Saturday, April 4, 2026 
Canadian Retail Sales
In his morning note, David Rosenberg mentioned that Canadian retail sales were weaker than expected.
“Consensus was at +0.7% MoM on the headline and +0.2% MoM excluding auto sales. Instead what we got was -0.6% MoM on the former an -0.8% on the latter.
A 3.4% MoM plunge in gasoline receipts (price related) was partly but not wholly to blame. Excluding gasoline, retail sales were basically flat on the month.
In terms of areas of strength, building supplies rose 1.0% and were up in three of the past four months (feeding into the housing frenzy). Pharmacies posted a 1.1% advance and this was the third sizable increase in a row.
But that was about it. Clothing sales fell 0.5% and furniture/electronics slipped 0.6%. Total automotive sales slipped 1.0%. Supermarkets registered a huge 1.6% decline too. Books/hobbies/music stores were flat on the month.”
I factored this into my short RIMM thesis. Research In Motion (RIMM) will report earnings after the close Thursday September 24.
