+the+state.jpg)
Ottawa – December 16/09
As Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney downplayed talk of a domestic housing bubble on Wednesday he also warned home buyers and banks to avoid excess household debt, saying policymakers could take action to curb debt levels if necessary.
In a speech addressing concerns of an overheated housing market, Carney repeated that Canadian household debt has risen sharply relative to income but said the risks to the financial system are small.
"At present, the risks arising from the Canadian household sector are relatively low. Indeed, by some measures, Canadian household finances appear quite healthy," he said
The bank has pledged to hold its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent until the end of June, unless inflation gets off track. It could withdraw some or all of its extraordinary liquidity if inflation rebounds unexpectedly.
Carney also said He said Canada's economy will grow faster than other G7 countries next year but that the recovery will nonetheless be more protracted and more reliant on domestic demand than usual.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
US market: mortgage delinquencies at new high
According to a Reuters report, data from Equifax Inc., shows that mortgage deliquancies rose to a new record in November. And, that this could remain high in December as American consumers focus on holiday expenses.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Toronto: Top 1/3 best run cities in Canada.
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Maclean's commissioned the Halifax-based Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. Unlike others, this study does not try to measure quality of life, or which city is the "best place to live." Rather, it focuses on the contribution of local governments to this end. Bellow are the results.
Read the full article here:
http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/family-relationships/articles/archive/rogers-hello/real_life-canada_s_best_and_worst_run_cities
Rankings
1.Burnaby
2.Saskatoon
3.Surrey
4.Vancouver
5.Longueuil
6.Sherbrooke
7.London
8.Saint John
9.Quebec City
10.Toronto
11.Calgary
12.Gatineau
13.Greater Sudbury
14.Richmond
15.Hamilton
16.Ottawa
17.Regina
18.Edmonton
19.Winnipeg
20.Guelph
21.Montreal
22.St John's
23.Thunder Bay
24.Halifax
25.Barrie
26.Windsor
27.Fredericton
28.Kingston
29.Charlottetown
* Lacal
* Victoria
.
Maclean's commissioned the Halifax-based Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. Unlike others, this study does not try to measure quality of life, or which city is the "best place to live." Rather, it focuses on the contribution of local governments to this end. Bellow are the results.
Read the full article here:
http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/family-relationships/articles/archive/rogers-hello/real_life-canada_s_best_and_worst_run_cities
Rankings
1.Burnaby
2.Saskatoon
3.Surrey
4.Vancouver
5.Longueuil
6.Sherbrooke
7.London
8.Saint John
9.Quebec City
10.Toronto
11.Calgary
12.Gatineau
13.Greater Sudbury
14.Richmond
15.Hamilton
16.Ottawa
17.Regina
18.Edmonton
19.Winnipeg
20.Guelph
21.Montreal
22.St John's
23.Thunder Bay
24.Halifax
25.Barrie
26.Windsor
27.Fredericton
28.Kingston
29.Charlottetown
* Lacal
* Victoria
Monday, August 31, 2009
US economy: Repayment of bailout profitable
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.
As Big Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees a Profit
Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation’s biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again.
The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times.
These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies.
The government still faces potentially huge long-term losses from its bailouts of the insurance giant AIG, the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the automakers GM and Chrysler. The Treasury Department could also take a hit from its guarantees on billions of dollars of toxic mortgages.
But the mere hint of bailout profits for the nearly year-old TARP has been received as a welcome surprise. It has also spurred hopes that the government could soon get out of the banking business.
“The taxpayers want their money back and they want the government out of our banking system,” Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel examining the relief program, said in an interview.
Profits were hardly high on the list of government priorities last October, when a financial panic was in full swing and the Treasury Department started spending roughly $240 billion to buy preferred shares from hundreds of banks that were facing huge potential losses from troubled mortgages. Bank stocks began teetering after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the government rescued A.I.G., and fear gripped the financial industry around the world.
American taxpayers were told they would eventually make a modest return from these investments, including a 5 percent quarterly dividend on the banks’ preferred shares and warrants to buy stock in the banks at a set price over 10 years.
But critics at the time warned that taxpayers might not see any profits, and that it could take years for the banks to repay the loans.
As Congress debated the bailout bill last September that would authorize the Treasury Department to spend up to $700 billion to stem the finacial crisis Representative Mac Thornberry, Republican of Texas, said: “Seven hundred billion dollars of taxpayer money should not be used as a hopeful experiment.”
So far, that experiment is more than paying off. The government has taken profits of about $1.4 billion on its investment in Goldman Sachs, $1.3 billion on Morgan Stanley and $414 million on American Express. The five other banks that repaid the government — Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, U.S. Bancorp and BB&T — each brought in $100 million to $334 million in profit.
The figure does not include the roughly $35 million the government has earned from 14 smaller banks that have paid back their loans. The government bought shares in these and many other financial companies last fall, when sinking confidence among investors pushed down many bank stocks to just a few dollars a share. As the banks strengthened and became profitable, the government authorized them to pay back the preferred stock, which had been paying quarterly dividends since October.
But the real profit came as banks were permitted to buy back the so-called warrants, whose low fixed price provided a windfall for the government as the shares of the companies soared.
Despite the early proceeds from the bailout program, a debate remains over whether the government could have done even better with its bank investments.
If private investors had taken a stake in the banks last October on par with the government’s, they would have had profits three times as large — about $12 billion, or 44 percent if tallied on an annual basis, according to Linus Wilson, a finance professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who analyzed the data for The Times.
Why the discrepancy? Finance experts say the government overpaid for the bank assets it bought, because its chief priority was to stabilize the teetering financial system, not to maximize profit.
“Had these banks tried to raise money any other way, they probably would have had to pay quite a bit more than the government received,” said Espen Robak, head of Pluris Valuation Advisors, which analyzes the value of large financial institutions.
A Congressional oversight panel concluded in February that the Treasury paid an average of 34 percent more than the estimated fair value of the assets it received.
Of course, many finance experts suggest that the comparison is academic at best, because there is no way to know what might have become of the banks or the financial system as a whole had the government not acted.
“Taxpayers should heave a sigh of relief that the investment in the banks protected them from even more catastrophic losses from more bank failures,” said Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.
A more direct comparison of profits can be made with the investment performance of other governments that poured money into ailing banks last fall.
The Swiss government, for example, said last week that it had pulled in a handsome profit for taxpayers on a $5.6 billion bailout it gave to UBS, the troubled Swiss bank, at the height of the financial crisis in October. The government netted $1 billion on its investment, a gain equal to a 32 percent annual return.
“They are substantially in the money,” Guy de Blonay, a fund manager at Henderson New Star in London, said after the announcement.
American taxpayers could still collect additional profits on their investments in two other big banks that have repaid their preferred stock but not their warrants: JPMorgan Chase and Capital One. They are expected to yield over $3.1 billion in gains for the Treasury in the next month or so, although the full tally will depend on how much they will pay to buy back their warrants.
And the government is owed about $6.2 billion in interest payments from banks that have not yet repaid their federal money.
But all the profits taxpayers have won could still be wiped out by two deeply troubled institutions. Both Citigroup and Bank of America are still holding mortgages and other loans that were once worth billions of dollars but whose revised values are uncertain. If they prove “toxic” because they cannot attract buyers, they could leave large holes in the banks’ balance sheets.
Neither bank is ready to repay its bailout money anytime soon, even though the banks’ stock prices have surged in the last month, leaving the government sitting on paper profits of about $18 billion between them.
By Zachery Kouwe,
Eric Dash contributed reporting.
Published: August 30, 2009, NY Times
.
As Big Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees a Profit
Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation’s biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again.
The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times.
These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies.
The government still faces potentially huge long-term losses from its bailouts of the insurance giant AIG, the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the automakers GM and Chrysler. The Treasury Department could also take a hit from its guarantees on billions of dollars of toxic mortgages.
But the mere hint of bailout profits for the nearly year-old TARP has been received as a welcome surprise. It has also spurred hopes that the government could soon get out of the banking business.
“The taxpayers want their money back and they want the government out of our banking system,” Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel examining the relief program, said in an interview.
Profits were hardly high on the list of government priorities last October, when a financial panic was in full swing and the Treasury Department started spending roughly $240 billion to buy preferred shares from hundreds of banks that were facing huge potential losses from troubled mortgages. Bank stocks began teetering after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the government rescued A.I.G., and fear gripped the financial industry around the world.
American taxpayers were told they would eventually make a modest return from these investments, including a 5 percent quarterly dividend on the banks’ preferred shares and warrants to buy stock in the banks at a set price over 10 years.
But critics at the time warned that taxpayers might not see any profits, and that it could take years for the banks to repay the loans.
As Congress debated the bailout bill last September that would authorize the Treasury Department to spend up to $700 billion to stem the finacial crisis Representative Mac Thornberry, Republican of Texas, said: “Seven hundred billion dollars of taxpayer money should not be used as a hopeful experiment.”
So far, that experiment is more than paying off. The government has taken profits of about $1.4 billion on its investment in Goldman Sachs, $1.3 billion on Morgan Stanley and $414 million on American Express. The five other banks that repaid the government — Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, U.S. Bancorp and BB&T — each brought in $100 million to $334 million in profit.
The figure does not include the roughly $35 million the government has earned from 14 smaller banks that have paid back their loans. The government bought shares in these and many other financial companies last fall, when sinking confidence among investors pushed down many bank stocks to just a few dollars a share. As the banks strengthened and became profitable, the government authorized them to pay back the preferred stock, which had been paying quarterly dividends since October.
But the real profit came as banks were permitted to buy back the so-called warrants, whose low fixed price provided a windfall for the government as the shares of the companies soared.
Despite the early proceeds from the bailout program, a debate remains over whether the government could have done even better with its bank investments.
If private investors had taken a stake in the banks last October on par with the government’s, they would have had profits three times as large — about $12 billion, or 44 percent if tallied on an annual basis, according to Linus Wilson, a finance professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who analyzed the data for The Times.
Why the discrepancy? Finance experts say the government overpaid for the bank assets it bought, because its chief priority was to stabilize the teetering financial system, not to maximize profit.
“Had these banks tried to raise money any other way, they probably would have had to pay quite a bit more than the government received,” said Espen Robak, head of Pluris Valuation Advisors, which analyzes the value of large financial institutions.
A Congressional oversight panel concluded in February that the Treasury paid an average of 34 percent more than the estimated fair value of the assets it received.
Of course, many finance experts suggest that the comparison is academic at best, because there is no way to know what might have become of the banks or the financial system as a whole had the government not acted.
“Taxpayers should heave a sigh of relief that the investment in the banks protected them from even more catastrophic losses from more bank failures,” said Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.
A more direct comparison of profits can be made with the investment performance of other governments that poured money into ailing banks last fall.
The Swiss government, for example, said last week that it had pulled in a handsome profit for taxpayers on a $5.6 billion bailout it gave to UBS, the troubled Swiss bank, at the height of the financial crisis in October. The government netted $1 billion on its investment, a gain equal to a 32 percent annual return.
“They are substantially in the money,” Guy de Blonay, a fund manager at Henderson New Star in London, said after the announcement.
American taxpayers could still collect additional profits on their investments in two other big banks that have repaid their preferred stock but not their warrants: JPMorgan Chase and Capital One. They are expected to yield over $3.1 billion in gains for the Treasury in the next month or so, although the full tally will depend on how much they will pay to buy back their warrants.
And the government is owed about $6.2 billion in interest payments from banks that have not yet repaid their federal money.
But all the profits taxpayers have won could still be wiped out by two deeply troubled institutions. Both Citigroup and Bank of America are still holding mortgages and other loans that were once worth billions of dollars but whose revised values are uncertain. If they prove “toxic” because they cannot attract buyers, they could leave large holes in the banks’ balance sheets.
Neither bank is ready to repay its bailout money anytime soon, even though the banks’ stock prices have surged in the last month, leaving the government sitting on paper profits of about $18 billion between them.
By Zachery Kouwe,
Eric Dash contributed reporting.
Published: August 30, 2009, NY Times
Sunday, August 30, 2009
US economy: Banks at Risk of Failure Has Reached 15-Year High
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Banking regulators are warning that the number of banks at risk of failure has reached a fifteen-year high. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said the number of “problem banks” had risen from 305 to 416 during the second quarter. The FDIC has already shut down eighty-one banks this year. This comes at a time when the nation’s largest banks are getting even bigger due to a series of federally arranged mergers and taxpayer bailouts. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup now issue one of every two mortgages and about two of every three credit cards. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo now each hold more than ten percent of the nation’s deposits, despite a rule barring such a practice.
.
Banking regulators are warning that the number of banks at risk of failure has reached a fifteen-year high. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said the number of “problem banks” had risen from 305 to 416 during the second quarter. The FDIC has already shut down eighty-one banks this year. This comes at a time when the nation’s largest banks are getting even bigger due to a series of federally arranged mergers and taxpayer bailouts. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup now issue one of every two mortgages and about two of every three credit cards. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo now each hold more than ten percent of the nation’s deposits, despite a rule barring such a practice.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
...global equalization payments.
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More on the relationship between the haves and have nots...
Africans Mull Call for Billions in Global Warming Compensation
African leaders are considering a proposal that would demand compensation from leading industrial nations for the devastating effects of climate change on the African continent. The plan calls for annual payments of $67 billion dollars to the African Union. If approved, the proposal could enter the agenda at the world climate summit in Copanhagen later this year.
.
More on the relationship between the haves and have nots...
Africans Mull Call for Billions in Global Warming Compensation
African leaders are considering a proposal that would demand compensation from leading industrial nations for the devastating effects of climate change on the African continent. The plan calls for annual payments of $67 billion dollars to the African Union. If approved, the proposal could enter the agenda at the world climate summit in Copanhagen later this year.
Canadian economics - equalization payments?
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Equalization payments are comming from the haves...when they don't have so much anymore what will happen to the have nots?
From the Candian Press:
Weak natural gas prices push Alberta's deficit to a record $7 billion.
EDMONTON - Alberta's energy boom gone bust has left the province with projections of a record $7-billion deficit and if natural gas prices continue to fall, there could be even more red ink by the end of the fiscal year.
Finance Minister Iris Evans has ordered provincial bureaucrats to find $430 million in program savings, but deeper cuts are coming as the government scrambles to trim $2 billion from the budget by next year.
"Quite frankly, our earnings took a real kick in the head," Evans told a news conference Wednesday. "We are heavily dependent on our oil and gas revenues."
"Global economic turmoil is deeper and more sustained and natural gas prices are lower than originally forecast and the result is a higher deficit than we predicted."
The new deficit number included in Alberta's first-quarter update is $2 billion more than the original budget forecast. But the latest forecast is based on a prediction that natural gas prices will nearly double to $4 per gigajoule for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Some market analysts are predicting exactly the opposite for natural gas prices in the coming months because of large inventories of gas in storage and a weaker North American economy.
Evans was coy about whether the deficit could get even worse given these dour predictions. When asked if continued weak gas prices could increase the deficit, the minister said flatly: "Not in this forecast."
Scott Hennig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said with financial reports this week predicting gas prices falling below $1 per gigajoule, Alberta's deficit projections are overly optimistic.
"I have no confidence that this (deficit) number is going to stay where it is," said Hennig. "I think it could reach $8 billion or even $8.5 billion."
Jack Mintz, former president of the C.D. Howe Institute, also said the deficit could end up being worse if natural gas prices fall lower. But he also said the province may be overly optimistic in its projections for tax revenue....
Total revenue for the year is now forecast at $29.6 billion, while expenses are pegged at $36.4 billion.
.
Equalization payments are comming from the haves...when they don't have so much anymore what will happen to the have nots?
From the Candian Press:
Weak natural gas prices push Alberta's deficit to a record $7 billion.
EDMONTON - Alberta's energy boom gone bust has left the province with projections of a record $7-billion deficit and if natural gas prices continue to fall, there could be even more red ink by the end of the fiscal year.
Finance Minister Iris Evans has ordered provincial bureaucrats to find $430 million in program savings, but deeper cuts are coming as the government scrambles to trim $2 billion from the budget by next year.
"Quite frankly, our earnings took a real kick in the head," Evans told a news conference Wednesday. "We are heavily dependent on our oil and gas revenues."
"Global economic turmoil is deeper and more sustained and natural gas prices are lower than originally forecast and the result is a higher deficit than we predicted."
The new deficit number included in Alberta's first-quarter update is $2 billion more than the original budget forecast. But the latest forecast is based on a prediction that natural gas prices will nearly double to $4 per gigajoule for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Some market analysts are predicting exactly the opposite for natural gas prices in the coming months because of large inventories of gas in storage and a weaker North American economy.
Evans was coy about whether the deficit could get even worse given these dour predictions. When asked if continued weak gas prices could increase the deficit, the minister said flatly: "Not in this forecast."
Scott Hennig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said with financial reports this week predicting gas prices falling below $1 per gigajoule, Alberta's deficit projections are overly optimistic.
"I have no confidence that this (deficit) number is going to stay where it is," said Hennig. "I think it could reach $8 billion or even $8.5 billion."
Jack Mintz, former president of the C.D. Howe Institute, also said the deficit could end up being worse if natural gas prices fall lower. But he also said the province may be overly optimistic in its projections for tax revenue....
Total revenue for the year is now forecast at $29.6 billion, while expenses are pegged at $36.4 billion.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
US market: Cure Rate plummets
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.
The Associated Press (J.W. Elphinstone)
A record 12 per cent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage are behind on their payments or in foreclosure as the housing crisis spreads to borrowers with good credit. And the wave of foreclosures isn't expected to crest until the end of next year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
The U.S. foreclosure rate on prime fixed-rate loans doubled in the last year, and now represents the largest share of new foreclosures. Nearly 6 per cent of fixed-rate mortgages to borrowers with good credit were in the foreclosure process.
At the same time, almost half of all adjustable-rate loans made to borrowers with shaky credit were past due or in foreclosure.
The worst of the trouble continues to be centred in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, which accounted for 46 per cent of new foreclosures in the country. There were no signs of improvement.
The pain, however, is spreading throughout the United States as job losses take their toll. The number of newly laid off people requesting jobless benefits fell last week, the U.S government said Thursday, but the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was the highest on record. These borrowers are harder for lenders to help with loan modifications.
President Barack Obama's recent loan modification and refinancing plan might stem some foreclosures, but not enough to significantly alter the crisis.
“It may be too much to say that numbers will fall because of the plan. It's more correct to say that the numbers won't be as high,” said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.
.
The Associated Press (J.W. Elphinstone)
A record 12 per cent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage are behind on their payments or in foreclosure as the housing crisis spreads to borrowers with good credit. And the wave of foreclosures isn't expected to crest until the end of next year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
The U.S. foreclosure rate on prime fixed-rate loans doubled in the last year, and now represents the largest share of new foreclosures. Nearly 6 per cent of fixed-rate mortgages to borrowers with good credit were in the foreclosure process.
At the same time, almost half of all adjustable-rate loans made to borrowers with shaky credit were past due or in foreclosure.
The worst of the trouble continues to be centred in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, which accounted for 46 per cent of new foreclosures in the country. There were no signs of improvement.
The pain, however, is spreading throughout the United States as job losses take their toll. The number of newly laid off people requesting jobless benefits fell last week, the U.S government said Thursday, but the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was the highest on record. These borrowers are harder for lenders to help with loan modifications.
President Barack Obama's recent loan modification and refinancing plan might stem some foreclosures, but not enough to significantly alter the crisis.
“It may be too much to say that numbers will fall because of the plan. It's more correct to say that the numbers won't be as high,” said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Toronto: August, mid-month RESALE figures
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.
GTA REALTORS® Report August Mid-Month Resale Market Figures.
August 18, 2009 -- In the first two weeks of August, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 3,832 sales – up 27 per cent compared to the first two weeks of August 2008. The average price for these transactions was up three per cent year-over-year to $383,796.
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GTA REALTORS® Report August Mid-Month Resale Market Figures.
August 18, 2009 -- In the first two weeks of August, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 3,832 sales – up 27 per cent compared to the first two weeks of August 2008. The average price for these transactions was up three per cent year-over-year to $383,796.
US market: Consumer Confidence Index Exceeds Forecast
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.
The Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer sentiment rose more than expected in August, an indication that Americans’ pessimism about the economy may be lifting.
The New York-based Conference Board says its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 from an upwardly revised 47.4 in July. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a slight increase to 47.5. Still, the index is far below 90, the minimum level associated with a healthy economy.
Economists closely monitor confidence because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of United States economic activity. Consumer sentiment — fueled by signs the economy is stabilizing — has recovered a bit since hitting a record-low of 25.3 in February.
.
The Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer sentiment rose more than expected in August, an indication that Americans’ pessimism about the economy may be lifting.
The New York-based Conference Board says its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 from an upwardly revised 47.4 in July. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a slight increase to 47.5. Still, the index is far below 90, the minimum level associated with a healthy economy.
Economists closely monitor confidence because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of United States economic activity. Consumer sentiment — fueled by signs the economy is stabilizing — has recovered a bit since hitting a record-low of 25.3 in February.
US market: Index Shows an Improvement in Home Prices
.
.
From the NY Times.
House prices continued to improve in June as a modest spring recovery started to strengthen, according to data released Tuesday.
The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index has shown that prices in 20 major cities increased 1.4 percent during the month, nearly triple the rate of growth in May.
“May’s glimmer of stabilization has held up,” said Maureen Maitland, vice president for index services at Standard & Poor’s. She cautioned, however, that “we need a few more months of progress to start talking about a real recovery.”
Housing prices are still down sharply in comparison to last year’s figures. The 20-city composite index is off 15.4 percent. But this too is a marked improvement from its record loss of 19.1 percent last winter. Average home prices are now at the level they were in early 2003.
Eighteen of the cities in the index improved in the month. Cleveland rose 4.2 percent from May, Minneapolis was up 3.1 percent and San Diego was up 1.6 percent.
The two cities that declined were Detroit and Las Vegas, among the most economically troubled places in the country. Las Vegas prices are now down 54.3 percent from its peak. Detroit has fallen 45.3 percent.
The news comes on the heels of a report from the National Association of Realtors that oints to existing home sales in July having risen for the fourth consecutive month, for the first time since 2004. July sales were 5 percent above the pace in July 2008, the first year-over-year gain since the market peaked in November 2005.
.
From the NY Times.
House prices continued to improve in June as a modest spring recovery started to strengthen, according to data released Tuesday.
The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index has shown that prices in 20 major cities increased 1.4 percent during the month, nearly triple the rate of growth in May.
“May’s glimmer of stabilization has held up,” said Maureen Maitland, vice president for index services at Standard & Poor’s. She cautioned, however, that “we need a few more months of progress to start talking about a real recovery.”
Housing prices are still down sharply in comparison to last year’s figures. The 20-city composite index is off 15.4 percent. But this too is a marked improvement from its record loss of 19.1 percent last winter. Average home prices are now at the level they were in early 2003.
Eighteen of the cities in the index improved in the month. Cleveland rose 4.2 percent from May, Minneapolis was up 3.1 percent and San Diego was up 1.6 percent.
The two cities that declined were Detroit and Las Vegas, among the most economically troubled places in the country. Las Vegas prices are now down 54.3 percent from its peak. Detroit has fallen 45.3 percent.
The news comes on the heels of a report from the National Association of Realtors that oints to existing home sales in July having risen for the fourth consecutive month, for the first time since 2004. July sales were 5 percent above the pace in July 2008, the first year-over-year gain since the market peaked in November 2005.
Rhode Island: Government Shutdown Planned
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.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:
Rhode Island will shut down its state government for 12 days and trim millions of dollars in financing for local governments under a plan Gov. Donald L. Carcieri proposed to balance a budget hard-hit by surging unemployment and plummeting tax revenue. The shutdown would force 81 percent of the roughly 13,550-member state work force, excluding its college system, to stay home a dozen days without pay before the start of the new fiscal year in July. The closings come as the worst recession in decades has eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in tax collections and pushed unemployment to 12.7 percent, the second-highest jobless rate in the nation behind Michigan
.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:
Rhode Island will shut down its state government for 12 days and trim millions of dollars in financing for local governments under a plan Gov. Donald L. Carcieri proposed to balance a budget hard-hit by surging unemployment and plummeting tax revenue. The shutdown would force 81 percent of the roughly 13,550-member state work force, excluding its college system, to stay home a dozen days without pay before the start of the new fiscal year in July. The closings come as the worst recession in decades has eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in tax collections and pushed unemployment to 12.7 percent, the second-highest jobless rate in the nation behind Michigan
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