The Effort and the Benefits of Keeping Up To Date

Published: April 24, 2024


Investor Knowledge +  5 Minutes = New Thinking

Life can be busy. Very busy at times. With so many things to do and to think about, many priorities can fall off the radar. Trying to eat healthy or exercise regularly can often take a back seat to a fast-food meal and just not being able to "find the time" to exercise. Keeping up to date with the news can also be something that falls off the priority list for many.

While keeping up with economic news and markets may seem like its yet another item to add to your "list", there are several important benefits that shouldn't be overlooked. Keeping up to date with financial news can help you to make better decisions, spot threats and opportunities early on, and provide you with a "heads up" on changes that you need to consider. Fortunately for investors, TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) has a timely and easy to digest publication that helps make the "list" a little less daunting.

Every quarter, the TD Wealth Asset Allocation Committee (“WAAC”) publishes their thoughts on the markets and economy including a positioning overview in the Market Perspectives. In the recently published Q2 Market Perspectives the WAAC provides its latest views on asset classes, where investing opportunities may arise, and future scenarios for global economies and interest rates.

Key Q2 highlights include:

  • Inflation has made notable progress in recent months in many economies, enabling central banks to shift their warnings of potential interest rate hikes to a dialogue around the timing of highly anticipated cuts
  • The U.S. is expected to continue to considerably outperform its peers. Through geopolitical risks and high borrowing costs, the U.S. is expected to continue to impress, buoyed by remarkable productivity. This is out of step with other countries where growth has cooled markedly. Canada is no exception to this pattern, but domestic inflation has not ceded as much as in other regions, creating a challenge for the Bank of Canada.
  • In the Eurozone, both goods and services inflation have cooled substantially. The European economy has stalled since the third quarter of 2022 and traditional economic dynamics have settled in to rebalance demand and supply, and to restore price stability.
  • Although Canadian economic growth has steadily evaporated, decades-long housing shortages are coming home to roost. Through January, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation excluding housing-related costs (rent, mortgage interest costs, and replacement costs) has already returned to 1.8% year-over-year ("YoY") and is at an even lower 0.6% (annualized) on a quarterly basis¹. Strip out the same housing factors from the classic core CPI (excluding food and energy) and we see virtually no growth in the quarter ending in January. The picture that emerges is of an economy with accumulating slack.
  • China’s economic challenges linger despite fiscal stimulus introduced toward the end of last year. The current economic situation is best characterized by the lingering ripple effects from the overhang in the housing market.

Access to the insights

For access to TDAM's full update, please check out the latest Market Perspectives.

Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P, TD Economics.

The information contained herein has been provided by TD Asset Management Inc. and is for information purposes only. The information has been drawn from sources believed to be reliable. The information does not provide financial, legal, tax or investment advice. Particular investment, tax, or trading strategies should be evaluated relative to each individual’s objectives and risk tolerance.

Certain statements in this document may contain forward-looking statements (“FLS”) that are predictive in nature and may include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “believes”, “estimates” and similar forward-looking expressions or negative versions thereof. FLS are based on current expectations and projections about future general economic, political and relevant market factors, such as interest and foreign exchange rates, equity and capital markets, the general business environment, assuming no changes to tax or other laws or government regulation or catastrophic events. Expectations and projections about future events are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, which may be unforeseeable. Such expectations and projections may be incorrect in the future. FLS are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any FLS. A number of important factors including those factors set out above can contribute to these digressions. You should avoid placing any reliance on FLS.

The TD Wealth Asset Allocation Committee (“WAAC”) is comprised of a diverse group of TD investment professionals. The WAAC’s mandate is to issue quarterly market outlooks which provide its concise view of the upcoming market situation for the next six to eighteen months. The WAAC’s guidance is not a guarantee of future results and actual market events may differ materially from those set out expressly or by implication in the WAAC’s quarterly market outlook. The WAAC market outlook is not a substitute for investment advice.

TD Asset Management Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

®The TD logo and other TD trademarks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or its subsidiaries.


TDAM Connections at a Glance:

You might also be interested in:

TDAM Talks Podcast

Thought Leadership

Market Commentaries