Friday Free-for-all!
The weekend is nigh! Let’s do our end of the week economic news round up and open topic discussion. Here are a few stories I’ve noticed lately:
-Canadian consumers rated ‘remarkably resilient’
-City Hall seeks Federal help to boost rental stock
-Metro Vancouver health cuts include layoffs and increased fees
-Advertisers not so hot on the winter games
-TD: All provincial economies to decline in 2009
-Merril Lynch: Get ready for 10% gdp growth!
-Conference Board: Lukewarm recovery coming soon
-Boomtime building and Chinese toxic drywall
-US Foreclosures at record high despite aid
-Paulson hid facts to ‘protect taxpayer’
-US 30 year fixed rate mortgages near record low
-Nothing will stop housing prices from tanking, but rates help
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have fun-tastic weekend!
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July 20th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
That was me by the way. I don’t like Anonymous posts.
July 20th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Bob, don’t worry mate. A rain will come soon (it is Vancouver after all) and wash these streets clean.
It’s called high interest rates, and it has the amazing ability to silence those people who have been annoying you at dinner parties for the last 5 years with tales of their Trumponian sized empire.
It’ll be back to talking about corn and Eugene Levy in no time.
July 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
$2200/month for a “LARGE” (cough cough) 600 sq ft apt in TV Towers….
someone obviously trying to clear their mortage and HOA fees..
And you don’t even get to keep it over the Olympics !
ummm, not for me
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.....41394.html
July 20th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Does inflation include or not include energy? I was always told that energy and housing were excluded, this is what I was told when gas was hitting $1.50 a litre and housing was going up 20% per year, yet interest rates were low. I just read an article stating that we have deflation for the first time in 15 years, due to falling energy costs and housing. What gives?
July 20th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Miracle: Well it depends how you define “inflation”. Yeah sure, the government is “gaming the system”. In fact the conspiracy is so complete it’s to the point where trillions of dollars being held, issued, and traded on world markets are losing value as well. That’s truly amazing stuff but I wouldn’t put that one past the central bank cabal, those magnificent sly devils.
July 20th, 2009 at 8:27 am
realpaul / patriotz
inflation / deflation
“The annual rate of increase in the Bank of Canada’s core measure, which eliminates a number of the more volatile series, both energy and non-energy, and thus better reflects the underlying trend in inflation, continues to increase close to the two per cent mid-range target.”
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/.....e-038.html
According to this article, you are both wrong, at least at present. Volatile sectors are excluded from the monthly calculations, which may just be the feds gaming the system or there may be a reasonable argument there.
Also, it would seem that federal stimuluses have have as yet little inflationary effect. Would be interesting to hear what you guys think of these “official” inflation numbers.
Personally, I think month to month this is impossible to get a handle on, so I’m interested in looking ahead for the long-term trend.
How do you see energy, housing, and stimulus affecting prices twenty-four months from now?
July 20th, 2009 at 6:03 am
realpaul:
The BOC has continued to print massive quantities of paper driving inflation up as the dollar becomes increasingly worthless.
Your dollar buys more house than a year ago – everywhere (including here).
And more stocks.
And more gas.
And more commodities.
And about the same amount of most everything else.
And rents a bigger condo.
What’s that called?
And what’s your definition of “becomes increasingly worthless”?
July 19th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Bob I have lived in Vancouver and surrounding areas my whole life well up to 3 years ago. I don’t remember it every being low key. I always found the peole flaky. Unless you moved here a long time ago like in the sixties I find it hard to believe it was low key when you got here.