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☆ Higher provisions, legal charges dampen CIBC's quarterly profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (CM.TO) reported a fall in its first-quarter profit on Friday, weighed down by higher provisions and legal charges to settle a lawsuit tied to the 2008 global financial crisis. CIBC set aside C$295 million ($217.17 million) in provisions for credit losses in the reported quarter, up C$220 million from a year-ago period. Last month, Bank of Canada said it would hold off on further moves to let the effects of past rate hikes sink in. CIBC kicked off the first-quarter earnings season for major Canadian banks on Friday. Rivals Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) will report on Tuesday while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) will post their earnings on Wednesday.

This would help its investment bankers in their pitches to clients, especially for IPOs, one of the sources added. Klein is selling his business to Credit Suisse for $175 million, the two said earlier this month. Credit Suisse will focus on managing money for the wealthy after the carve-out. A spokesman for Credit Suisse declined to comment, as did a representative for Klein. Credit Suisse reported its biggest annual loss last year since the financial crisis and cut its bonus pool by 50% for 2022.

☆ Stocks are reversing course as inflation looks sticky with more retail earnings on deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The optimism about inflation and the U.S. economy is quickly waning on Wall Street, and the early 2023 rally for stocks is fading. The market was under pressure again on Friday after a hotter-than-expected reading for personal consumption expenditures, sending rates higher and stocks lower. Economic updates Next week brings a new round of economic indicators to see how the sticky inflation is affecting consumers and business. Other looks at the economy will come through key earnings reports. Speech by Fed Governor Christopher Waller Friday: 9:45 a.m. Markit Services PMI 10:00 a.m. ISM Services PMI 3:00 p.m.

☆ A 27-year-old freelance writer whose 'hourly earning potential' is $215 explains how to maximize earnings as a freelancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

To maximize earning potential as a freelancer, he only works with clients that pay competitive rates. Dong shared four strategies that have helped him maximize his earning potential as a freelancer. Instead of using Fiverr or Upwork, reach out to potential clients via email, LinkedIn, or other social platforms. After all, the slower your work, the more your hourly earning potential drops. Plus, he does other seemingly simple things like prioritizing sleep, eating well, and exercising consistently to get the most out of his work hours.

☆ Toronto stocks seen up 6.2% by year-end, despite 'wall of worry'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Equity markets have exhibited remarkable resilience, climbing a wall of worry toward higher common stock prices," said Brandon Michael, senior investment analyst at ABC Funds. "The main drivers toward higher stock prices include decelerating inflation, central banks easing up on their monetary policy tightening efforts, and improving investor risk appetite." Canada's annual rate of inflation cooled to 5.9% in January after peaking at 8.1% in June, data on Tuesday showed. The energy and materials sectors combined account for about 30% of the Toronto market's weighting. (Other stories from the Reuters Q1 global stock markets poll package:)Reporting by Fergal Smith; additional polling by Aditi Verma, Milounee Purohit and Mumal Rathore; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

OTTAWA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada's annual inflation rate eased more than expected in January to 5.9%, data showed on Tuesday, which should allow the Bank of Canada to stay on the sidelines at its next meeting while it lets previous rate hikes sink in. Before the inflation figures were released, money markets saw a 100% chance for another rate increase this year. The bank forecasts inflation to slow to about 3% by the middle of 2023, and to come down to its 2% target next year. Excluding food and energy, January prices rose 4.9% compared with a 5.3% increase in December. The figures show prices coming down faster in Canada than in the United States, where annual inflation gained 6.4% in January.

☆ Canada annual inflation rate slows to 5.9% in January
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada's annual inflation rate fell to 5.9% in January, largely on the base year effect, as gasoline prices, mortgage interest and food prices rose, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the annual rate to fall to 6.1% in January from December. Percent changesMonth-on-month Year-on-yearJan Dec Jan DecCPI - all items +0.5 -0.6 +5.9 +6.3CPI - common n/a n/a +6.6 +6.6CPI - median n/a n/a +5.0 +5.2CPI - trim n/a n/a +5.1 +5.3Bank of Canada core +0.3 -0.3 +5.0 +5.4All items ex food/energy +0.2 -0.1 +4.9 +5.3Goods +1.0 -1.7 +6.4 +6.9Services +0.1 +0.3 +5.3 +5.6Energy +1.3 -7.9 +5.4 +7.3Seasonally adjusted +0.3 0.0 n/a n/aCore CPI, SA +0.1 +0.3 n/a n/aNOTE: Analysts in a Reuters survey had on average forecast January CPI to be 6.1% annualized, and to be up 0.7% on the month. (Reporting by Dale Smith; Editing by Ismail Shakil)((ismail.shakil@tr.com))Keywords: CANADA ECONOMY/INFLATIONOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A 27-year-old freelance writer who brought in $115,000 last year working 30 hours a week explains how he uses ChatGPT and other tools to work more efficiently
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Freelance finance writer Tony Dong made about $115,000 last year working 30 hours per week. But he also uses specific tools, including ChatGPT, to work more efficiently. Here are three tools Dong uses to do his job better and more efficiently. But if he's writing about something he's less familiar with he'll ask his AI assistant for help. There's also a premium version for $12 a month, which Dong uses: "It makes your writing more compelling and is worth the money."

☆ Canadian Senate calls for Bank of Canada to be more transparent
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - A Senate committee on Wednesday called for greater parliamentary oversight of the Bank of Canada and more transparency from the central bank as it battles to restore credibility lost during last year's fight to contain inflation. Last week, Bank of Canada finally released minutes from the policy-setting meeting and concluded that the central bank hiked rates last month rather than leaving them unchanged because of labor market tightness and stronger-than-expected growth. "The Bank of Canada should be more transparent and periodically make public its assessment of the effect of its interventions on inflation and on the evolution of key economic indicators," the Senate committee on banking, commerce and the economy said. The central bank declined to comment on the Senate committee report. On Jan. 25, the Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first major central bank to say it would likely hold off on further increases for now.

OTTAWA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Thursday that the economy remains overheated and the jobs market is too tight, as he kept the door open to future interest rate hikes. On Jan. 25, the Bank hiked its key interest rate to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first major central bank to say it would hold off on further increases as long as prices eased as forecast. "The Canadian economy remains overheated and clearly in excess demand and this continues to put upward pressure on many domestic prices," Macklem said. "The tightness in the labor market needs to ease, wage growth needs to moderate and service price inflation needs to cool" or else more interest rate hikes will be needed, he added. At its last policy meeting, the Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 4.50% to 4.75% range.

☆ Morning Bid: Growth trumps rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While there were some questions about seasonal adjustments in the data, economists were impressed that sales growth was pretty broad based and have scrambled to re-crunch first quarter U.S. output forecasts as a result. There may be a more mixed picture from Thursday's data slate on producer prices, housing starts and weekly jobless claims. Even though rates futures and Treasury yields ticked back a bit today, pricing now has Fed policy rates moving as high as 5.25% and staying above 5% all year. And while full-year earnings growth estimates for S&P500 companies have sunk to zero, consensus forecasts are now pencilling in a rebound of almost 12% next year. Uncertainty about the pace of growth and annual tax receipts in April makes it difficult for government officials to predict the exact "X-date", it said.

The jobless rate held steady at 5%, which is just a decimal point higher than the record low, Statistics Canada (Statscan) said. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a net gain of 15,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to edge up to 5.1% in January. "However, that won't stop markets reacting to today's strong data by pricing in a greater probability of further hikes, and pricing out rate cuts," he said. Before the jobs numbers, markets had been betting that the Bank of Canada's next move would be to cut rates. When he announced a pause on rates, Governor Tiff Macklem said it was "conditional" and did not rule out further increases.

☆ -Bank of Canada rate hike reflected labor tightness, stronger-than-expected growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Jan 25 the Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first major central bank to say it would likely hold off on further increases for now. On Tuesday, Governor Tiff Macklem said no further rate hikes would be needed if, as expected, the economy stalled and inflation fell. "Council wanted to convey that the bar for additional rate increases was now higher" and to "give a clear sense that they would need an accumulation of evidence to determine whether further rate increases would be required" to return inflation to target. The Bank of Canada had stood out from its peers, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, in not providing some form of record of their meetings. (Reporting by Steve Scherer, editing by David Ljunggren)((Reuters Ottawa bureau; david.ljunggren@tr.com))Keywords: CANADA CENBANK/UPDATE 1Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank of Canada takes historic step in improving transparency with release of minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada will release minutes from its policy setting meeting for the first time on Wednesday, as the central bank battles to restore credibility lost during last year's fight to contain inflation. The Bank of Canada has come under a rare attack from critics, including the opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, for misjudging inflation, which led to renewed calls for it to release minutes and be more transparent about its decision-making process. While inflation was a global problem, the Bank of Canada has stood out from its peers, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, in not providing some form of record of their meetings. Following a review from the International Monetary Fund, the central bank accepted a key recommendation and agreed to release the "Summary of Deliberations," similar to meeting minutes released by other central banks. On Wednesday, the bank will release minutes of its January meeting at 1:30 p.m.

☆ Harvey Schwartz has his work cut out for him at Carlyle. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But first, a Wall Street firm finally finds its CEO. Harvey Schwartz Goldman Sachs1. In many ways, Carlyle and Harvey Schwartz are perfectly imperfect for each other. Might as well call it "Carefree Carlyle," because that's the vibes I'm getting under the soon-to-be Schwartz era. Click here to read more about what'll be expected of Harvey Schwartz as CEO of Carlyle.

☆ Ojo, a home-listings site aiming to rival Zillow, sells its Canadian operations to Royal Bank of Canada and raises funds from Vista Equity Partners in combined deal of nearly $200 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home-listings company Ojo Labs sold its Canadian operations to the Royal Bank of Canada. The transactions, totaling nearly $200 million, will help Ojo navigate a bumpy housing market. "We put the company in an extremely healthy cash position, while others are having to retrench," Berkowitz told Insider. These services can differentiate Ojo from Zillow and Realtor.com, which are most intently focused on the home transaction. CoStar, the real estate data giant that's reached a dominant position in commercial real estate data, has recently trained its eye on residential listing platforms.

OTTAWA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Tuesday that no further rate hikes will be needed if, as expected, the economy stalls and inflation comes down. The central bank has over the last 11 months lifted rates at a record pace to 4.5% to tame inflation, which was 6.3% in December, still well above the bank's 2% target. On Monday, a median of market participants surveyed by the central bank forecast borrowing costs would come down by half-a-percentage-point by the end of this year, and would fall further next year. "We need to pause rate hikes before we slow the economy and inflation too much. "The considerable tightening we've done will continue to work its way through the economy, and this will rebalance demand and supply and slow inflation."

☆ Morning Bid: Powell's state of the union
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jerome Powell makes his first speech since the Fed's latest quarter-point interest rate rise last week. More importantly, it's his first chance to comment on Friday's seemingly blockbuster U.S. employment report for January. Perhaps just as significantly, they now price year-end Fed rates higher than the 4.5-4.75% range they are at right now. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic on Monday said of the jobs readout: "It'll probably mean we have to do a little more work." Investors will watch Biden's State of the Union with one eye on the potentially destabilising debt ceiling standoff with Congress.

That prompted the central bank to pause its most aggressive tightening cycle for now, becoming the first major central bank to do so. Traders have already bid up Canadian stocks and the Canadian dollar , dubbed a 'commodity currency', since the news of China reopening surfaced in December. Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said that for Canada, China's reopening is more a "clear-cut positive" than it would be for other countries with fewer commodities exports. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have since laid the groundwork for a pause as well. Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay said China's reopening will help put a floor under global price levels, potentially offsetting demand destruction as economies slow.

☆ Take Five: The Bottom Line
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Australia and India's central banks are navigating the shifting sands of data and markets are digesting what the world's top central banks have to offer. The question is what impact this will have on bonds and stocks markets after a stellar January? Reuters Graphics4/ RUN RALLY, RUNIt was a stellar start to 2023 for markets - stocks and government bonds enjoyed one of the best Januaries on record, fuelled by optimism that the worst is over. That's not good for a central bank, nor is the idea that their communication is ineffective. Policy rate hikes and cuts by central banks overseeing the 10 most traded currencies.

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - For all intents and purposes, financial markets think the brutal central bank tightening cycle is done. That may seem like a leap of faith after 36 hours in which three major central banks lifted their main policy interest rates yet again - and warned of more to come. Elsewhere, the Bank of Canada already signalled last month that it's pausing its rate rises. Jason Draho, head of asset allocation Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, reckons "there's little investment value in over-analyzing a central banker's mindset." And if the central banks themselves seemed inclined to allow markets to do their own thing this time around, then it was left to the IMF to act as head teacher.

☆ Central banks hike rates again, but a pause is coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Joshua RobertsLONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Major central banks are steadily moving closer to a pause in their aggressive interest rate hiking campaigns. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England raised rates on Thursday, but markets suspect a peak is nearing. Overall, 10 big developed economies have raised rates by a combined 2,965 basis points in this cycle to date, with Japan the holdout dove. Canada's central bank has raised its policy rate at a record pace of 425 basis points in 10 months. The central bank raised its forecast for its peak interest rate to 5.5%, up from a previous forecast of 4.1%.

In both the United States and Europe, the words of central bankers led investors to cut their estimates of the peak or "terminal" rate expected in the current tightening cycle. With financial conditions loosening despite rising policy rates, "central banks must...be resolute in their fight against inflation and ensure policy remains appropriately tight long enough to durably bring inflation back to target," Adrian and others wrote. The European Central Bank seems furthest from a likely stopping point. Combined, the statements mark the start of the endgame for central banks that were slow to recognize the onset of inflation last year before engaging in a record-setting round of rate increases. Central bankers long ago stopped using the word "transitory" in reference to inflation that proved faster and more persistent than any expected.

"I can't imagine Pakistan not going on a back-to-back IMF programme." Pakistan's debt problemsPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s main election challenger is former cricket star Imran Khan, who was removed from the job last April but retains popularity. "There is just a long-term indebtedness problem," said Jeff Grills, the head of emerging markets debt at Aegon Asset Management, who held Pakistan bonds until the floods hit. Most of Pakistan's bonds are still trading at less than half their face value. Reuters GraphicsDIFFICULT TIMESSuch a restructuring of Pakistan's bonds would represent its first international default since 1999, according to the Bank of Canada-Bank of England Sovereign Default Database.

☆ Central banks are fighting a war on inflation. They're not done yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —One of the main jobs of central banks is to keep prices under control, allowing households and businesses to plan for the future with some certainty on what things will cost. Tolga Akmen/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockPolicymakers face difficult questions about exactly when to pause interest rate hikes. The European Central Bank’s main rate is 2%, while the Bank of England’s is 3.5%. Still, investors are becoming increasingly confident that major central banks will change course soon. “Central banks are relatively close to the end,” Sels said.

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