{"id":49245,"date":"2018-03-02T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T02:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=49245"},"modified":"2025-08-12T21:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T01:49:10","slug":"march-2-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=49245","title":{"rendered":"March 2, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

More trade-war chatter<\/a>:<\/p>\n

World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo expressed concern at U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for tariffs on steel and aluminum on Friday, an extremely rare intervention into a WTO member’s trade policy.<\/p>\n

“The WTO is clearly concerned at the announcement of U.S. plans for tariffs on steel and aluminum. The potential for escalation is real, as we have seen from the initial responses of others,” he said in a brief statement issued by the WTO.<\/p>\n

“A trade war is in no one’s interests. The WTO will be watching the situation very closely.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And Trump’s boasting that he’s got a bigger button<\/a> than the rest of the world put together:<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump struck a defiant tone on Friday, saying trade wars were good and easy to win, after his plan to put tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum triggered global criticism and a slide in world stock markets.<\/p>\n

The European Union raised the possibility of taking countermeasures, France said the duties were unacceptable and China urged Trump to show restraint. Canada, the biggest supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, said it would retaliate if hit by U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n

Trump said on Thursday that tariffs of 25 per cent on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminum products were designed to safeguard American jobs in the face of cheaper foreign products and would be formally announced next week.<\/p>\n

“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump tweeted on Friday.<\/p>\n

“Example, when we are down $100-billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!” he wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sure. Messrs. Smoot and Hawley won their war back in the thirties.<\/p>\n

So, despite more pointed comments about US inflation<\/a>…:<\/p>\n

Speaking of the Fed, it was behind the S&P 500\u2019s travails Tuesday and Wednesday, a 2.4 percent retreat that before last month would\u2019ve qualified as the worst selloff in a year. Stocks slid as Powell, who has vowed continuity with predecessor Janet Yellen\u2019s pace of interest-rate hikes, hinted the central bank may be faster on the draw than anticipated.<\/p>\n

\u201cPowell surprised people by being a bit more frank than folks expected,\u201d said Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation for Pacific Life Fund Advisors. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t necessarily work as a Fed chair, especially when we\u2019re latching onto every single word that the Fed officials say.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new chairman been at the helm for just a month, obviously too little time to say if the markets like him. What is clear is that a combination of rate angst and Trump\u2019s saber rattling has erased half the S&P 500\u2019s 7.7 percent rebound from a Feb. 8 low.<\/p>\n

For the week, the S&P 500 ended down 2 percent, almost twice as much as any decline registered in 2017. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.1 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 index lost 1.22 percent. Small-caps lost 1 percent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

… Canadian bond yields<\/a> were down today, with the five-year closing at 2.00%.<\/p>\n

Of course, poor GDP numbers<\/a> probably had something to do with that:<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s economy decelerated more than expected in the second half of last year, amid signs indebted households have begun slowing down spending.<\/p>\n

The economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter, Statistics Canada reported Friday, versus economist expectations for 2 percent growth. Third-quarter gross domestic product growth was also revised down.<\/p>\n

After leading the Group of Seven in growth last year, Friday\u2019s numbers show a Canadian economy that has lost momentum, seemingly hampered by longstanding productivity issues and the growing potential of a hangover from the real estate boom. The U.S. economy recorded growth rates of 3.2 percent in the third quarter and 2.5 percent in the last three months of 2017.
…<\/b>
What may be worse is that fourth-quarter GDP figures were exaggerated by temporary factors in housing. Spending on residential structures surged in the last three months of 2017 to an annualized 13.4 percent, the strongest quarterly increase since 2012. The gain was led by stronger-than-expected new home construction, and as buyers rushed to get ahead of tighter mortgage qualification rules that came into effect Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

The increase in residential spending was responsible for 1 percentage point of the 1.7 percent growth rate, Statistics Canada said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices<\/strong>
Values are provisional and are finalized monthly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Index<\/td>\nMean
Current
Yield
(at bid)<\/td>\n		Median
YTW<\/td>\n		Median
Average
Trading
Value<\/td>\n		Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)<\/td>\n		Issues<\/td>\nDay’s Perf.<\/td>\nIndex Value<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ratchet<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.0000 %<\/td>\n3,055.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedFloater<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.0000 %<\/td>\n5,606.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Floater<\/td>\n3.25 %<\/td>\n3.45 %<\/td>\n109,966<\/td>\n18.58<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n0.0000 %<\/td>\n3,231.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OpRet<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.0236 %<\/td>\n3,155.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SplitShare<\/td>\n4.71 %<\/td>\n4.20 %<\/td>\n67,313<\/td>\n3.32<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n-0.0236 %<\/td>\n3,767.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interest-Bearing<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.0236 %<\/td>\n2,939.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Premium<\/td>\n5.46 %<\/td>\n5.00 %<\/td>\n78,249<\/td>\n14.41<\/td>\n20<\/td>\n-0.0080 %<\/td>\n2,820.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Discount<\/td>\n5.44 %<\/td>\n5.54 %<\/td>\n92,438<\/td>\n14.55<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n-0.3463 %<\/td>\n2,921.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset<\/td>\n4.25 %<\/td>\n4.60 %<\/td>\n167,875<\/td>\n5.90<\/td>\n102<\/td>\n0.0895 %<\/td>\n2,519.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deemed-Retractible<\/td>\n5.20 %<\/td>\n5.72 %<\/td>\n92,821<\/td>\n5.77<\/td>\n28<\/td>\n-0.0335 %<\/td>\n2,899.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FloatingReset<\/td>\n2.95 %<\/td>\n2.91 %<\/td>\n35,033<\/td>\n3.70<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n-0.0913 %<\/td>\n2,766.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Performance Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nChange<\/td>\nNotes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TRP.PR.B<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n-1.23 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 16.89
\nEvaluated at bid price : 16.89
\nBid-YTW : 4.70 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TRP.PR.C<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n-1.11 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 17.85
\nEvaluated at bid price : 17.85
\nBid-YTW : 4.76 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.S<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.09 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 21.57
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.85
\nBid-YTW : 5.54 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
HSE.PR.A<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n-1.05 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 17.83
\nEvaluated at bid price : 17.83
\nBid-YTW : 5.01 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TD.PF.E<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n1.19 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2020-10-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.70
\nBid-YTW : 4.32 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
W.PR.J<\/td>\nPerpetual-Premium<\/td>\n1.23 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 24.29
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.60
\nBid-YTW : 5.77 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
IFC.PR.C<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n1.27 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2025-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.95
\nBid-YTW : 4.81 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Volume Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nShares
Traded<\/td>\n		Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.G<\/td>\nDeemed-Retractible<\/td>\n167,612<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2025-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.00
\nBid-YTW : 5.87 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MFC.PR.Q<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n152,800<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2025-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.90
\nBid-YTW : 4.79 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BNS.PR.Y<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n147,402<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2022-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.25
\nBid-YTW : 4.36 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NA.PR.E<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n61,800<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 23.01
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.60
\nBid-YTW : 4.64 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TD.PF.A<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n53,298<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 23.11
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.51
\nBid-YTW : 4.53 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BAM.PF.J<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n49,360<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2022-12-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.25
\nBid-YTW : 4.73 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
There were 43 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Wide Spread Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nQuote Data and Yield Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RY.PR.M<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 24.10 – 24.58
\nSpot Rate : 0.4800
\nAverage : 0.2992<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 23.06
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.10
\nBid-YTW : 4.63 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

HSE.PR.A<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 17.83 – 18.36
\nSpot Rate : 0.5300
\nAverage : 0.3776<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 17.83
\nEvaluated at bid price : 17.83
\nBid-YTW : 5.01 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

BAM.PR.R<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 21.08 – 21.40
\nSpot Rate : 0.3200
\nAverage : 0.1920<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2048-03-02
\nMaturity Price : 21.08
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.08
\nBid-YTW : 4.92 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

MFC.PR.H<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 24.60 – 24.94
\nSpot Rate : 0.3400
\nAverage : 0.2310<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2025-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.60
\nBid-YTW : 5.42 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

TRP.PR.K<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 25.56 – 25.86
\nSpot Rate : 0.3000
\nAverage : 0.1950<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2022-05-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.56
\nBid-YTW : 4.36 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

MFC.PR.G<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 24.33 – 24.68
\nSpot Rate : 0.3500
\nAverage : 0.2474<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2021-12-19
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.33
\nBid-YTW : 4.63 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More trade-war chatter: World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo expressed concern at U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for tariffs on steel and aluminum on Friday, an extremely rare intervention into a WTO member’s trade …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49246,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49245\/revisions\/49246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}