On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% while Toronto was flat.
Oil is at just shy of $49 and the Canadian dollar is at 78 U.S. cents.
Walmart was up 1.9% today and is up 21% this year. But that came after a 29% decline in 2015.
It’s hard to say where the Canadian dollar is headed next. (If oil keeps rising the Canadian dollar will likely keep rising) My strategy would be to think about moving Canadian dollars into U.S. investments slowly if and as the Canadian dollar rises and do the opposite as it falls.
Statistics Canada today reported the number of people collecting “Employment Insurance” in June.
The Alberta number was about unchanged versus May although up 40% year over year.
I saw with interest that the number in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia was down 4.5%. That may have been a statistical anomaly such as an imperfect seasonal adjustment. I doubt that it was due to any increase in employment. It could mean people left the area although I was under the impression that the flow of people was more so back from the oil patch rather than toward the oil patch. It could also reflect EI claims running out and I suspect that is the case.