TSX closes higher, Hudson’s Bay excels... Canadian homes average above $450,000, sales at 5 year high... Disappointing manufacturing sales figures... Competition Bureau probes Apple over iPhone deals...
TSX closes higher, Hudson’s Bay excels
The main index of the Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher Monday despite a fall in oil prices. Hudson’s Bay Co. was the star player as it announced a deal to buy a German department store chain including the corresponding real estate portfolio. Wall Street closed lower as news of the collapse of Greek debt talks spread around the world and the Fed’s meeting, which starts tomorrow, is nervously awaited for a sign of interest rate increases. Although September is the month that many analysts are forecasting for a rate rise but it could still happen this week. Asian markets closed lower on the Greece debt issue and an announcement that China is tightening rules on margin financing. Europe closed lower.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 14.90 (0.10 per cent)
The NYSE closed lower (Dow down 107.7)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $62.61, WTI $59.64 at 4.15pm)
Gold is trending higher
The loonie is valued at U$0.8121 (at 4.15pm)
Canadian homes average above $450,000, sales at 5 year high
The spring buying season has taken off with sales hitting a 5 year high. New data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows that home sales were up 3.1 per cent in May from the previous month; it was the busiest month for sales in over 5 years. Prices have also picked up pace with a rise nationally of 8.1 per cent in a year to reach an average of $450,866. CREA president Pauline Aunger says that one of the reasons for the strong month was buyers aiming to beat an increase in CMHC premiums for those with less than a 10 per cent downpayment which came into effect from the start of June.
Disappointing manufacturing sales figures
Petroleum and coal products along with food and aerospace products led the decline in Canada’s manufacturing sector in April. Statistics Canada figures show a 2.1 per cent drop in sales to $49.8 billion; a Thomson Reuters poll had predicted 0.5 per cent. Eight out of twenty-one manufacturing sectors were lower but they account for nearly two-thirds of the total. Quebec saw the largest decline (5.4 per cent) while Manitoba was the only province to gain.
Competition Bureau probes Apple over iPhone deals
The Competition Bureau is probing contracts between the Canadian subsidiary of Apple and wireless operators such as Rogers, Telus and BCE. The widening of the investigation into the tech giant’s deals with distributors of its iPhone aims to discover how much influence it has on pricing and the detail of the wholesale contracts.
The main index of the Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher Monday despite a fall in oil prices. Hudson’s Bay Co. was the star player as it announced a deal to buy a German department store chain including the corresponding real estate portfolio. Wall Street closed lower as news of the collapse of Greek debt talks spread around the world and the Fed’s meeting, which starts tomorrow, is nervously awaited for a sign of interest rate increases. Although September is the month that many analysts are forecasting for a rate rise but it could still happen this week. Asian markets closed lower on the Greece debt issue and an announcement that China is tightening rules on margin financing. Europe closed lower.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 14.90 (0.10 per cent)
The NYSE closed lower (Dow down 107.7)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $62.61, WTI $59.64 at 4.15pm)
Gold is trending higher
The loonie is valued at U$0.8121 (at 4.15pm)
Canadian homes average above $450,000, sales at 5 year high
The spring buying season has taken off with sales hitting a 5 year high. New data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows that home sales were up 3.1 per cent in May from the previous month; it was the busiest month for sales in over 5 years. Prices have also picked up pace with a rise nationally of 8.1 per cent in a year to reach an average of $450,866. CREA president Pauline Aunger says that one of the reasons for the strong month was buyers aiming to beat an increase in CMHC premiums for those with less than a 10 per cent downpayment which came into effect from the start of June.
Disappointing manufacturing sales figures
Petroleum and coal products along with food and aerospace products led the decline in Canada’s manufacturing sector in April. Statistics Canada figures show a 2.1 per cent drop in sales to $49.8 billion; a Thomson Reuters poll had predicted 0.5 per cent. Eight out of twenty-one manufacturing sectors were lower but they account for nearly two-thirds of the total. Quebec saw the largest decline (5.4 per cent) while Manitoba was the only province to gain.
Competition Bureau probes Apple over iPhone deals
The Competition Bureau is probing contracts between the Canadian subsidiary of Apple and wireless operators such as Rogers, Telus and BCE. The widening of the investigation into the tech giant’s deals with distributors of its iPhone aims to discover how much influence it has on pricing and the detail of the wholesale contracts.
