The new North American trading week began on Monday, October 8^th with the American markets going it alone as their Canadian counterparts enjoyed a much-deserved Thanksgiving Day off.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its global growth forecast by 0.2^% for the next year to 3.7^%.

Google ‘GOOG-Q’ announced it will shut down it recently launched social media page Google Plus due to user security issues.

Tuesday, October 9^th had the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. report that the number of new housing starts fell by 5.1^% in September to an annualized 2-year low of 188,683 units.

Former retail icon Sears Holdings ‘SHLD-N’ announced it was preparing for a possible bankruptcy.

Pretium Resources ‘PVG-T’ share price fell by 11^% to $9.39 after the northern British Columbia gold miner’s 3^rd-quarter gold production fell well short of analysts’ targets.

Natural gas supplies to the west coast of Canada and the United States were under stress on Wednesday, Oct. 10^th after an Enbridge Inc. ‘ENB-T’ gas pipeline exploded some           13-kilometers north of Prince George, BC.

Calgary, Alberta based Parkland Fuel Corp. ‘PKI-T’ announced it will purchase 75^% to Caribbean service station operator SOL Ltd. In an all-cash deal of some $1.57-billion.

SNC-Lavalin Group ‘SNC-T’ shares’ plunged by 14^% to $44.86 after the Canadian prosecutor said the government would not negotiate a settlement regarding the engineering company’s 2015 fraud and corruption charges.

And the price of Aphria Inc. ‘APH-T’ stock surged up by 15^% to $20.06 on word that an American tobacco company was interested in taking a position in the Canadian marijuana company.

The markets Dow –3.1^%, S&P 500 -3.3^%, NASDAQ -4.1^% and TSX -2.1^% sold off in tandem as the thought of higher interest rates finally drove investors to the sidelines.

Thursday, October 12^th had petroleum tracking company Kepler report that Chinese imports of Canadian crude oil rose by almost 50% in September to 1.58-million barrels per day.

Barrick Gold Corp. ‘ABX-T’ stock rose by 9.5^% to $16.44 after the world’s largest gold producer announced an increase in 3^rd-quarter production.

The price of L Brands Inc. ‘LB-N’ shares’ rose by 6^% to US$30.21 after the retailer reported that its La Senza subsidiary was up for sale.

The markets rallied early but couldn’t hold their gains and once again turned negative as the trading day progressed with the Dow and S&P losing another 2.1^% while the NASDAQ fell by 1.25^% and the TSX lost a further 1.3^%.

Friday, October 12^th had petroleum industry consultant Baker Hughes ‘BHGE-N’ report that the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 11-rigs last week to 1,063 active drilling rigs. Further north – the number of Canadian active drilling rigs rose by 13-rigs to 195 active drilling rigs.

SSR Mining ‘SSRM-T’ shares’ gained over 11.5^% to $13.77 after the miner reported record 3^rd-quarter gold production.

The markets opened lower but rallied late in the trading day to pare their loses going into the weekend.

During the Week – The Dow Industrials plunged to a 3-month low of 25,053, the S&P 500 to a 4-month low of 2,728, the NASDAQ to a 5-month low of 7,229 and the TSX to a 6-month low of 15,317. All of which helped to drive the VIX up to a new 6-month high of 24.98. Meanwhile, natural gas rose to a new 1-year closing high of US$3.27/mmcf.

Canadian National Railway ‘CNR-T’ at $118.30, Energy Fuels ‘EFR-T’ at $4.68 and North American Construction Group ‘NOA-t’ at $13.90 all set new TSX 52-week trading highs while Goldcorp Inc. ‘G-T’ at $12.86, Interfor Corp. ‘IFP-T’ at $16.55 and TransAlta Renewables ‘RNW-T’ at $10.62 all dropped to new 52-week trading lows.

For the Week – the Dow Industrials fell by 4.19^% to 25,340, with the S&P 500 down by 4.12^% to 2,767 and the NASDAQ off by 3.74^% to 7,497. Up north – the TSX Composite dropped by 3.30^% to 15,414 and the TSX Venture fell by 0.99^% to 699.

With Commodities – gold bullion gained 1.33^% to US$1,222, with copper up by 1.45^% to US$2.80, while crude oil fell by 4.25^% to US$71.17 and natural gas lost 1.59^% to US$3.09. Overall, the CRB Spot Commodity Index gained 0.48^% to end the week at 417.

The Canadian dollar fell by 0.66^% against its southern counterpart to finish the week at US$0.7678.

And the closely watched CBOE Volatility Index or VIX soared up by 6.49-points to end the week at 21.31.

And Finally – Some recoveries take longer than others. Case in point – The Royal Bank of Scotland ‘RBS-N’ has just declared its first dividend – some 10-years after the economic meltdown of 2008-09.