Asian Shares to Be Pressured, Chipmakers in Focus: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks were mixed at the open after US shares extended their losing streak to the longest since January.
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Asian stocks were mixed at the open after US shares extended their losing streak to the longest since January.
President Joe Biden called China “xenophobic” while highlighting the Asian nation’s economic woes, as he sought to make the case for US economic strength during a campaign stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
Freddie Mac is seeking regulatory approval to expand into guaranteeing second mortgages, a shift that would potentially drive down costs for Americans seeking to borrow against the equity in their home.
The US economy has “expanded slightly” since late February and firms reported greater difficulty in passing on higher costs, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts.
The City of London approved a plan to build a new office block connected to the Grade 2 listed Barbican Centre on Wednesday, despite opposition from residents.
May 12, 2017
Reuters
,Canadian home prices rose in April, data showed on Friday, lifted once again by hefty price gains in the hot Toronto market, which some fear is becoming overheated.
The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which measures changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed prices rose 1.2 per cent last month, making for the fifteenth consecutive month national prices have increased.
In the Toronto market, which some economists have called a bubble, prices climbed 2.6 per cent, while nearby Hamilton was up 2.1 per cent. Indexes for both cities were at record highs.
Compared to a year ago, prices were up 26.3 per cent in Toronto and 22.9 per cent in Hamilton, a record pace for both, the report said.
The rapid growth in Toronto home prices has spread to surrounding regions, including Hamilton, as potential buyers are priced out of Canada's largest city. The provincial government announced measures at the end of last month to try to cool the Toronto market, including a tax on foreign buyers.
The report pointed to tight market conditions as demand exceeds the supply of homes for sale, a factor that has been partly blamed for rising prices.
In Vancouver, where the British Columbia government imposed its own foreign buyers tax last August, prices dipped 0.1 per cent on the month. Nonetheless, prices remained just 0.3 per cent away from the peak seen last year.
Elsewhere in the province, prices climbed 1.5 per cent in Victoria.
Canada's housing market has been generally robust in the years since the global financial crisis, partly fueled by low interest rates, but concern over consumer indebtedness and housing affordability has become more prominent recently.
Moody's on Thursday downgraded the ratings of Canada's major banks, citing rising household debt and the hot housing market.