World wealth watch: interest rates and consumer spending around the globe

Retail sales in Canada fell by 0.3% in January, its first decline since August 2023 suggesting tight financial conditions are weighing on Canadian households. The Federal Reserve held steady at a target range of 5.25%-5.50% at its March meeting, but signalled intentions to lower interest rates later this year. Fed officials expect three interest rate cuts this year.

After keeping its policy interest rate negative for eight straight years, the Bank of Japan elected to raise it to a target range of 0.00%-0.10%. The first rate hike in 17 years! Meanwhile, the European Central Bank outlines its policy path – their first interest rate cut is likely to take place in June.

At the National People’s Congress, China’s government announced its gross domestic product growth target of 5% this year. Despite meeting its target, China’s economy had underlying pockets of weakness, inhibiting exceeding its target by a large margin.

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to extend its voluntary production cuts through the second quarter of 2024. Originally, scheduled to end after the first quarter, the production cuts might add to oil prices over the upcoming months.

Read the full market commentary on canadalifeinvest.ca, including the following topics:

• The Canadian consumer appears to be feeling the pinch
• Interest rates around the world
• China targets 5% growth
• OPEC+ to extend voluntary product costs

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Some of the awarded funds are former Great-West Life or London Life funds; however, these mandates are on the Canada Life segregated fund shelf as well. As of Jan. 1, 2020, The Great-West Life Assurance Company, London Life Insurance Company, and The Canada Life Assurance Company became one company – The Canada Life Assurance Company. As a result, all segregated fund policies and contracts that were with Great West Life or London Life are now with Canada Life.

FundGrade A+ is a registered trademark in Canada of Fundata Canada Inc. Fundata Canada Inc. has been providing data aggregation and dissemination services to the Canadian media and financial marketplace since 1987. Fundata is a major provider in the distribution of fund and stock information in Canada.

FundGrade A+® is used with permission from Fundata Canada Inc., all rights reserved. The annual FundGrade A+® Awards are presented by Fundata Canada Inc. to recognize the “best of the best” among Canadian investment funds. The FundGrade A+® calculation is supplemental to the monthly FundGrade ratings and is calculated at the end of each calendar year. The FundGrade rating system evaluates funds based on their risk-adjusted performance, measured by Sharpe Ratio, Sortino Ratio, and Information Ratio. The score for each ratio is calculated individually, covering all time periods from 2 to 10 years. The scores are then weighted equally in calculating a monthly FundGrade. The top 10% of funds earn an A Grade; the next 20% of funds earn a B Grade; the next 40% of funds earn a C Grade; the next 20% of funds receive a D Grade; and the lowest 10% of funds receive an E Grade. To be eligible, a fund must have received a FundGrade rating every month in the previous year. The FundGrade A+® uses a GPA-style calculation, where each monthly FundGrade from “A” to “E” receives a score from 4 to 0, respectively. A fund’s average score for the year determines its GPA. Any fund with a GPA of 3.5 or greater is awarded a FundGrade A+® Award. For more information, see www.FundGradeAwards.com. Although Fundata makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Fundata.

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This commentary represents Canada Life Investment Management Ltd.'s views at the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any trends described in this material will continue or that forecasts will occur; economic and market conditions change frequently. This commentary is intended as a general source of information and is not intended to be a solicitation to buy or sell specific investments, nor tax or legal advice. Before making any investment decision, prospective investors should carefully review the relevant offering documents and seek input from their advisor. You may not reproduce, distribute, or otherwise use any of this article without the prior written consent of Canada Life Investment Management Ltd. Privacy, legal, copyright and trademark information

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