This time of year often leads to reflection – about the year that was and the year(s) ahead. You may be considering a change that has been on your mind for some time: reducing your working hours, helping a family member purchase a home, or investing in your business. Alongside those plans, headlines about interest rates, inflation, and global uncertainty can raise a practical question: how should the economic outlook influence your next decision?
RBC Rochdale is a subsidiary of City National Bank. Its monthly Speedometers report presents its views on economic and financial conditions over the next six to nine months. We draw on their November 2026 Speedometers report because it offers a useful starting point, providing some context for the planning questions explored below.
Business investment and corporate profit growth remain encouraging, while borrowing costs and energy disruptions deserve attention. Most of its indicators sit in neutral territory. For us, the value of this information lies in connecting it with your circumstances. An economic forecast becomes personally relevant when it helps you understand the choices, commitments, and possibilities ahead.
What November’s economic indicators suggest
The Speedometers reflect RBC Rochdale’s expectations over the next six to nine months. They offer a forward-looking assessment, subject to change as conditions evolve.
November’s report points to continued support from corporate spending and technology investment. It also describes healthy consumer spending despite low consumer confidence. At the same time, elevated interest rates, global conflict, pressure on U.S. government finances, and supply constraints related to artificial intelligence remain risks.
These conditions can coexist. An economy can continue growing while particular households, businesses, or industries face pressure. That distinction is helpful when considering how the outlook relates to your own financial life.
Business investment offers encouragement, with questions to consider
According to RBC Rochdale, corporate spending and technology investment continue to exceed expectations, supporting economic growth and higher expectations for company earnings.
For business owners and professionals, this may be relevant to expansion plans, career opportunities, or the investments they hold. The report also flags AI-related supply constraints, reminding us that strong demand can encounter limits on the resources needed to meet it.
One useful discussion with your wealth advisor is how your sources of income and investments connect. If your career, business interests, and portfolio depend heavily on the same industry, understanding that overlap can help you assess your exposure.
You don’t need to arrive with that analysis completed. Bringing details of your business interests, employer stock, and investment accounts gives your advisor a clearer starting point.
Borrowing costs bring future commitments into focus
RBC Rochdale expects higher interest rates to increase borrowing costs without derailing overall growth. Its housing and mortgage indicator remains negative.
The personal implications depend on your arrangements. An existing fixed-rate mortgage creates a different set of considerations from a loan approaching a rate adjustment or a purchase that will require new financing.
If you’re planning to help an adult child buy a home, for example, the discussion may include how much support you want to provide, when it would be needed, and which commitments your resources already support. Family members may also have different expectations about the help being offered.
Discussing these details with your wealth advisor can connect the financing decision with your retirement needs, family relationships, and flexibility in the years ahead.
Inflation remains relevant to the life you’re planning
The report identifies disruptions to Middle East oil flows as a source of inflation pressure and uncertainty. It also suggests that an easing of tensions could support markets toward year-end, although that outcome is uncertain.
For your planning, the useful question is how changing costs could affect expenses you expect to fund. These may include maintaining a second home, supporting family, or operating a business.
This becomes especially relevant if you’re considering a change in your working life. Reducing your hours may mean drawing on investments sooner. Your advisor can help you explore how spending assumptions and the timing of withdrawals fit together.
Our article on retirement readiness and the life you’re living today explores this connection between your resources and the way you want to live.
Consumer confidence is one part of the picture
RBC Rochdale reports that consumer spending remains healthy despite weak consumer sentiment. How people feel about the economy and how they spend can tell different stories.
Your own circumstances deserve the same distinction. If an economic headline raises a concern, try to name the decision behind it. Perhaps you’re wondering whether you can afford to step back from work, maintain support for a parent, or proceed with a significant purchase.
A specific concern gives your advisor something concrete to explore. It also creates room to distinguish a change in your circumstances from a change in the news.
Questions about the November market outlook
- What are the Rochdale Speedometers? They are economic and financial indicators expressing RBC Rochdale’s outlook over a six-to-nine-month horizon. Their positive, neutral, and negative assessments reflect forecasts rather than assured outcomes.
- Does a neutral indicator mean there is no risk? No. Neutral is an outlook assessment. It does not mean prices will remain stable or that investments cannot lose value.
- Which areas look encouraging in November? The report assesses business outlook and corporate profit growth positively. Its commentary highlights corporate spending and technology investment as support for economic growth.
- What could I bring to my next advisor meeting? Details of upcoming purchases, changes in income, borrowing arrangements, and family commitments can help your advisor relate the economic outlook to decisions you’re considering.
Making room for the life your wealth supports
As Thanksgiving approaches, you may find yourself reflecting on the people you care for and how you want to spend your time. Those reflections belong in your financial discussions.
At Amida, wealth being™ recognizes the connections across Health, Relationships, Finances, Career, and Personal Growth. A decision to reduce working hours, for example, can affect your income while creating time for your health or family. Exploring those connections helps bring the practical and personal considerations into the same discussion.
If you’re weighing a decision for the months ahead, schedule a conversation with us. We can begin with what is changing in your life and explore how your resources and responsibilities fit together.
Transform YOUR VISION OF WEALTH®.
Source: RBC Rochdale’s November 2026 Rochdale Speedometers℠ report. Economic assessments summarized here are RBC Rochdale’s views as of the report date. Reader reflections are provided by Amida Wealth Advisors.
