Broad-Based Gains Across Sectors Signal the "Great Freeze" Is Thawing SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2026 America's small businesses are hiring again ? and in a big way.
Canadian real gross domestic product was firmer than expected in the first two months of the year, despite a seemingly endless winter and a slew of weak headline results from manufacturing and employment early in 2026, said Bank of Montreal.
The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 91.8 in March from 91.0 in February, above a reading of 87.9 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET.
U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly edged up in March, but households remained downbeat on the labor market and anticipated higher inflation over the next 12 months amid a surge in gasoline prices and continued tariff pass-through. That labor market apprehension was underscored by the other data on Tuesday showing fewer job openings in February and hiring tumbling to a six-year low.
It wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad a start to the new year for the Canadian economy as expected, said CIBC after Tuesday's gross domestic product data. GDP advanced by 0.1% month over month, a tick above the consensus forecast.
U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly edged up in March, but households anticipated higher inflation over the next 12 months amid a surge in gasoline prices and continued tariffs pass-through, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index increased to 91.8 this month.
Canada's economy looks to be off to a "slightly better-than-expected" start in 2026 after a "lackluster" Q4 2025, says TD Bank in looking at the key implications of today's GDP data release. TD adds with January's print and a flash estimate for February, Q1 2026 growth is "tracking in line with historical trend growth", a view shared by both it and Bank of Canada.
Surging costs from tariffs and war notwithstanding, Confidence edged higher NEW YORK, March 31, 2026 The Conference Board?Consumer Confidence Index??edged up by 0.8 points in March to 91.8, from 91.0 in February.
The Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI reading fell to 52.8 in March from 57.7 in February, compared with the expected 55.0 reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET. Other regional manufacturing data already released for March have indicated mixed results. The national ISM manufacturing index will be released on Wednesday.
Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, announced it has provided $32,567,000 in Freddie Mac financing, for the acquisition of Aspen Ridge Apartments, a 253-unit multifamily property located in West Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, Mandelbaum & Associates, Inc. provided Bayshore Properties with a $5,500,000 preferred equity check to help support the acquisition.
Multiple municipal bond offerings this week have a high exposure to climate risk, specifically high Flood and Water Stress Scores, according to ICE Climate Data. A $9 million offering from Sanford, N.Y., records a Flood Score of 3.5 out of 5.0, ICE reports.
Gold traded higher for a third-straight session early on Tuesday as the dollar and yields fell after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank sees no need to raise interest rates despite higher energy prices. Gold for May delivery was last seen up US$56.70 to US$4,614.20 per ounce.
Skeena Resources (SKE) said Tuesday it plans to issue $750 million in senior secured notes due 2031 to support its Eskay Creek project. The company said it will use about $184 million of the proceeds to reduce its gold streaming obligations by two-thirds, $100 million for an interest reserve account, and the rest for the Eskay Creek project development and general purposes.
U.S. single-family house prices increased moderately in January, but rising mortgage rates as the war in the Middle East drags on could sideline potential first-time buyers from the housing market. House prices nudged up 0.1% after an upwardly revised 0.3% gain in December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said on Tuesday.
By Jamie McGeever. The last time the world faced a sudden surge in inflationary pressures from a severe supply shock and spiking energy prices, in 2021-22, major central banks responded in unison.
U.S. single-family house prices increased moderately in January, but rising mortgage rates as the war in the Middle East drags on could sideline potential first-time buyers from the housing market. House prices nudged up 0.1% after an upwardly revised 0.3% gain in December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said on Tuesday.
The Case-Shiller National Home Price index fell by 0.1% in January before seasonal adjustment following a 0.3% decrease in December. National home prices were up 0.9% year-over-year, down from 1.1% in December.
The FHFA's measure of home prices rose by 0.1% in January after an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in the previous month, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET. There were gains in six districts from December, led by a 1.7% jump in the East South Central region, which were partially offset by declines in the other three regions.
South Korea?s top car rental company cuts IT costs, boosts flexibility and powers digital transformation with long-term savings and robust services powered by Rimini Support? for SAP and Oracle Rimini Street, Inc. (RMNI), the Software Support and Agentic AI ERP Company?, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced that Lotte Rental, South Korea?s l...
The Canadian economy advanced by 0.1% month over month to start the year, a tick above the consensus expectation, notes CIBC after Tuesday's gross domestic product data release. CIBC cites strength in goods-producing sectors, namely oil and natural gas extraction, mining/quarrying, and construction, which masked a decline in manufacturing.
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust was 0.9% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity as reports of potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict improve risk sentiment despite ongoing volatility in oil markets.
Real gross domestic product edged up 0.1% month over month in January, following 0.2% month-over-month growth in December, driven by strength in goods-producing industries, said Statistics Canada on Tuesday. January's GDP was higher than a flat consensus reading provided by MUFG.
* Gold down more than 13% so far this month. * Gold, silver set for fifth quarterly rise. * Platinum, palladium set to post first quarterly loss in five. * Dollar eyes best month in eight as war's safe-haven shelter. By Ishaan Arora.
* Canadian economy grew 0.1% on a monthly basis in January. * Advance estimate shows growth in February could be 0.2% * Growth in January led by goods-producing industries. * Services sectors stall as real estate contracts. By Promit Mukherjee.
The Canadian dollar "continues its sagging ways" at C$1.394 after closing at a weakest level of the year, and today's industry gross domestic product for January and preliminary February at 8:30 a.m. ET "won't help the currency", says BMO Economics in its morning note.
Brazil's public sector gross debt increased to 79.2% of gross domestic product in February, from 78.7% the month before, central bank data showed on Tuesday. The public sector recorded a primary deficit of 16.388 billion reais for the month, narrower than the 25 billion reais shortfall forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
Sterling was set for its biggest monthly gain against the euro in over a year on Tuesday, due to the surge in British short-term borrowing costs, while also posting its biggest monthly fall on the dollar in five months as the Iran war roils markets.
* Gold down more than 13% so far this month. * Gold, silver set for fifth quarterly rise. * Platinum, palladium set to post first quarterly loss in five. * Dollar eyes best month in eight as war's safe-haven shelter. By Ishaan Arora.
Inflation risks have driven Treasury yields higher since the U.S. clash with Iran ignited energy prices. Wall Street continues to expect the war to end soon, easing pressure on both the price of oil and the U.S. purse. BNP Paribas, for instance, expects the U.S. deficit to stay just below 6% of GDP over 2026 and 2027. SIGNS OF INFLATION STRESS.
* Headline inflation 2.5% in March vs 1.9% in Feb. * Energy price accounts for vast majority of rise. * ECB debating whether to raise rates. Euro zone inflation soared past the European Central Bank's 2% target this month due to surging oil and gas prices, heightening a policy dilemma as expensive energy is a drag on growth but also risks generating a self-reinforcing inflation spiral.
* S&P 500 on track for worst quarter in four years. * Energy spike, rate fears dim investor outlook. * Mag Seven stocks pull back significantly. By Chibuike Oguh.
* Gold down more than 13% so far this month; up 5% in March quarter. * Dollar eyes best month since July; emerges as war's safe-haven shelter. * Silver, platinum, palladium fall about 20% each in March. By Noel John.
The number of unemployed people in Germany remained unchanged in March, labour office figures showed on Tuesday. In seasonally adjusted terms, the jobless figure remained the same as in February at 2.977 million. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 6.3% compared with a month earlier, in line with the forecast.
Realty Income (O) said Monday it priced a public offering of $800 million in senior unsecured notes carrying a 4.75% interest rate due April 15, 2033. The debt securities were priced at 98.26% of their principal amount to deliver an effective yield to maturity of 5.047%, the company said.
Everyone has an opinion on what central banks should do with rates as the Iran war drives an energy shock. Most monetary authorities have so far only talked tough, warning of "decisive" action if needed.
Australian consumers will no longer face surcharge fees on card payments after the country's central bank said it would ban the widely disliked practice as inefficient and opaque. Wrapping up a months-long public review process, the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday announced it would remove card surcharging on designated eftpos, Mastercard (MA) and Visa networks from October 1 this year.
Major U.S. indexes closed Monday on a mixed note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.1% to 45,216.14, while the S&P 500 fell 0.39% to 6,343.72 and the Nasdaq declined 0.7% to 20,794.64. These are the top stocks that gained the attention of retail traders and investors through the day: Micron?s stock fell 9.88%, closing at $321.80. It reached an intraday high of $362.81 and a l...
* Official March manufacturing PMI at 50.4, up from February's 49.0. * Headline figure marks strongest growth in a year, helped by improved demand. * Non-manufacturing PMI also turns up to 50.1. * Middle East war adds to uncertainty, fuels growth risks. By Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
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