Markets
Canada’s Market Data Problem
Canada’s Market Data Problem
Canada’s equities markets are just like any other market. They are made up of buyers and sellers that exchange goods – in this case, securities.
Information is what allows buyers and sellers to make decisions in the market. However, if that information is inaccurate or incomplete, it can impact the health of the market.
Information Failure
Today’s infographic from the Aequitas NEO Exchange details the current “information failure” that is happening in the Canadian market.
What’s information failure? It’s when some, or all, of the participants in an economic exchange do not have perfect knowledge. This leads to a misallocation of scarce resources and it appears to exist in numerous market exchanges.
In the case of securities in Canada, the problem arises from the market data that investors are using to make buying and selling decisions.
Canada’s Market Data Landscape
Market data is simply the information that investors see when buying or selling a security – for example, prices (bid, ask) or liquidity indicators (volume, market depth).
Aside from the TSX itself, there are 13 other trading platforms that facilitate the buying and selling of securities in Canada. These range from exchanges (like the CSE or Aequitas NEO Exchange) to more proprietary platforms (Instinet or Liquidnet) which are used primarily by institutions.
Either way, trading is being done across all these platforms each day, and each exchange generates its own market data on prices and liquidity.
The problem?
Many investors only see just part of the whole picture. For example, retail investors that buy through an online brokerage account may only see data from the TSX and TSX-V, which together account for about 59% of volume traded (as of Q4 2016).
The Consequences
By only accessing partial market data, the true liquidity or price of a security may not be accurately represented.
Here’s an example of how this unfolds in real life:
- An investment advisor wants to buy a particular ETF for a client.
- A partial view of the market might mean that the security looks less liquid than it actually is.
- As a result, the advisor may choose to put the client in a different, less optimal fund.
Here’s another example:
- An investor is considering several companies in which to invest.
- A partial view of market activity can result in companies appearing more, or less, attractive than others.
- Uninformed investment decisions lead to less optimal investments and the potential misallocation of capital.
In other words, information failure can affect investors and their portfolios directly – and can result in important consequences.
Economy
Economic Growth Forecasts for G7 and BRICS Countries in 2024
The IMF has released its economic growth forecasts for 2024. How do the G7 and BRICS countries compare?
G7 & BRICS Real GDP Growth Forecasts for 2024
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) has released its real gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for 2024, and while global growth is projected to stay steady at 3.2%, various major nations are seeing declining forecasts.
This chart visualizes the 2024 real GDP growth forecasts using data from the IMF’s 2024 World Economic Outlook for G7 and BRICS member nations along with Saudi Arabia, which is still considering an invitation to join the bloc.
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Mixed Economic Growth Prospects for Major Nations in 2024
Economic growth projections by the IMF for major nations are mixed, with the majority of G7 and BRICS countries forecasted to have slower growth in 2024 compared to 2023.
Only three BRICS-invited or member countries, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and South Africa, have higher projected real GDP growth rates in 2024 than last year.
| Group | Country | Real GDP Growth (2023) | Real GDP Growth (2024P) |
|---|---|---|---|
| G7 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 2.5% | 2.7% |
| G7 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| G7 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 1.9% | 0.9% |
| G7 | 🇫🇷 France | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| G7 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| G7 | 🇬🇧 UK | 0.1% | 0.5% |
| G7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | -0.3% | 0.2% |
| BRICS | 🇮🇳 India | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| BRICS | 🇨🇳 China | 5.2% | 4.6% |
| BRICS | 🇦🇪 UAE | 3.4% | 3.5% |
| BRICS | 🇮🇷 Iran | 4.7% | 3.3% |
| BRICS | 🇷🇺 Russia | 3.6% | 3.2% |
| BRICS | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 3.8% | 3.0% |
| BRICS-invited | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | -0.8% | 2.6% |
| BRICS | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2.9% | 2.2% |
| BRICS | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| BRICS | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 7.2% | 6.2% |
| 🌍 World | 3.2% | 3.2% |
China and India are forecasted to maintain relatively high growth rates in 2024 at 4.6% and 6.8% respectively, but compared to the previous year, China is growing 0.6 percentage points slower while India is an entire percentage point slower.
On the other hand, four G7 nations are set to grow faster than last year, which includes Germany making its comeback from its negative real GDP growth of -0.3% in 2023.
Faster Growth for BRICS than G7 Nations
Despite mostly lower growth forecasts in 2024 compared to 2023, BRICS nations still have a significantly higher average growth forecast at 3.6% compared to the G7 average of 1%.
While the G7 countries’ combined GDP is around $15 trillion greater than the BRICS nations, with continued higher growth rates and the potential to add more members, BRICS looks likely to overtake the G7 in economic size within two decades.
BRICS Expansion Stutters Before October 2024 Summit
BRICS’ recent expansion has stuttered slightly, as Argentina’s newly-elected president Javier Milei declined its invitation and Saudi Arabia clarified that the country is still considering its invitation and has not joined BRICS yet.
Even with these initial growing pains, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told reporters in February that 34 different countries have submitted applications to join the growing BRICS bloc.
Any changes to the group are likely to be announced leading up to or at the 2024 BRICS summit which takes place October 22-24 in Kazan, Russia.
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