June 2013 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[REIN]

RBC raises growth forecast for Canada





TORONTO ` Canada's growth outlook appears to be stronger than previously thought, thanks to an improving trade picture and the strength of corporate balance sheets, economists at the Royal Bank of Canada said Wednesday.



RBC Economics raised its estimate for the country's 2013 economic growth to 1.9 per cent and says 2014 growth will be about 2.9 per cent.





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[REIN]

Canada's big banks moving to increase rates





A number of Canada`s largest banks are moving to increase some of their mortgage rates.






Scotiabank and the Royal Bank of Canada on Thursday became the latest to announce a round of increases covering various terms of what they call special discounted rates.






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[REIN]

Canadians are real estate obsessed




It is the biggest purchase most of us will ever make ` our homes ` and it turns out it is something we really like to talk about.




According to a new survey, real estate talk is becoming a new national past time.





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[REIN]

Canadian housing overvalued? Maybe not







If you`re following the headlines on Canada`s housing market`and who isn`t`you likely noticed the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development described Canada`s housing market as overvalued and at risk of suffering a correction.






Not so fast, says Mario Lefebvre, director of the Centre for Municipal Studies at the Conference Board of Canada.





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[REIN]

North America capable of making OPEC 'NOPEC'




The U.S. oil boom is moving Congress closer than it has been in more than three decades to easing the ban on exporting crude imposed after the Arab embargo.




Advances such as hydraulic fracturing are leading to record production that may outstrip refinery capacity within 18 months to three years, said Benjamin Salisbury, a senior energy policy analyst at FBR Capital Markets Corp. in Arlington, Virginia. Net petroleum imports now account for about 40 percent of demand, down from 60 percent in 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department research unit.





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[REIN]

Low interest rate party may be ending






The interest rate party for borrowers is almost over. After almost five years of historically low rates, we`ve started to see some upward movement in the cost of money.






Most people watch the central banks for indications that rates are about to take off. But that`s not where the real action is. It takes place in the rarefied world of the bond market where institutional traders like banks and pension plans operate. By the time the Bank of Canada gets around to acting, the bond market will have left it in the dust.






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