % | 53,692 | 14.35 | 30 | -0.0378 % | 3,345.8 |
| FixedReset Disc | 5.59 % | 5.86 % | 98,276 | 13.80 | 24 | -0.0438 % | 3,333.5 |
| Insurance Straight | 5.50 % | 5.59 % | 56,237 | 14.43 | 22 | -0.2519 % | 3,277.0 |
| FloatingReset | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0438 % | 3,965.6 |
| FixedReset Prem | 5.98 % | 4.53 % | 90,626 | 2.32 | 24 | -0.2004 % | 2,655.3 |
| FixedReset Bank Non | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0438 % | 3,407.6 |
| FixedReset Ins Non | 5.09 % | 5.36 % | 71,648 | 14.28 | 14 | -0.2301 % | 3,246.2 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| BN.PR.X | FixedReset Disc | -4.10 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 20.80 Evaluated at bid price : 20.80 Bid-YTW : 5.97 % |
| IFC.PR.K | Insurance Straight | -2.92 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 22.85 Evaluated at bid price : 23.25 Bid-YTW : 5.70 % |
| MFC.PR.K | FixedReset Ins Non | -2.01 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 23.62 Evaluated at bid price : 25.34 Bid-YTW : 5.42 % |
| CU.PR.E | Perpetual-Discount | -1.83 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 21.47 Evaluated at bid price : 21.47 Bid-YTW : 5.72 % |
| FFH.PR.K | FixedReset Prem | -1.41 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2027-03-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.25 Bid-YTW : 4.53 % |
| GWO.PR.T | Insurance Straight | -1.29 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 22.66 Evaluated at bid price : 22.90 Bid-YTW : 5.69 % |
| PWF.PR.P | FixedReset Disc | -1.24 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 20.75 Evaluated at bid price : 20.75 Bid-YTW : 5.69 % |
| MFC.PR.F | FixedReset Ins Non | -1.14 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 21.60 Evaluated at bid price : 21.60 Bid-YTW : 5.28 % |
| BN.PF.E | FixedReset Disc | -1.03 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 22.87 Evaluated at bid price : 24.00 Bid-YTW : 5.80 % |
| ENB.PR.D | FixedReset Disc | 1.01 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 22.74 Evaluated at bid price : 23.10 Bid-YTW : 6.03 % |
| ENB.PR.P | FixedReset Disc | 1.08 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 23.18 Evaluated at bid price : 24.40 Bid-YTW : 5.87 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| IFC.PR.C | FixedReset Ins Non | 174,519 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2026-09-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.31 Bid-YTW : 1.22 % |
| SLF.PR.H | FixedReset Ins Non | 80,000 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 23.38 Evaluated at bid price : 24.21 Bid-YTW : 5.41 % |
| FFH.PR.K | FixedReset Prem | 59,289 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2027-03-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.25 Bid-YTW : 4.53 % |
| BN.PF.I | FixedReset Prem | 51,635 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2027-03-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.40 Bid-YTW : 4.22 % |
| GWO.PR.H | Insurance Straight | 49,700 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 21.54 Evaluated at bid price : 21.80 Bid-YTW : 5.62 % |
| CU.PR.D | Perpetual-Discount | 45,000 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-05-08 Maturity Price : 21.44 Evaluated at bid price : 21.70 Bid-YTW : 5.64 % |
| There were 8 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| See TMX DataLinx: ‘Last’ != ‘Close’ and the posts linked therein for an idea of why these quotes are so horrible. | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| MFC.PR.I | FixedReset Ins Non | Quote: 25.99 – 26.99 Spot Rate : 1.0000 Average : 0.5736 YTW SCENARIO |
| CU.PR.E | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 21.47 – 22.39 Spot Rate : 0.9200 Average : 0.5827 YTW SCENARIO |
| ENB.PR.D | FixedReset Disc | Quote: 23.10 – 23.90 Spot Rate : 0.8000 Average : 0.4645 YTW SCENARIO |
| BN.PR.X | FixedReset Disc | Quote: 20.80 – 21.78 Spot Rate : 0.9800 Average : 0.6658 YTW SCENARIO |
| GWO.PR.S | Insurance Straight | Quote: 23.45 – 24.25 Spot Rate : 0.8000 Average : 0.5213 YTW SCENARIO |
| MFC.PR.K | FixedReset Ins Non | Quote: 25.34 – 26.15 Spot Rate : 0.8100 Average : 0.5356 YTW SCENARIO |