The recent bank crisis in Cyprus shows the eurozone has not yet resolved its rooted structural problems, notes BMO Harris Private Banking in its April outlook report.

“Despite a Cypriot bailout being inevitable, the handling of the bailout illustrates that European policy makers are still struggling to keep Europe’s challenges under control,” said Daniel Theriault, chief investment strategist, BMO Harris Private Banking.

“In a number of countries, most notably Spain and Greece, unemployment numbers remain stubbornly high and many Eurozone economies are still in recession. Even at the end of the quarter, Italy was still struggling with political deadlock which has resulted in delays addressing key issues such as debt and how to stimulate economic growth.”

In the United States, the market and the economy continue to move on an upwards trajectory.

The report highlights such favourable indicators as the S&P 500 finishing the quarter up by 10.61%, encouraging employment data with 88,000 new jobs added in March, an improving U.S. housing market and steadily improving corporate earnings.

“The U.S. Federal Reserve has also indicated that they will be keeping interest rates low until the national unemployment rate is below 6.5%,” said Theriault. “All of these factors signal that the U.S. economy and domestic markets will continue to improve over the course of 2013.”

As for Canada, the report notes that much of the financial news was driven by the introduction of the 2013-2014 federal budget.

“Canada’s economy is in a good position right now, and the goal of balancing the budget by 2015 still seems within reach if the economy cooperates,” said Theriault.

To view the full report, visit: http://www.bmo.com/pdf/hpb/BHIMI-Market-Commentary-April-2013.pdf.