Canada shrugs off US blues to capitalise on soaring fuel costs

So far this year there has been a number of extremely significant events for North American equity markets: higher oil prices, strong corporate earnings, US rate increases and Hurricane Katrina. What has really set 2005 apart is the lack of equity market reaction. The S&P 500 is up just over 3% this year. The US economy has continued to be driven by the wealth effect resulting from strong residential property prices, which have encouraged many consumers to borrow to finance additional spending. A significant portion of this new debt is on an adjustable rate basis and 14 months into a...