Economic News 05/29/07
Bank of Canada holds for 8th straight meeting at 4.25%, but hints at future rate hike.
The high loonie and sluggish U.S. demand have caused job losses at Canadian factories that export building materials and cars.
A slowdown in U.S. demand that started last year has lingered longer than expected.
"There is an increased risk that future inflation will persist .... and that some increase... may be required in the near term."
The US and Canada are the only G7 members NOT to raise rates this year.
Home values dropped 1.4% from March 2006, after declining 0.8% in the year ended February...
Robert Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC and a professor at Yale University: "a reaffirmation of the pullback in the U.S. residential real estate market,"
There were 1.53M new housing starts in April... at the height of the 5 year housing boom in January 2006, construction began on 2.29M homes.
The biggest gain in new home sales in 14 years (16%) was made possible by homebuilders who cut prices more in April than in any month since 1970 (11%).
Don't expect a rapid recovery for the housing market.... David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders in Washington:
"New home construction in the U.S. may take until 2011 to return to last year's level."
Expect more of this: Beazer Homes was offering houses in Q1 at a development about 44 miles outside Phoenix, Arizona, for $136,990...
down 36% from the year-earlier price of $215,490.Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at Wharton Business School:
"I'll break out the champagne a year from now after the resetting of the mortgage rates... (IF)defaults come in less than what we're fearful about."
The high loonie and sluggish U.S. demand have caused job losses at Canadian factories that export building materials and cars.
A slowdown in U.S. demand that started last year has lingered longer than expected.
"There is an increased risk that future inflation will persist .... and that some increase... may be required in the near term."
The US and Canada are the only G7 members NOT to raise rates this year.
Home values dropped 1.4% from March 2006, after declining 0.8% in the year ended February...
Robert Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC and a professor at Yale University: "a reaffirmation of the pullback in the U.S. residential real estate market,"
There were 1.53M new housing starts in April... at the height of the 5 year housing boom in January 2006, construction began on 2.29M homes.
The biggest gain in new home sales in 14 years (16%) was made possible by homebuilders who cut prices more in April than in any month since 1970 (11%).
Don't expect a rapid recovery for the housing market.... David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders in Washington:
"New home construction in the U.S. may take until 2011 to return to last year's level."
Expect more of this: Beazer Homes was offering houses in Q1 at a development about 44 miles outside Phoenix, Arizona, for $136,990...
down 36% from the year-earlier price of $215,490.Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at Wharton Business School:
"I'll break out the champagne a year from now after the resetting of the mortgage rates... (IF)defaults come in less than what we're fearful about."
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