North American markets slipped at the open as US lawmakers continue to spar over plans to address the countries deficit. President Obama took to prime-time TV last night to urge a compromise, while House Speaker Boehner continues to blame the Administration for blocking a workable deal. The two sides have come fairly close to an agreement over the last few weeks, so it would appear the majority of a framework is in place with a just a few hurdles left to clear. Whether or not those hurdles are surmountable remains to be seen. Profits continue to come in largely ahead of estimates, but with a few notable weak spots this morning. Ford, Baidu and Broadcom were among companies to beat estimates, while 3M and Netflix missed the mark. United Parcel Service lowered its guidance for the third quarter due to “softening” conditions, after reporting its best-ever second quarter. The TSX is down 93 pts. The Dow is off 48 pts.
The Canadian dollar surged to a new three-year high this morning as the greenback continues to face pressure, climbing almost half a penny to US$1.0600 at last check. Bond yields are slightly lower at 2.17% for the 5-year Canada and 2.90% for the ten. Gold is up $2.80 to US$1614.80/oz. Oil is up 27 cents to US$99.47/barrel.
No changes for Vancouver mortgage rates with the five year fixed term mortgages in the 3.65% to 3.99% range and the variable rate mortgages ranging from 2.10% to 2.50%. With the bond market dropping and the Canadian dollar climbing I would not expect any changes to mortgage rates in the near future.
