The restrictions put in place to contain the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant continued to weigh on global economic activity in January. The service sector experienced a significant decline. While economic activity slowed, inflation continued its march higher through the period, raising new questions about the stability of the economic recovery. Despite rising inflation, the major central banks – including the Bank of Canada (“BoC”) and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”) – opted to wait a little longer before starting to tighten monetary policy.

The spread of Omicron, geopolitical tensions and inflation all contributed to a heavy bout of volatility on the global markets over the month…

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