March 13th, 2010
The brand new Capital Points report, published just yesterday (Friday) by Scotia Economics offers some interesting read. Why is Canada a suitable place to invest? The report tries to answer this quest and it claims that our country actually “has much of what one would want in both a global portfolio and a physical presence.”
(Why Invest in Canada? continued...)March 12th, 2010
Good news! Statistics Canada numbers showed that Canadian economy created almost 21,000 jobs in February, which is more than it was generally expected by economists. The unemployment rate declined by 21 percent and is now at the level of 8.2 percent – a 10 month low, actually.
(Employment in February continued...)March 12th, 2010
Surprise, surprise. Although it is an undeniable fact that the spaces under the Adelaide and Richmond overpasses around Eastern Avenue here in Toronto are not really attractive, Waterfront Toronto is planning to transform them into a wonderful park, covering 1.05 hectares of land.
(New Park in Toronto continued...)March 11th, 2010
New home prices in Canada increased for the seventh month in a row in January! The rise from December 2009 was as high as 0.4 percent, Statistics Canada announced today in Ottawa.
(New Home Prices in January continued...)March 11th, 2010
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada does not believe that the global economic crisis is over. However, he also thinks that the new, modern methods of the bank are helping our country to recover completely.
(Carney: Crisis Not Over continued...)March 11th, 2010
HAIFA ART TORONTO
- April 22nd, 2010 – April 26th, 2010
- Reception: Thursday April 22nd, 6-9pm
An exclusive event featuring 40 Israeli artists painting their city Haifa, Israel. All sales benifit the “Art Centres for Underprivileged Children” in Haifa.
(Gallery 133 Upcoming Events continued...)March 10th, 2010
A report called “Projections of the diversity of the Canadian population” just released by Statistics Canada predicts that the number of foreign born population in our country in following 20 years will keep on significantly increasing. The share of the non white minority is expected to rise from the current 29 to 32 percent in 2031. The largest visible minority group in Canada will be the South Asians, according to the report.
(Foreigners in Canada and Toronto continued...)March 9th, 2010
As you all (or at least the Torontian readers) probably know, Toronto has been celebrating its 176th birthday recently. Well, happy birthday !!! As a gift, or maybe just to celebrate this jubilee, the interactive website of Toronto Museum Project was launched on Saturday, with some help of Mayor David Miller.
(Toronto: Past, Present, Future continued...)March 9th, 2010
In February, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts grew by 66.3 percent to 34,100 units. That is according to preliminary housing starts data released yesterday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
(Rise of Housing Starts continued...)March 9th, 2010
Adress: 70 Yorkville (Lower Level), Toronto
Contact: (416) 546-1246
Located downstairs at 70 Yorkville, Chimichanga is the newest and best Mexican restaurant in Toronto. Sister to the Yonge and Eglinton eatery, this smaller and quieter version has a similar menu but is just a little more chic than uptown.
(Chimichanga continued...)March 9th, 2010
Adress: Avenue Road, North of Lawrence
Contact: (416) 787-3211
If you grew up in Toronto and are a boomer you will remember The Lobster Trap. Located a couple of blocks north of Lawrence on Avenue Road, this was one of a few places we all went for a fancy Sunday night for dinner. The lineups went outside the door and if you were like most families you didn’t make a reservation. But the wait was worth it. That was 30 years ago or more.
(The Lobster Trap continued...)March 8th, 2010
92 percent of Ontario residents believe that purchasing a new home is a good investment, the 17th Annual Homeownership Survey conducted in January by Royal Bank Canada suggests. 34 percent of them will even probably purchase a new house or condo in the next two years, which is a 4 percent growth from last year.
(Ontarians On Housing and Economy continued...)March 8th, 2010
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!! Correct, and I’m not only saying that because today is International Women’s Day – by the way, Happy Women’s Day, ladies. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is also one of the biggest hits of the lady, whom you will be able to see in Toronto this summer. Yes, Cyndi Lauper is coming here!
(Cyndi Lauper in Toronto continued...)March 7th, 2010
My real estate scam series continues right now with this article dealing with Loan Servicing Fraud. In case you want to know what exactly it is, how to recognize it, or how to protect yourself, read on.
Loan Servicing Fraud only happens if a loan is taken from a lender who is not quite honest, with doubtful background and practices. Usually, or at least most often, this type of fraud occurs with subprime lending. Also, first time buyers might be more endangered.
(Loan Servicing Fraud continued...)March 6th, 2010
More positive news about the Canadian recovery! Read them in the new Capital Points report by the Scotia Capital published yesterday. Canada “has entered a solid recovery”, it says. The start of our recovery is comparable to the pace of that of the US, according to the report. However, it is said to be of higher quality and through “more broadly based sources of contribution”.
(Canadian Recovery Report continued...)March 5th, 2010
As I mentioned in my last article, the new federal budget was just unveiled. This fact has brought quite a strong, and not really happy, reaction of Toronto Mayor David Miller. The reason of his dissatisfaction with the budget is that it only includes a couple of request of our city.
(Miller Not Happy About the Federal Budget continued...)March 5th, 2010
The new Canadian budget was officially revealed yesterday by our Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The budget, as he claims, takes into consideration the currently still “fragile recovery” and many weakness of economies all around the world.
(New Canadian Budget Officialy Revealed continued...)March 4th, 2010
According to the new Market Watch report released yesterday by the Toronto Real Estate Board, the number of home sales in Greater Toronto Area increased by 77 percent this past month, since February 2009. Exactly 7,291 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported in the area this February.
(GTA Home Sales in February continued...)March 4th, 2010
From December 2009 to January 2010, the value of building permits in the Toronto area increased again. The rise was 18.3 percent over the month, a new release by Statistics Canada claims. $1.18 billion worth of permits were taken during the first month of this year in Toronto.
(Building Permits in January continued...)March 4th, 2010
Interest rates are staying at their current, and as you all know, very low, level at least until the end of the second quarter of 2010, the Bank of Canada has declared on Tuesday. The exact level of the bank’s key lending rate is 0.25 and even though it will not change anytime soon, it is expected that in the third quarter of this year it is going to rise.
(Interest Rates Staying The Same continued...)
Royal LePage Ltd. Brokerage
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