January 2026 is officially in the books. Global equity markets moved higher despite geopolitical tensions and concerns about the global economy. Commodity prices surged higher, with gold, silver and copper reaching new record-high prices. Canada made progress towards diversifying trade, particularly with China, India and South Korea. There will be several critical economic announcements in Canada and elsewhere this week. Here’s what to watch for.

• Canada’s manufacturing activity for the month of January will be announced today. Manufacturing activity in Canada has contracted for 11 consecutive months, in large part due to trade tensions with the US, which imposed substantial tariffs on key sectors of Canada’s economy.
• Statistics Canada will release Canada’s labour market data on Friday. Canada’s economy added 8,200 jobs in December, its fourth straight increase, suggesting the labour market is stabilizing. The unemployment rate stood at 6.8% at the end of 2025.
• The US unemployment rate will be announced on Friday. The jobless rate fell to 4.4% in December, largely due to the number of unemployed persons declining.
• Two major central banks will make announcements this week. The European Central Bank and Bank of England make their interest rate decisions on Thursday.
• Key earnings in Canada include Suncor Energy, BCE, Barrick Mining, TMX and Saputo. Notable earnings in the US include Walt Disney, PepsiCo, Pfizer, AMD, Uber, Alphabet and Amazon.com.

Besides economic announcements, investors will have to pay close attention to developments in geopolitics and trade, which has been a key theme over the past year. The Bank of Canada said that Canada’s economy stalled in the fourth quarter of 2025 but is expected to expand in 2026, albeit at a relatively soft pace. Canada’s economy has shown its resiliency despite trade disruptions with its largest trade partner. Canada is hoping for a positive resolution to the review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.

If you would like to discuss this economic and market update or have questions about your finances and investments, please feel free to contact me anytime.