Rabu, 03 Juli 2019
Vancouver's benchmark home price falls below $1M for first time since May 2017 - BNNBloomberg.ca
VANCOUVER -- Metro Vancouver's once hot housing market is experiencing an "expectation gap" between buyers and sellers as the benchmark property price fell under $1 million for the first time since May 2017.
"Sellers are often trying to get yesterday's values for their homes, while buyers are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach," Ashley Smith, the real estate board's president, said in a statement.
The composite benchmark price for detached houses, townhomes and condos in Metro Vancouver was $998,700 in June, said the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. That's down 9.6 per cent from the same time last year and 0.8 per cent from May.
Detached houses saw the biggest drop, falling 10.9 per cent from June 2018 to $1,423,500. However, the price inched forward month-over-month, up 0.1 per cent since May.
Townhomes fell 8.6 per cent to $774,700 and condos dropped 8.9 per cent to $654,700. Both also saw month-over-month drops with townhomes losing 0.6 per cent and condos 1.4 per cent compared to May.
Prices dropped as the area recorded the lowest number of home sales last month than any June in nearly two decades.
The board says 2,077 homes sold in June 2019 -- down 14.4 per cent from the same month last year, down 34.7 per cent from the 10-year June sales average and the lowest June total since 2000.
Condos experienced the biggest slow down. In June, sales of condos fell 24.1 per cent compared with a year ago to 941. Meanwhile, townhome sales last month dropped nearly seven per cent and detached home sales fell 2.6 per cent compared with June 2018.
The number of newly listed homes also fell, dropping 10 per cent from June 2018 to 4,751 homes across all categories. However, the total number of homes listed for sale rose 25.3 per cent from June 2018 to 14,968 homes in June 2019.
The sales-to-active-listings ratio, a key measure that indicates whether it's a buyers' or sellers' market, was 13.9 per cent for all property types in June. It dropped to 11.4 per cent for just detached homes, but rose to 15.8 per cent for townhomes and 15.7 per cent for condos.
A ratio under 12 per cent for a sustained period suggested downward pressure on home prices will occur, while upward pressure is expected when the ratio exceeds 20 per cent for several months.
"Home buyers haven't had this much selection to choose from in five years," said Smith, adding sellers need to price their homes accordingly to be successful in the current market.
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July 04, 2019 at 12:45AM
Canada posts unexpected trade surplus on record exports to US - BNNBloomberg.ca
Canada’s trade balance unexpectedly swung into surplus for the first time in 10 months on a broad-based jump in exports, adding to evidence the economy has returned to a more solid footing.
The country ran a rare trade surplus on $762 million in May. It’s only the fourth surplus for the country since oil prices began declining in 2014, driven by a 4.6 per cent increase in exports.
Economists had been anticipating the trade gap would actually widen in May to $1.7 billion. Exports to the U.S. rose 3.7 per cent to a record $39.3 billion, increasing Canada’s trade surplus with its biggest trading partner to $5.9 billion -- the largest since October 2008.
The Canadian dollar extended gains after the report, trading 0.1 per cent higher at $1.3087 per U.S. dollar at 8:37 a.m. in Toronto.
Key Insights
- After a difficult end to 2018, Canadian exports are showing signs of renewed strength that will be needed for the economy to maintain its momentum going forward. Wednesday’s report from Statistics Canada is one more in a long list of recent data that suggest growth rebounded strongly in the second quarter, easing pressure on the Bank of Canada to follow any easing trend globally.
- The export gain in May comes on the heels of other strong gains, bringing the increase in merchandise shipments to 15 per cent since December. That’s the biggest five-month gain in Canadian exports since 2008.
- The data suggest the trade sector is poised to make a major contribution to growth in the second quarter. Export volumes - - the variable that goes into calculations of real growth -- were up four per cent in May, the biggest gain since Augusts 2016. That follows a 1.1 per cent gain in April. Import volumes -- which are subtracted from growth calculations -- were up just 1.2 per cent, after a 1.6 per cent decline in April.
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- The trade gap in April was revised slightly higher to $1.1 billion from an initially reported $1 billion gap. But the March trade deficit was revised down to $2 billion, from an initial $2.3 billion.
- Nine of 11 sectors tracked by Statistics Canada recorded an increase in exports, led by a 12.4 per cent jump in motor vehicle production. The pick-up in car exports reflected the resumption of activity after plant shutdowns a month earlier.
- Another big contribution came from the aircraft sector, which was up 33% in the month.
- Shipments of energy products rose five per cent in May, driven by crude oil and a surge in exports of refined products.
--With assistance from Erik Hertzberg.
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July 03, 2019 at 07:48PM
Indigenous-led group ready to bid on majority stake in Trans Mountain pipeline - CTV News
OTTAWA -- An Indigenous-led group says that it will be ready to submit a bid for a majority stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline and the expansion project as early as next week.
The group, called Project Reconciliation, says that its coming bid will “work for all sides.”
The $6.9 billion bid would be for 51 per cent ownership in the existing pipeline for $2.3 billion, and 51 per cent in the expansion project for $4.6 billion.
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government would indeed be going ahead with the project after considering Indigenous and environmental concerns. At the time, he announced the Liberals would be talking with Indigenous groups about ways they can share in the benefit of the more than $4.5-billion project.
“When it comes to potential Indigenous buy-in, we’re not putting a limit on it. Indigenous ownership in Trans Mountain Corporation could be 25 per cent, 50 per cent or even 100 per cent. These are conversations we’re excited to have,” Trudeau said.
“There’s real momentum towards Indigenous ownership,” said Founder and Executive Chair of Project Reconciliation Delbert Wapass in a statement on Tuesday. “There is a pipeline to reconciliation and we should take it.”
Project Reconciliation is a group that describes itself as being led by First Nations community leaders, but also includes non-Indigenous senior membership. Its structure allows for the involvement of Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Bill Morneau said that the government welcomes the interest, and “in the coming weeks” will be launching a process with external experts leading talks engaging with interest Indigenous parties.
“It is important that Indigenous communities have an opportunity for meaningful economic participation while we hold to our commitment of investing in a way that benefits all Canadians, and that operates the project on a commercial basis,” said spokesperson Pierre-Olivier Herbert.
Indigenous ownership in the controversial pipeline and twinning that route through Indigenous territory between Alberta and British Columbia could be a political win for the Liberals who continue to face backlash over the decision to purchase, and push ahead with the major natural resource development project while vowing to reset Indigenous-Crown relations.
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July 03, 2019 at 09:07PM
Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca's greatest accomplishments, from the Mustang to the minivan - Fox Business
Legendary automotive executive Lee Iacocca died on Tuesday at the age of 94.
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The son of Italian immigrants, Iacocca reached a level of celebrity matched by few auto moguls.
During the peak of his popularity in the '80s, he was famous for his TV ads and catchy tagline: "If you can find a better car, buy it!" He also wrote two best-selling books and was courted as a presidential candidate.
Though he is known for his successes, he also suffered failures, including being fired from his position as Ford president in 1978. However, he soon went on to Chrysler, where he helped save the automaker as it was drowning in debt.
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In the wake of the auto icon’s death, here are a few of Iacocca’s greatest accomplishments.
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He made the Ford Mustang popular
Iacocca’s first burst of fame came with the debut of the Mustang.
In 1960 at the age of 35, Iacocca was the vice president and general manager of the Ford division.
Four year later, when the Mustang was released in 1964, he had convinced his superiors that Ford needed the affordable, stylish coupe to take advantage of the growing youth market.
He broke from tradition by launching the car in April rather than the fall. Ford invited reporters to a 70-car Mustang rally from New York to Dearborn, which generated huge publicity. The car made the covers of TIME and Newsweek the same week.
Six years later, he was named Ford president and immediately undertook an organizational restructuring to cut costs as the company struggled with foreign competition and rising gas prices.
“Lee Iacocca was truly bigger than life and he left an indelible mark on Ford, the auto industry and our country," Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor said upon Iacocca's passing. "Lee played a central role in the creation of Mustang.”
He helped save Chrysler in the 1980s
Though Iacocca was fired from Ford in 1978, he was strongly courted by Chrysler and helped cement its turnaround in the 1980s.
In 1979, Chrysler was floundering in $5 billion of debt. It had a bloated manufacturing system that was turning out gas-guzzlers that the public didn't want.
When the banks turned him down, Iacocca and the United Auto Workers union helped persuade the government to approve $1.5 billion in loan guarantees that kept the No. 3 domestic automaker afloat.
Bud Liebler, Chrysler’s former spokesman said Iacocca is the last of an era of brash, charismatic executives who could produce results.
"Lee made money. He went to Washington and made all these crazy promises, then he delivered on them," Liebler said.
Iacocca wrung wage concessions from the union, closed or consolidated 20 plants, laid off thousands of workers and introduced new cars. In TV commercials, he admitted Chrysler's mistakes but insisted the company had changed.
The strategy worked. The bland, basic Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant were affordable, fuel-efficient and had room for six. In 1981, they captured 20 percent of the market for compact cars. In 1983, Chrysler paid back its government loans, with interest, 7 years early.
He introduced the minivan
In 1984, just after the automaker paid back its government loans, Iacocca introduced the wildly successful Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans and created a new market.
Bob Lutz, Chrysler’s former head of product development and Iacocca’s colleague, told CNBC that the minivan is what saved the company, even though they had colleagues who opposed the idea.
“Lee kept saying, 'It will work, it will work,'” Lutz told the outlet. “So we transformed the plant in St. Louis and once it was up and running, we sold out of production almost immediately. Lee was right.”
He bought American Motors
Even though Chrysler was out of debt and seemed stable, Iacocca decided to purchase American Motors in 1987.
Although the $1.5 billion acquisition was criticized at the time, AMC's Jeep brand has become a gold mine for now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as demand for SUVs surged.
“Lee was an intelligent risk-taker,” Lutz told CNBC. “Look at the decision to buy American Motors. If we had not done that deal, Chrysler never would have acquired the Jeep brand, which would go on to become a big part of Chrysler’s success.”
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He headed a campaign to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
In 1982, Iacocca was chosen by then-President Ronald Reagan to lead the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, which oversaw the renovation of the statue and the reopening of Ellis Island as a museum of immigration.
He said he accepted the position as a way to honor his parents, who were Italian immigrants, according to Reuters.The foundation raised more than $350 million, which was more than double its initial goal, the outlet reported.
The statue renovation was completed in 1986 and the museum on Ellis Island was opened in 1990.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this article.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/lee-iacocca-greatest-accomplishments
2019-07-03 16:00:28Z
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S&P 500 opens at record high on rising rate cut hopes - Investing.com
By Shreyashi Sanyal
(Reuters) - The S&P 500 index hit a record high on Wednesday, led by defensive sectors, as bets of an interest rate cut rose on fears of a slowing global economy due to simmering trade tensions.
The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields () slipped to their lowest since November 2016, while euro zone yields tumbled to record lows on bets the European Central Bank's next chief would stay a dovish course.
The defensive utilities (), real estate () and consumer staples () rose the most among the 11 major S&P sectors as the falling bond yields made stocks that pay high dividends more attractive.
"With the overhang of further tariffs on Chinese imports paused and the chances of a rate cut from the Fed getting higher, more investors are getting comfortable to invest bigger in equities," said Shawn Gibson, chief investment officer at asset management firm Liquid Strategies.
Traders bet for about a 25% chance the Federal Reserve would cut borrowing costs by half a percentage point at its July 30-31 policy meeting, compared with 20% late on Monday.
Bets that the central bank would cut rates to preserve a decade-long U.S. expansion helped the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones indexes post their best June performance in decades.
The healthcare sector () gained 0.38%, the biggest boost to the S&P 500, helped by gains in Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group Inc (N:) and Merck & Co Inc (N:).
The financial sector () was flat, while bank stocks , which tend to benefit from a higher interest rate environment, fell 0.37%.
Trading volumes are expected to be thin due to shortened trading hours on Wednesday ahead of the July Fourth holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average () rose 50.82 points, or 0.19%, to 26,837.5 and the S&P 500 () gained 7.38 points, or 0.25%, to 2,980.39.
The Nasdaq Composite () added 22.90 points, or 0.28%, to 8,131.99.
The ADP National Employment Report, often considered a precursor to the Labor Department's more comprehensive monthly non-farm payrolls data due on Friday, showed U.S. private employers added 102,000 jobs in June, well below economists' expectations.
Another set of data showed the U.S. trade deficit jumped to a five-month high in May as imports of goods increased and new orders for U.S.-made goods fell for a second straight month May while shipments barely rose.
Among stocks, Symantec Corp (O:) surged 14.5%, the most on the S&P, after sources told Reuters that chipmaker Broadcom Inc (O:) is in advanced talks to buy the cybersecurity firm. Broadcom fell 3.6%.
Tesla Inc (O:) rose 6.4% after the electric carmaker set a record for quarterly vehicle deliveries in a triumphant response to months of questions about demand for its luxury electric cars.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.40-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 53 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 59 new highs and 22 new lows.
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/futures-eke-out-gains-as-bond-yields-tumble-on-growth-fears-1914418
2019-07-03 14:42:00Z
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