Calgary, March 8, 2010 – According to preliminary figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), total housing starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) reached 743 units in February 2010, up substantially from 206 units in the previous year. February’s construction activity brings year-to-date housing starts to 1,257 units, up from 449 units in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Bank of Canada is keeping interest rates at historic lows for a few more months, while sending out signals that the economy is rebounding strongly and could trigger inflationary pressures.

The Canadian Press

The central bank’s more positive take on the economy followed a Statistics Canada report Monday of a surprising 5% growth spurt in the fourth quarter of 2009 and sent a strong loonie even higher.

“The level of economic activity in Canada has been slightly higher than the bank had projected in January,” the bank said Tuesday morning before markets opened.

“The economy grew at an annual rate of 5% in the fourth quarter of 2009, spurred by vigorous domestic spending and further recovery in exports.”

“Slightly higher” may be an understatement, as the bank had projected growth of only 3.3% for the last three months of 2009. Read the rest of this entry »