Toronto’s existing home market surprised economists with a better-than-expected resurgence in June. But a look at major markets across Canada shows that other cities across the country also had a similar — if not more spectacular rebound in that month.
Toronto’s stellar 27 per cent increase in sales in June compared to last year, was outdone by sales in Greater Vancouver and Calgary according to figures compiled by ReMax Ontario Atlantic Canada in a report today.
"More balanced market conditions have emerged, effectively ending the stranglehold that buyers had on the market over the past six to eight months," said ReMax. "Low interest rates and increased affordability have served to stimulate market activity."
ReMax’s research is a preview of the Canadian Real Estate Association’s national figures. Those numbers, expected out tomorrow, give a snapshot of how the entire Canadian market is performing.
Vancouver was the top performer in June with sales up by an eye-catching 76 per cent. The city recorded the second-best month on record with 4,259 sales, compared to 4,333 sales in June of 2005 cash advances.
While the market is largely balanced, bidding wars have emerged in some areas. In Kitsilano, about 50 per cent of housing is selling in multiple offers.
In Calgary, sales of 3,047 homes last month resulted in a 28 per cent jump from the same time last year.
"With increasing competition among first time buyers the supply of starter homes is tightening," said ReMax.
In third place Toronto, the 10,955 units sold in June came close to the historic record of 11,146 units of May 2007. Still, having the second-best month ever in terms of sales is not a bad feat in the middle of a recession.
Inventory is down about 30 per cent from the same time last year. Fewer listings and a lower supply of available homes has resulted in multiple offers in some areas. The strongest demand is for homes in the $300,000 to $600,000 range, says ReMax.
Construction spending on offices, retail centers and hotels is likely to fall 16 percent this year and 12 percent in 2010, more than previously forecast, the American Institute of Architects said.
Rising unemployment and reductions in business spending prompted the Washington-based institute to cut its outlook from January, when it predicted non-residential construction spending would drop 11 percent this year and 5 percent in 2010.
“We’ve had a really rocky six months in the economy and in the construction sector,” Kermit Baker, the institute’s chief economist, said in a telephone interview. “People are seeing a real tough environment out there and not a lot of incentive to invest in projects.”
Sentiment among U.S. consumers dropped this month as the country’s unemployment rate approached 10 percent, according to a Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index. The economy probably shrank at a 1.8 percent rate from April to June, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Nonresidential construction tends to lag behind the economy, Baker said.
Spending on office buildings is forecast to sag 22 percent this year and 17 percent in 2010, while retail construction probably will sink 28 percent this year and 13 percent in 2010, the architects group said payday loans.
Looking for Signs
“Why do you build new office buildings? You need to see job numbers pick up,” Baker said. “Why do you build new retail centers? You need to see consumer spending pick up.”
Hotel construction is likely to decline 26 percent this year and 17 percent in 2010, the institute said. Industrial spending is forecast to dip 0.8 percent this year and 28 percent in 2010, according to the report.
The Consensus Construction Forecast uses projections from sources including Global Insight Inc., Moody’s Economy.com, the Portland Cement Association and management consulting firm FMI Corp. The report forecasts U.S. construction spending, adjusted for inflation, over the coming 12 to 18 months.
OTTAWA–Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened to $1.4 billion in May from $389 million in April.
Merchandise exports fell 6.9 per cent to $28.4 billion in May, as volumes declined 4.1 per cent and prices dropped 2.9 per cent.
Statistics Canada said the value of imports was down 3.5 per cent to $29.8 billion, with a 4.9 per cent cut in prices. Volumes rose 1.5 per cent.
Canada’s dollar appreciated 6.4 per cent against the U.S. dollar in May.
Exports and imports declined for the third straight month in May. Export volumes have fallen 23.7 per cent and prices have declined 16.2 per cent since last July, as import volumes fell 24.5 per cent and prices edged down 0 business card.1 per cent. StatsCan says declines spread across all sectors,but weak global demand for energy products and auto-industry restructuring accounted for more than half the drop in exports and imports.
The value of exports to the United States fell 8.1 per cent to $20.3 billion as that of imports fell 3.3 per cent to $18.8 billion. That shrank Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. to $1.5 billion from $2.6 billion in April. The trade deficit with other countries narrowed to $2.9 billion from $3 billion, as exports and imports both fell 3.7 per cent.
The Canadian Press
Media executives were unusually somber at their annual retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho this week, with News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch surprised at what he described as the “very bearish” mood.
“I’m shocked at the business mood, which is talking about either that we’re at the bottom or going lower, but that it’s going to take years and years, like five years at least, before we see any real growth coming out of this,” Murdoch told Fox Business Network television in an interview at the conference.
“I would say the conference is very bearish, very bearish.”
The Allen & Co event is one of the year’s biggest gatherings of television, movie and Internet executives in the United States.
It takes place amid concerns about the global recession, shrinking advertising revenue and changes in the way people consume news and entertainment in the Internet age that could render big media empires obsolete.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, whose company has weathered the downturn better than many others thanks to its dominance in the Web search advertising market, also called the mood at Sun Valley “sober” and “realistic.”
He said there had been talk during one presentation of a “square root recovery,” meaning the economy could rebound then remain flat, like the shape of the square root sign.
“We’re through the shock, we’re through the collapse. I would argue the worst is behind us, speaking generally, not specifically to Google,” Schmidt said, but added that there were no strong signs of an immediate recovery car loan rates.
He said executives in general were adapting to the changed economic circumstances, which he described as the “new normal.”
“The reality of the new normal is you run inventories very tight, credit is not broadly available, you can’t waste money,” Schmidt said.
In this environment, NBC Universal head Jeffrey Zucker said it was tough for businesses to get capital, making mergers and acquisitions more difficult.
“Buyers are looking for bargains, sellers are looking to get what they think they were worth a year ago. I think that makes it difficult to get anything done in this climate. I think you’ll probably see nothing in the media space for the rest of this year,” Zucker told CNBC in an interview.
“I don’t think you’re going to get the access to capital so readily right now,” he added. NBC Universal is owned by General Electric Co and Vivendi.
Sony Corp CEO Howard Stringer was also similarly cautious about the economy. “There’s no evidence to be really optimistic…There’s an agnostic mood to it all,” he said on Thursday.”
“People just aren’t sure what’s going to happen. There’s a an air of uncertainty about the whole conference.” Earlier in the week, Stringer had said he saw “green shoots but it’s a very light shade of green.”
(Additional reporting by Peter Henderson and Gabriel Madway in San Francisco; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Valerie Lee)
Boeing Co. will pay $580 million for a plant that makes large sections of its 787 jetliner, an apparent effort to rein in supplier problems that have led to costly delays of the next-generation aircraft and hurt the company’s credibility.
The plant, owned by Vought Aircraft Industries, makes barrel-like sections of the 787’s fuselage that fit between its wings and tail and are composed primarily of lightweight materials.
Deliveries of the 787 have been postponed by nearly two years partly because of problems with components made by suppliers and work that suppliers didn’t complete. Those hang-ups are expected to cost the airplane maker billions of dollars in added expenses and penalties.
Boeing took a new approach to building airplanes when it announced its 787 program in 2004. Instead of building the plane’s parts in the United States, it used suppliers around the world to build sections of the plane that are later assembled at the company’s commercial aircraft plant near Seattle. Ill-fitting parts and other problems have hamstrung production ever since.
Vought, owned by private equity firm Carlyle Group, says financial problems, not production glitches, prompted the sale, expected to close in the third quarter. Under Tuesday’s deal, Boeing will release Vought from obligations to repay money advanced earlier by Boeing.
Vought President and CEO Elmer Doty said that his company’s investment in 787 parts was far greater than expected, and that the financial demands of the program "are clearly growing beyond what a company our size can support."
But Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at Teal Group, an aerospace consultancy in Fairfax, Va., said, "This clearly is more about securing the supply chain and undoing numerous mistakes.
"It’s a good move, it’s a proactive move, it undoes some damage," he said. "But on the other hand, it shows this program still has more than a few challenges to overcome. … I don’t think Carlyle quite knows what to do with this asset, and they might not have been prepared to give it the necessary resources instant payday loans completely online."
Despite those problems, Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said Tuesday that the company had no plans to change its 787 production plan. "We remain committed to the business model and the global strategy for the 787," he said.
The mid-sized, long-haul 787 will be able to carry 210 to 330 passengers. Its design includes wider seats and aisles, larger windows and a ventilation system that will allow for higher humidity, all of which Boeing says will make the cabin feel more comfortable.
It’s Boeing’s first all-new aircraft since the 777 and the first commercial jet made mostly of carbon-fiber composites instead of aluminum. Boeing says it will be about 20 percent more fuel efficient than other planes of comparable size.
Boeing, based in Chicago, has booked orders for a record 850 of the planes, but some 60 have been canceled so far this year, including the cancellation of 15 and the delayed delivery of another 15 by Qantas Airways last month.
Adam Pilarski, an aviation economist with consulting firm Avitas, based in Washington, said Boeing might want the Vought plant, in North Charleston, S.C., as part of a plan to start a second 787 production line. The added capacity is in response to strong demand for the plane.
"Boeing made it very clear that they need a second line," he said. "They need it more now than they did before because they are behind."
It remains unclear when Boeing will conduct the first test flight of the 787, previously scheduled for the second quarter of this year.
Vought will continue to run other plants that work on different 787 components as well as parts for Boeing’s 737s, 747, 767, 777, C-17 and V-22 aircraft.
A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer accused of stealing secret trading codes from the financial firm has been released from federal custody after posting bail, authorities said Monday.
Sergey Aleynikov, 39, was arrested by the FBI Friday and charged with “theft of trade secrets.” He met the terms of his $750,000 bail and was released Monday, said FBI spokesman James Margolin.
Aleynikov is accused of misusing computer codes that belong to his former employer, a New York-based financial institution that authorities did not identify in court papers but sources say is Goldman Sachs.
A transcript of Aleynikov’s appearance before U.S. Magistrate Kevin Nathaniel Fox in Manhattan Saturday also shows that Aleynikov worked for Goldman.
His lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, said at that proceeding that Aleynikov told authorities after his arrest that he did not intend to sell the information or use it “contrary to my employment agreement with Goldman Sachs.”
Goldman has not seen its business or clients harmed by the purported computer breach, a source familiar with the situation said Monday. The firm declined to comment.
The case could shed light on the workings of intricate trading systems developed by Goldman. It also raises questions about the security of lucrative Wall Street proprietary trading operations.
However, the New York Stock Exchange said Monday there was no connection between the alleged security breach and an error that dropped Goldman from a trading report the NYSE issued last week cash advance lenders.
Aleynikov, a Russian immigrant living in New Jersey, was arrested Friday night as he got off a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
Aleynikov had been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Terms of his bail required a $750,000 personal recognizance bond to be secured by three financially responsible people.
His bail also included $75,000 in cash, and Aleynikov was ordered to surrender his travel documents and not to access the computer data at issue in the case.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for August 3.
A “For Sale” sign stood on the lawn of Aleynikov’s home on Monday night in Little Falls, New Jersey. The vacated two-story Colonial-style home, whose open mailbox had letters peeking out, was listed as “priced to sell” in an online advertisement by an area real estate agency.
Authorities contend Aleynikov stole codes used for sophisticated automated stock and commodities trading. They say Aleynikov, who earned $400,000 a year at Goldman, improperly copied proprietary computer code and then uploaded it to a computer server in Germany.
Despite delays and disputes, Roberts Cos. on Tuesday officially opened Hotel Indigo in the Central West End.
Roberts Cos., headed by brothers Mike and Steve Roberts, held a ribbon-cutting to mark the occasion, and Mayor Francis Slay and Comptroller Darlene Green were among those on hand for the christening.
The brothers said that when they bought the building out of foreclosure about two years ago, the hotel, then known as the Inn at the Park, was barely in business.
"It was basically an empty building with an open door," Mike Roberts said.
They poured $17 million into the building’s renovation, and in May, the hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The brothers have plans for a second Hotel Indigo downtown on Olive Street, but the projected opening of late 2010 has been pushed back at least a year.
As for the 127-room Central West End hotel, troubles with contractors made the opening a moving target. The Roberts brothers had planned to open the hotel shortly after having their office holiday party there in December.
In October, Interior Solutions LLC of Festus filed a lien for $543,677, saying it was owed for work on the project. Roberts Cos. countersued, charging breach of contract and said Interior Solutions had quit the job without finishing the work.
Roberts Cos. then hired another company, DK Interior Solutions of Denver, to finish the job. Disputes arose there, too, and in March, the firm filed a lien for $306,785, claiming underpayment.
Steve Roberts countered in an interview Tuesday that the brothers were unaware that subcontractors and suppliers had not been paid.
"We had to step in and become the general contractor, something which we didn’t want to do," he said cheap payday loans.
Don Evans, head of DK, contended this week that his company still owns much of the hotel’s furniture. He added that all the Roberts brothers "care about is money." The matter is scheduled to go to trial in November.
The Roberts brothers said they hope their new hotel at 4630 Lindell Boulevard draws business from nearby hospitals and the Washington University medical complex.
Gary Andreas, principal at H&H Consulting Inc., a Chesterfield-based hotel consulting group, said the Indigo on Lindell should do well because the Central West End is a good hotel market. But he said downtown is no place to put another hotel now.
"The big question is whether you need another hotel room anywhere downtown, period, for the next few years," he said.
Steve Roberts said "craziness" in lending markets has stalled the brothers’ downtown hotel plans. He and his brother are holding off demolition of two vacant buildings within the project area while trying to get two planned hotel structures on the national historic register. A register listing could make the hotel project eligible for tax credits.
Even though the downtown Indigo is on hold, work continues on a 25-story condo tower the Roberts are building next to their Mayfair Hotel on Eighth Street. The brothers said the exterior of the glass-and-concrete building will be finished later this year. A Chicago company has been hired to market the project, although an active sales effort has yet to begin.
"We haven’t taken one deposit, but we do have reservations," Steve Roberts said.
In no particular order, here are four good spots for a covert business meal, and another four that will impress clients and seal that deal. First the private…
1. LE SELECT BISTRO, 432 WELLINGTON ST. W.
Authentic Parisian cuisine with a quiet garden patio out back. Birds chirp as you ink the contract.
2. BIAGIO, 155 KING ST. E.
White-linen tablecloths give a Soprano feel to this old style Italian eatery with a charming courtyard café. Off the beaten path of the Bay Street crowd. Host a special dinner in the wine cellar.
3. GEORGE, 111 QUEEN ST. E. IN THE VERITY SPA
The room is very elegant, the chef is brilliant with French dishes and there are quite a few tables that can provide seclusion when needed.
4. JOSO’S, 202 DAVENPORT RD.
Two floors allow for private parties in this offbeat Yorkville seafood spot and you can ogle some original Dalis and Picassos to boot. Robert DeNiro raves about the calamari.
…Now impress ‘em:
5 instant personal loan approvals. THE ROOF LOUNGE AT THE PARK HYATT, 4 AVENUE RD
18th-floor bar restaurant offers one of the best views of the city with a wraparound balcony patio that will wow an out-of-town client.
6. HARBOUR SIXTY, 60 HARBOUR ST.
One of the tops in the traditional red meat/red wine variety. Prawns in the shrimp cocktail as big as your forearm and you can eyeball your giant slab of beef from the front display case.
7. BISTRO 990, 990 BAY ST.
For the see and be-seen types, a spot where the celebrities chill when they visit Toronto. Private dining areas too, if you would rather hide out when noshing on the fine French country fare.
8. AVENUE IN THE FOUR SEASONS, 21 AVENUE RD.
Another in the people-watching variety. Elegant, candlelit atmosphere and oversized couches and chairs along with a 6-metre onyx bar make it pretty hard not to enjoy your smoked salmon and lobster appetizers.
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