North American Weekly News

Due to the holiday period, the next Market Updates will be w/c 5th January 2009.

Week ended 12 December 2008

Within our portfolios, Exxon Mobil said that it intends to maintain spending on capital projects given its long-term view of energy markets. This is in direct contrast to other producers who have implied restrained spending as energy prices moved lower, in an effort to conserve cash and given little access to financing. Royal Bank of Canada released its fourth quarter results that showed growth in book value, though credit continued to broadly deteriorate. The company subsequently raised capital in an effort to boost its position as signs of a Canadian recession are becoming more pronounced.