More
Than 1 in 5 Homes in Chinese Cities Are Empty, Survey Says - (online.wsj.com) More
than one in five homes in China's urban areas is vacant, and a current
housing-price correction is putting additional pressure on the owners of such
empty properties, according to a nationwide survey by researchers from China's
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. The vacancy rate of sold
residential homes in urban areas reached 22.4% in 2013, or 49 million homes, up
from 20.6% in 2011, according to the Survey and Research Center for China
Household inance, which conducted the
analysis. The researchers surveyed households in 262 counties in 29 provinces,
an expanded sample compared with 2011's survey of households in 80 counties. As
of August 2013, the amount of outstanding mortgage loans on vacant homes in
China reached 4.2 trillion yuan ($674.33 billion), the report added.
Ottawa
real estate agent Chris Hoare accused of attempted murder - (www.ottowacitizen.com) The
first neighbour called 911 around 10 a.m. on Wednesday after he heard a woman
screaming for help. The police were on their way to the modest Orléans home
when they got a second call after someone said the screaming had stopped and
there was a man standing over her with a baseball bat as she lay bleeding in
the driveway. That’s when a neighbour and friend said the man looked across the
street and said someone had better call an ambulance. The woman, still
conscious, apparently told her neighbour that her husband had come home and
said to meet him in the garage and to close her eyes because it was a surprise.
Then someone started swinging a bat at her head. Minutes later, paramedics were
treating her wounds and police were arresting Chris Hoare, a prominent Ottawa
real estate agent and father of five young children.
Hong
Kong Democracy Protest Plan Worries Foreign Businesses - (www.bloomberg.com) The Canadian,
Indian and Italian chambers of commerce in Hong Kong joined brokers and executives in
opposing a planned pro-democracy protest, publishing a letter that said the
demonstrations may “cripple” businesses. Organizers of Occupy Central, who are
threatening to bring the business district to a standstill with protests if
their demands for universal suffrage aren’t met, should rethink their plans and
argue their case through other channels, the foreign chambers said in a
quarter-page advertisement in the South China Morning Post newspaper today. “We
respect the fact that politics is part of community life here,” the groups
said, “However, we cannot, and should not, sit idly by when political actions
threaten to disrupt general business activity and with it, the livelihoods of
Hong Kong’s workers and their families.”
IMF
sounds global housing alarm Financial Times - (www.cnbc.com) The
world must act to contain the risk of another devastating housing crash, the
International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday, as it published new data
showing house prices are well above their historical average in many countries.
The warning from the IMF shows how an acceleration in global house prices from
already high levels has emerged as one of the major threats to economic
stability, with countries making limited progress in keeping them under
control. Min Zhu, the IMF's deputy managing director, said the tools for
containing housing booms were "still being developed" but that
"this should not be an excuse for inaction".
Are
Americans filling up on too much debt? (cars) - (www.usatoday.com) Americans
love cars and debt, so it's only natural that they would combine the two. A new
report finds that auto loans are becoming more supercharged than ever as
financing terms reach record highs. However, consumers should remember to steer
clear of buying more car than they can really afford. The average auto-loan
term increased to 66 months during the first quarter, according to Experian
Automotive, a global information services company. That is the highest level
since Experian began publicly reporting the data in 2006. Making matters worse,
nearly 25% of all new vehicle loans originated during the quarter had terms
extending out 73 months to 84 months, representing a 27.6% surge from a year
earlier. The average amount financed for a new vehicle loan also reached an all-time
high of $27,612.
Japan
Says Chinese Fighter Jets Fly Close to Its Planes Again - (www.bloomberg.com)
Japan blasts Chinese bid for U.N. recognition of Nanjing massacre - (www.reuters.com)
World
Bank Cuts Global Growth Forecast After ‘Bumpy’ 2014 Start - (www.bloomberg.com)Japan blasts Chinese bid for U.N. recognition of Nanjing massacre - (www.reuters.com)
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