By James Langton
(May 18 – 09:00 ET) – Statisitics Canada is reporting the lowest monthly increase of the Consumer Price Index report since August of 1999. For April it was up 2.1%. That’s below analyst expectations of 2.7%. The core rate – excluding food and energy prices – was also slower. It was up just 1.1% in April, down from 1.4% in March.
StatsCan is also reporting that retail sales bounced back in March to a record high of $22.8 billion, advancing 2.1% after a 1% decline in February. The automotive sector posted the strongest gain in sales. Excluding motor and recreational vehicle dealers total retail sales were up just 1%. Ordinarily the good inflation news would be a market positive, but with this week’s bank rate increase it likely won’t help much.
In business news, TD Bank is reporting second quarter earnings of 84¢ per share excluding unusual items, up from 58¢ in the period last year. Return on equity rose to 19.5%.
In the U.S., jobless claims were down 21,000 last week to 276,000. This was far ahead of expectations of 7,000. Equity futures are down in reaction to the news.
In Europe stocks are mostly up. London’s FTSE has gained 44 points to 6240. France’s CAC 40 is up 18 points to 6471. Germany’s DAX has gained 33 points to 7244.
In merger news the Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.S. antitrust officials will recommend blocking WorldCom Inc.’s US$115 billion deal for Sprint Corp.
In Asia stocks took a hit on the heels of wall Street’s slide. The Nikkei dropped 372 points to 17031. The Hang Seng slipped 505 points to 14322.
JDS Uniphase Corp. is reporting that Kevin Kalkhoven is retiring as co-chairman and chief executive. Co-Chairman Jozef Straus will take over as CEO.