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Posted by: John Dunford
Think tank crunches mortgage stats, urges policy makers to take a close look at mortgage habits and the impact of interest rates. Canadians have qualified for much larger mortgages over the past two decades due to record-low interest rates, and that has impacted affordability according to the Fraser Institute. “Increased borrowing power, brought about by […]
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This morning’s release of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data for July confirmed that key housing markets in Canada continued to slow, led by the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) region surrounding Toronto. This region’s marked slowdown began in late April with the announcement of a 15% foreign tax credit and a sixteen-point program to […]
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Canada’s red-hot jobs market took a breather in July, posting employment gains of 10,900, up just 0.1 percent following much stronger job gains since late last year. As the labour force participation rate edged downward, the jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 6.3 percent, its best reading in almost nine years. Canada’s economy remains […]
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One big bank is sounding the alarm about recent and future mortgage policies. “Let’s be clear. A soft landing that eases Ontario and BC house prices and mortgage growth would be welcome news for macroeconomic stability,” CIBC Chief Economist Avery Shenfeld said in his latest report. “But nobody can be too sure of what kind […]
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Further interest rate rises may or may not be on the cards in 2017 with no expert consensus as yet. Following the increase on July 12, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said that further rates would depend on data. The latest retail figures, released by StatsCan last week along with rising inflation have some […]
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For the first time in seven years, the Bank of Canada announced today that it was hiking its key overnight rate by a quarter percentage point (25 basis points) bringing it to 0.75 percent as the economy has staged a broadly based economic expansion this year. In a break from tradition, the Bank has taken this […]
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Fears of rising mortgage rates are about to translate into reality, as the Bank of Canada (BoC) appears set to raise its overnight lending rate by at least 25 basis points during its July 12 meeting, a likelihood that has sent long-term bond yields through the roof (mortgage rates are partly based on the government’s five-year bonds). […]
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Canada’s economy grew for a sixth consecutive month with gains in a majority of industries, underlining the central bank’s view a durable recovery from an oil shock is emerging. Gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent in April, Statistics Canada said Friday from Ottawa, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Highlights Fourteen […]
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Federal Reserve officials forged ahead with an interest-rate increase and additional plans to tighten monetary policy despite growing concerns over weak inflation. Policy makers agreed to raise their benchmark lending rate for the third time in six months, maintained their outlook for one more hike in 2017 and set out some details for how they […]
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The Washington political world is in disarray. Britain’s election tumult has scrambled the outlook for Europe. And economies in the United States and abroad are plodding along at a pace that hardly suggests robust health. Yet when the Federal Reserve meets Wednesday, it’s all but sure to raise its benchmark interest rate for the third […]
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