World — modest growth but improving; low commodity prices a net benefit for the big three but a source of stress for some emerging economies like Brazil; strong U.S. dollar hurts countries that have borrowed in American funds and exporters pegged to the dollar U.S. — modest growth but improving; recovery from the financial crisis evidenced by solid consumer spending and employment gains, policy normalization underway (low government spending and Federal reserve interest rat

2015 by all measures was not a great year for investors in North America. The TSX Composite returned -8.3% (including dividends) and the S&P 500 returned 1.4% (with dividends). Bond investors did better as interest rates over the calendar year declined which increased the value of their bond holdings. The Government of Canada 10 year bond yield declined from 1.75% to 1.4% over the year. The US dollar played a significant role in the valuation of commodities. Below is a char