This Weeks Economic Outlook

United States

• This week began with a sharp increase in U.S. Treasury interest rates

• However, poor purchasing manager indexes out of the euro zone and China provided a reminder of the weak health of the global recovery

• As a result, stock markets sold-off and U.S. Treasury yields went up in tandem

• The bottom line is that, even if we are not going to see 10-year yields dip below 1.7% as they did back in September of last year, this doesn’t mean that bullish sentiment has been permanently dashed

Canada

• Canadian inflation edged up in to 2.6% February compared to a year earlier. Core inflation reached 2.3%, getting somewhat closer to the top of the Bank of Canada’s inflation target. The inflation increase was largely anticipated by the market and reflected higher gasoline and food prices.