Douglas Porter Quotes (12 Quotes)

While it's a bit of a surprise, the slightly downbeat news on confidence can be explained by the ongoing weakness in employment, and perhaps consumers are a little concerned about the backup in mortgage rates. But while they're becoming less confident, they're still buying -- the latest sales numbers still look good.

I suspect there will be enough positive news in other areas to persuade consumers there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that the economy is moving to better times, but it will be a gradual process, and confidence may be flat in the next couple of months.

This points out that the labor market remains as tight as ever.

The industrial sector is cruising along at a moderate but not spectacular pace, and that's a good thing at this stage of the expansion.

I think it will improve liquidity and the attractiveness of owning Canadian financial assets, although I don't see it as a watershed event for Canadian financial markets.

While the economic data have been all over the place in recent weeks, there are no obvious signs that the economy is cracking in the face of record energy prices. Indeed, the export and production data have been surprisingly perky.

There really can be little debate now that Western Canada is already experiencing the closest thing to full employment in over three decades, with the jobless rate west of Ontario just barely above four per cent.

It's a red flag. Any time the nation's largest retailer stumbles a bit, it's a warning sign.

At least one spooky theme behind these moves has been mounting concern that the latest spike in energy prices will cascade into other costs and prices, drive up inflation expectations and force the Fed to be even more fearsome than expected in its tightening campaign,

Pretty much everyone, as well as their Uncle Bob, is expecting the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates by 25 basis points a quarter of a percentage point to 3 per cent at tomorrow's announcement.

The renewed and rapid rise in the Canadian dollar may ultimately do much of (the) tightening for the bank, but we look for at least one more rate hike this year.

Given that there are virtually no other signs that Canadian spending suddenly weakened in February, this sharp drop in imports is likely to prove to be a fluke.