TSX slides as oil drops 5 per cent... Home prices rise 12 per cent... Best Buy Canada expects sales to drop 30 per cent... Toronto Star printing plant to close...
TSX slides as oil drops 5 per cent
The week has ended on a low as oil, equities and the loonie all dropped. Concern over China and Iranian oil supplies saw US and Brent crude drop more than 5 per cent to close the session approaching $29.
Equities around the world tumbled with Asian and European indexes all closing lower while Wall Street shed more than 2 per cent to end at a near 15-month low. There is even talk of the Fed reversing its interest rate rise.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 262.6 (2.13 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 391.9 (2.39 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $29.18, WTI $29.65 at 4.30pm)
Gold is trending higher (1088.80 at 4.30pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.6883
Home prices rise 12 per cent
Average home prices across Canada rose by 12 per cent in the year to December 2015 according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. That took the average price to $454,342 but as usual there were regional variations. Fraser Valley, Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto were among the cities seeing the largest gains in value while Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg were among those declining.
Best Buy Canada expects sales to drop 30 per cent
Best Buy’s 9-week holiday season sales were a disappointing 26 per cent lower than the same period in 2014 and the firm is now predicting its sales in this quarter to drop 30 per cent. Although the US firm also saw sales slip south of the border the decline was just 0.8 per cent. Although the lower Canadian dollar accounts for some of the fall in figures for Canada the firm also highlighted softness in the Canadian market.
Toronto Star printing plant to close
The Toronto Star’s Vaughan printing plant is to close with the loss of almost 300 jobs. Printing of the daily paper will be contracted to Transcontinental with effect in July. There are also cuts in the editorial staff. Total costs of the changes, largely severance pay, will be in the region of $22 million Torstar estimates but should save $10 million per year.
The week has ended on a low as oil, equities and the loonie all dropped. Concern over China and Iranian oil supplies saw US and Brent crude drop more than 5 per cent to close the session approaching $29.
Equities around the world tumbled with Asian and European indexes all closing lower while Wall Street shed more than 2 per cent to end at a near 15-month low. There is even talk of the Fed reversing its interest rate rise.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 262.6 (2.13 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 391.9 (2.39 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $29.18, WTI $29.65 at 4.30pm)
Gold is trending higher (1088.80 at 4.30pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.6883
Home prices rise 12 per cent
Average home prices across Canada rose by 12 per cent in the year to December 2015 according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. That took the average price to $454,342 but as usual there were regional variations. Fraser Valley, Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto were among the cities seeing the largest gains in value while Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg were among those declining.
Best Buy Canada expects sales to drop 30 per cent
Best Buy’s 9-week holiday season sales were a disappointing 26 per cent lower than the same period in 2014 and the firm is now predicting its sales in this quarter to drop 30 per cent. Although the US firm also saw sales slip south of the border the decline was just 0.8 per cent. Although the lower Canadian dollar accounts for some of the fall in figures for Canada the firm also highlighted softness in the Canadian market.
Toronto Star printing plant to close
The Toronto Star’s Vaughan printing plant is to close with the loss of almost 300 jobs. Printing of the daily paper will be contracted to Transcontinental with effect in July. There are also cuts in the editorial staff. Total costs of the changes, largely severance pay, will be in the region of $22 million Torstar estimates but should save $10 million per year.
