Author: Robert Jessi

As the king among safe havens, the Swiss Franc (CHF) is supposed to benefit from geopolitical shocks such as the Iran war. This time, it didn’t.The Swissie is nearly 6% below January’s peak against the US Dollar (USD) after a sharp decline that came along with the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Swiss currency has recovered somewhat in the past week, but its relatively subdued performance during one of the major recent geopolitical shocks has left questions over why the Franc failed to behave like a traditional safe-haven. What happened? The conflict in the…

The Canadian dollar will remain the pressure-relief valve for secular productivity challenges, trade-related uncertainty, and the prospect that the Bank of Canada will be compelled to cut rates before year-end as the Fed either remains on hold or succumbs to market pressure to tighten policy. As this plays out at the two countries’ central banks, already deep negative interest rate spreads will move deeper into negative terrain. As all three challenges persist, if not intensify, the Canadian dollar will face unrelenting pressure, with C$1.60 to the U.S. dollar (62.5 U.S. cents) not out of reach. As we have seen time…

 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), including Russia, agreed to raise their output targets by 188,000 barrels a day starting in August.This is in addition to the similar increases made for June and July.“With the August increase now decided, they will have fully unwound the 2023 cut if they make one more hike of around the same size for September at ​their next meeting on August 2,” per Reuters.

Like many newcomers, I spent my first few months trying to make sense of a financial system that felt both reassuring and unfamiliar. Some of the discoveries were significant. I still remember the first time we received the Canada Child Benefit, because having grown up and spent much of my adult life in countries without that kind of support, I was genuinely moved.  It was not just the money, but what the money represented. For the first time, I felt that if life threw us an unexpected challenge, there were systems designed to help us get back on our feet.…

Gold prices rise as cooling rate hike bets hit dollar

USD/JPY extends its gains for the second successive day, trading around 161.70 during the Asian hours on Monday. The Japanese Yen (JPY) is caught in a high-stakes tug-of-war, buckling under surging import costs even as 10-year JGB yields hit a fresh 30-year high of 2.79%. This deep market divide has traders on high alert for immediate verbal intervention from Tokyo.The USD/JPY pair appreciates as the US Dollar (USD) holds its ground, buoyed by market expectations of multiple Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes later this year. This comes despite easing global inflation concerns, which have been helped by oil flows normalizing…

Commerzbank highlights that strong Singapore manufacturing and electronics PMIs underpin a constructive growth outlook, with Q2 GDP expected to exceed Q1’s 6% expansion. Against this backdrop, USD/SGD has eased slightly but remains near this year’s highs. The bank expects the pair to consolidate in a defined range rather than trend strongly in the near term.Range-bound outlook for USD/SGD”Looking ahead, the manufacturing outlook remains constructive.””We will get the advance Q2 GDP report in the next week or so.””It is expected to post a strong performance and even exceed Q1’s 6% yoy expansion, supported by a strong manufacturing sector and continued firm…

The Pound to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate traded in a narrow range on Wednesday as uncertainty surrounding USMCA trade negotiations kept the Canadian Dollar subdued while Sterling awaited comments from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. At the time of writing, GBP/CAD was trading at CA$1.8827, little changed on the day. Latest — Exchange Rates:Pound to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD): 1.88368 (+0.06%)Euro to Canadian Dollar (EUR/CAD): 1.61838 (-0.2%)Dollar to Canadian Dollar (USD/CAD): 1.42311 (+0.16%) DAILY RECAP: The Canadian Dollar (CAD) struggled to attract support on Wednesday amid renewed uncertainty surrounding the future of the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade. Representatives…

As shown below, the Japanese yen has fallen to levels not seen since the late 1980s. (Note the chart quotes , thus a higher figure represents a depreciating yen) We have written extensively about why the yen matters to US markets: the yen carry trade. The trade is relatively simple. An investor borrows yen at low interest rates in Japan, converts the proceeds to dollars, and buys higher-yielding US assets, typically stocks or bonds. As we wrote in 2022, putting down $100,000 to borrow $1,000,000 in yen and buying a 3% Treasury note can generate nearly a 30% return, assuming…

The high cost of accessibility The financial barriers to accessible home renovation are astronomical, and the procedural landscape when it comes to these sorts of projects varies wildly from province to province. Funding can come from insurance companies, governments, tax credits, and non-profits. None of it is easy to secure, and that’s before you go through the lengthy process of actually getting an accessible renovation started.  You don’t need to take my word for it. Sean MacGinnis is the president of Ottawa-based BuildAble, a company focused on making accessible renovations more broadly available. He says that there just isn’t the…