Notes From The Desk | BoC Shock and Awe Jul 13 2022

‘Shock and awe’ is a military tactic where overwhelming force is employed to destroy an enemy’s will to fight.  Today the Bank of Canada (BoC) deployed the central bank version by delivering a surprise 100bps rate hike.  The last time the BoC moved by this amount was in 1998. With the public’s perception of medium-term […]

Notes From The Desk | Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War Jun 15 2022

Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War. Chairman Powell and Co delivered a strong message that the war on inflation was not one the Fed would lose as they delivered a 75-bps rate hike today and signalled that 75-bps was on the table for July.  The Chairman also made it clear that rates […]

Notes From The Desk | A Bond Play on the Rogers/Shaw Acquisition Jun 06 2022

A Bond Play on the Rogers/Shaw Acquisition. In March 2022, Rogers issued bonds with an interesting clause referred to as Special Mandatory Redemption. If the merger is not concluded by December 31st, 2022, the bonds will be redeemed at $101. Shaw’s equity is roughly $5 below the takeout price, implying the market believes there is […]

Notes From The Desk | Not On Autopilot May 12 2022

Not On Autopilot – The Bank of Canada amidst the perfect storm. In yesterday’s speech (“the perfect storm”), Toni Gravelle, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada shared some insights into the BoC’s thinking. The policy rate needs “to be at neutral levels to help cool demand”, somewhere between 2-3%   We could see a […]

Notes From The Desk | US CPI | Hotter Than Hoped May 11 2022

US CPI |Hotter Than Hoped. Although US CPI decelerated in April, it remains far too high: Headline CPI rose 0.3% (0.2% expected) leaving the annual rate at 8.3% (8.1% expected) Core prices rose 0.6% (0.4% expected) bringing the annual rate to 6.2% (6% expected)   Base effects will help annual CPI to fall, however a […]