With the Bank of Canada set to meet next week, economists are following all the signs that could affect the bank’s announcement on interest rates and monetary policy.

Statistics Canada announced Monday that the value of building permits declined in May, as institutional intentions plummeted and construction intentions for single-family homes hit a 17-month low. Builders took out $3.9 billion worth of building permits, down 2% from April.

Analysts aren’t expecting a report on housing starts, expected mid-week to show much improvement. The question remains whether the bank will move on to the same page as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. In recent months, Bank of Canada David Dodge has been insisting that interest rates should rise, but economic data may force a shift in that outlook.

Meanwhile, the third quarter of trading begins today and investors are looking for signs of optimism. There have been some recent signs for hope with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones industrial average were enjoying double-digit point increases.

Since mid-March, investors have been buying up stocks on the growing belief of an impending recovery. As a result the market’s major stock had a strong second quarter — the best quarter since 1998 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

Corporate new will be key in keeping hope alive. This morning aluminum giant Alcan Inc. announced a US$3.9-billion bid to buy Penichey of Paris, France. Alcan said the deal to buy the international aluminum and packaging competitor will give it a bigger foothold in Europe and make it an industry leader. European regulators will have to okay the deal.

Overseas, the Nikkei closed at 9,795.16 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, up 247.43 points, or 2.6%, from Friday.

This morning in Europe, London’s FTSE 100 stock index has risen 40.2 points, or 1%, to 4,061.7. Paris’s CAC 40 index has climbed 75.12 points, or 2.4%, to 3,147.52. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index has gained 70.8 points, or 2.2%, to 3.310.41.