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Home prices above pre-slump level Home prices are still 6.4 per cent above their pre-recession peak, the Teranet-National Bank House Price Index shows.
Prices climbed 0.5 per cent in July from a month earlier, marking the 15th consecutive increase, National Bank said, though for the first time in four months not all regions shared in the gain. Prices in Vancouver dipped, the bank noted.
Over last year, the index was up 12.4 per cent, compared to 13.6 per cent a month earlier.
"July's rise is the weakest in four months, but it nevertheless continues the best string of consecutive monthly price increases since October 2006," senior economist Marc Pinsonneault said in a research note.
The bank does not expect a "marked acceleration" from July's growth rate over the next few months.
"The number of existing homes sold has declined from March to August to a larger extent than the number of new listings," Mr. Pinsonneault said. "At the national level, the market is now at the boundary between balanced conditions and conditions favourable to buyers ... This heralds a deceleration in home price inflation."
Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Francis Fong noted that the "truly telling aspect" of today's report was the decline in the number of sold properties.
"On a year-over-year basis, this number declined by 22.9 per cent from the previous July, a significant divergence from June's increase of 37 per cent year-over-year," Mr. Fong said.
The index reading was for July, and the market has eased since then, according to other measures.
Mr. Fong said that, given the decline in overall activity, which has been reflected in data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, it's unlikely that the price appreciation of the past several months will continue.
Caisse eyes energy, minerals The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is looking to bulk up its investments in energy and mining, chief executive officer Michael Sabia says. More than half of the pension fund manager's U.S.-listed stock holdings are in energy and materials, and, Mr. Sabia told Bloomberg News in an interview, "natural resources, energy, those are areas where we think there's an opportunity to play offense because of what the structural trends are and what our capabilities are."
Consumer confidence slips Canadian consumers are growing more grim by the month. The Conference Board of Canada said today its consumer confidence index fell in September for the fourth month in a row, slipping 1.2 points to 78.1. Its measure now sits 18.5 points beow where it stood at the beginning of the year.
Consumers are more worried about their current finances, though see better times ahead on that front. And despite strong creation in Canada, many still expect employment to decline. And, in a key measure for consumer spending, the number of people who think it's a good time for a major purchase declined.
"Consumers have taken notice of the slowing pace of economic recovery," the organization said. "... The share of respondents who said they saw no change in their financial situation over the past six months rose to 62.6 per cent, suggesting that the majority of Canadians have not benefited from the recovery so far."
Anger mounts in Europe Social unrest is mounting in Europe as governments grapple with a debt crisis through harsh austerity measures. Several governments have adopted action plans that affect everything from public sector pay to the official age of retirement. There are huge protests today across Europe that has snarled transportation and shut down services. In Spain, it's the first national strike in eight years.
BP shakes up management The newly named chief executive officer of BP PLC is wasting no time in overhauling the energy giant at the heart of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Bob Dudley, who takes over later this week from Tony Hayward, announced today that Andy Inglis would be leaving as chief of the company's exploration and production arm and that he was establishing a new unit to improve safety.
He is also restructuring BP's upstream business, splitting the group into three units, while launching a sweeping review of how the company manages third-party contractors.
"These are the first and most urgent steps in a program I am putting in place to rebuild trust in BP - the trust of our customers, of governments, of our employees and of the world at large," Mr. Dudley said in a statement. "That trust is vital to the restoration of shareholder value which has been so adversely affected by recent events."
U.S. to ramp up pressure on China Hours before a key vote in the United States amid rising trade tensions, China's central bank today vowed to allow its currency to be more flexible. China has been under mounting pressure, primarily from the Obama administration, to allow the yuan to rise, and the House is expected to vote today to threaten Beijing with tariffs on its exports. It's more symbolic than anything, but does add more pressure.
Today, the People's Bank of China said in a statement that "we will further improve the yuan's exchange rate formation mechanism, let market supply and demand play a key role in its adjustment with reference to a basket of currencies and increase exchange rate flexibility."
AGF reports stronger quarter AGF Management Ltd. today reported a 22-per-cent gain in third-quarter profit but noted that mutual fund investors are still antsy.
AGF said profit jumped to $22.8-million or 31 cents a share from $27.8-million or 25 cents a year earlier. Assets under management climbed 3.8 per cent to $42.6-billion - while mutual fund assets slipped 3.2 per cent, those for institutional and strategic accounts rose 13.4 per cent.
"Economic data pointing to a slower than expected recovery around the globe and continued weakness in the U.S. contributed to stock market volatility during the third quarter," said chief executive officer Blake Goldring. "Here in Canada, the economy continues to perform well albeit with more muted growth expectations given the recent slowing in job growth, a cooling in the housing market and a slowdown in exports to the U.S. Mutual fund investors remain cautious in face of this uncertainty and continue to favour less risky assets offering safety and income."
Financial losers If you're a fan of NBC's the Biggest Loser - the reality show where the weight-challenged compete to shed pounds -- this new offering may be for you. TD Ameritrade has launched an online reality show called the Invested Life, where ordinary Americans compete with their investments, The Globe and Mail's Barrie McKenna reports. TD is billing the three-month project as the "Biggest Loser for Finances."
The show will feature seven investors, including a retired NFL player, a family whacked by the collapse of the real estate bubble and a widow looking to get out from under a pile of debt. The contestants are paired with investment coaches, whose mission is to empower them to take control of their finances.
The series debuted today at http://theinvestedlife.msn.com. There you'll find videos, interviews with cast members, articles a blog and investing tools.
Snooki writing novel The mini queen of reality TV is taking a stab at fiction writing. Jersey Shore's Snooki, Nicole Polizzi, is writing a novel, tentatively titled A Shore Thing, to be published by the Gallery Books unit of Simon & Schuster. It's supposed to be about love on a boardwalk, featuring people with big hair and tans. Sound familiar?
From today's Report on Business
- Canada's new energy play: The old oil fields
- Joe Houssian's second act
- RIM plays catch-up with PlayBook
- Nexen, Shell primed for deepwater drilling
And, read our Streetwise blog and Your Business section