These lazy days of summer are perfect for a good read and “must-read” lists abound during these hot months. Check out these sites for a literary round-up that is sure to hold a few books to pique your interest:

According to their website, the classic mag lists “buzzy novels, compulsively readable non- iction tales, and a few old-fashioned beach reads.”

2. www.beyondthebookends.com

No tearjerkers here, just simple beach reads. Sweet!

3. www.barnesandnoble.com

“Summer reading lists for all ages & interests” are listed here, so you can grab a good book for yourself and one for a bookworm kiddo in your life.

The Canadian economy contracted by 0.3% in May, the second consecutive month of decline following a 0.5% contraction in April. Services and goods sectors declined by 0.2% and 0.4% respectively as restrictions from the third COVID wave continued to dampen economic activity. Construction activity declined 2.3% in May, with a 4.2% drop in residential building construction led by declines in single-family home construction. The real estate sector fell 7.2% in May, following a 10.7% drop in April, due to slowing home sales. 

While the post-pandemic economic recovery remains strong, many sectors are grappling with conditions that have led to shortages of raw materials and labour. As the economy converges to pre-crisis levels, costs of some inputs remain elevated as supply chains readjust. Although Statistics Canada reported contractions in April and May, based on advanced data the agency estimates that June real GDP rose 0.7%. As a result, the agency's preliminary forecast is for a 0.6% increase in real GDP in the second quarter of 2021. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-monthly-economic-growth-real-gdp-may-2021

The COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard indicates that in June most BC housing markets continued to calm from a peak in March. At the same time, the seasonally adjusted 6-month moving-average for housing starts hit a record level in the province. Seasonally adjusted aggregate employment in BC is now at roughly pre-pandemic levels, although high-wage workers are doing much better than low-wage workers. Rents were up across much of the province, with 1-bedroom apartments in Vancouver hitting a record. Google movement trends and restaurant reservations continued to rise, suggesting a general reopening across Canada’s three largest cities. Manufacturing and exports continue to post very strong figures, with both approaching record levels in June. Consumer confidence is approaching pre-pandemic levels, while business confidence is well-above pre-pandemic levels. For a more comprehensive overview of BC's economic recovery, click here. 

About BCREA’s COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard
The BCREA Economics team has created the COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard to help REALTORS^® monitor BC’s economic recovery. This dashboard focuses on the sectors and activities that have been most significantly impacted by the pandemic, including:

• Housing Markets
• Retail, Restaurant Reservations and Movement
• Jobs and Hours Worked
• Manufacturing and International Trade
• Business and Consumer Confidences
• Tourism

One of the sweetest things about summer is the fruit: plump, ripe, juicy delectables that beg for bare fingers snatching just one more strawberry. The Cooking Classy site offers the following tips for creating the perfect fruit salad, along with a light topping recipe that won’t overpower the naturally sweet flavor of fruit. 

1. Keep berries together and save the citrus for another day.

2. Use fresh, not frozen, fruit so it stays firm.Prep fruit ahead of time.

3. Mix it all just before eating or when company arrives

Try this honey-lime dressing for an extra kick:.

Mix 1/4 cup honey, 2 teaspoons of lime zest, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, then add evenly to the fruit salad. Better than whipped cream and healthier, too!

Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 3.1% on a year-over-year basis in June, down from the prior two months. The downward pull of "base-year effects" are no longer influencing the year-over-year CPI values, as June 2020 prices had recovered from dips in the early months of the pandemic. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, the CPI was up just 0.1% in June. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation (which use techniques to strip out volatile elements) rose an average of 2.3% year-over-year in June. In BC, consumer prices were up 0.5% month-over-month, and up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis in June.

While inflation is currently running higher than the Bank of Canada's 2 per cent target, many economists expect this elevated rate of price increases to be transitory as economies emerge from the pandemic and supply chains normalize. Base-year effects from falling prices during the early months of the pandemic had exaggerated year-over-year changes in CPI, but these effects have now ended, and the rate of increase in CPI is correspondingly lower. The rate of inflation as measured by CPI is very important for the Bank of Canada's monetary policy stance over the next year. If higher inflation is not transitory but instead the result of an over-stimulated economy, the central bank could act to raise interest rates sooner than expected. However, if the uptick in inflation continues to fade in the coming months, we expect the Bank will stay its current course.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.
Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-inflation-june-2021

Every once in awhile, you may say something that unintentionally sounds like a brag. Without meaning to, you can offend colleagues with a perceived lack of humility. The Idealist Careers website has this to say on the subject of workplace humility:

Neilsen and Marrone’s work in the International Journal of Management Reviews found that people described as “humble” share the ability to: acknowledge their limitations and strengths; appreciate others’ strengths and contributions without letting their ego get in the way; maintain an open mind and a thirst for learning; seek diverse feedback; and apologize when they are in the wrong.

Humble leaders are especially effective at cultivating strong social relationships, helpfulness, forgiveness, and social justice amongst their team members. They ultimately create teams with more satisfied employees who stay longer at the organization. So, if you’re coming up on a rough patch or a big transition that will require teamwork, flexibility, and collaborative decision making, then put a humble leader in charge and remember to honor those qualities if you’re the one at the helm.

Time to start planning for the holidays! Wait, what? Yes, you read that right: start planning now in these easy summer days so you can relax this winter.

These suggestions on how to hone your holiday checklist all came from homemaking maven Martha Stewart:

1. Take stock of your stash. A well-kept holiday home begins with a proper assessment of what you already have: garlands, glittered baubles and figurines, lighting displays, preserved wreaths, and other decorations. Unpack and sort your collection, declutter by discarding anything broken or unusable, and organize the remaining stockpile for easier, more efficient decorating come December.
2. Gather your gifts. Now is the time to make your list and check it twice so you can keep an eye out for bargains, as well as buy yourself time (pun intended) to find more challenging items or start on a homemade craft. Source your materials and, if it’s helpful to you, draft a timeline to keep yourself on schedule with crafting gifts in due time for the season.
3. Stock up on host gifts. Think beyond the gift list of your inner circle. Come holiday time, there are likely to be small get togethers happening again and you will want to have a token of thanks for a few hosted parties. Stock up over summer—curating a handful of items that will appeal to everyone guarantees that you’re never caught in a gift-giving situation empty-handed.
4. Solidify your ‘must-dos’. Determine your priorities and must-do traditions then put the items that truly matter to you on your calendar. The rest of the days will fill up as the weeks progress, but locking in time for the things that matter most will keep you focused on fulfilling events.
5. Capture your family portrait. And save it for this year’s greeting card. Why not capture some memorable moments while the sun is out and the weather is forgiving? You can make a summer day of it and enjoy the memories for years to come.

The beloved, classic children’s television show Sesame Street offers some pearls of wisdom, says writer Sue Horner. Here are a few tips on communication that work well at home, at school, and out on “the street”.

1. Know your audience. What’s important to them? What do they already know and how quickly can you make your point?

2.  Be clear about what you need to get across. Sharing too many points will water down your message, and probably bore your audience. What one thing do you want people to remember?

3.  Tell a story to make it memorable. We’re more likely to remember a fact, a number or a summary when it has been wrapped in a story.

4.  Keep it easy to read and understand. You may not have children reading your work, but you will have people with little time to read, so help them out by getting to the point. No one will complain that you’ve made it too easy to understand.

5.  Keep it short. Who has time or patience for long introductions, lengthy paragraphs, long sentences, or complicated words?

6.  Think about references to pop culture. They are great ways to capture attention or make a connection. You could echo the words of a song, reflect current television shows or parody an ad.
7.  Don’t be afraid to be silly. Play with words and keep it light!

Did you know American barbecue sauce goes back as far as the 1600’s in the colonies? Early homemade barbecue sauces were generally just homemade concoctions of vinegar, salt and pepper, but regional variations started developing in the 18th century.

The 1920’s saw the addition of sugar and ketchup to many versions of the ubiquitous sauce, but it wasn’t until after World War II that the sauce got more complicated and true

 regionalities emerged. These days, we all seem to have a favorite, whether it resembles the thin sauce found in the

 Carolinas, the thick, white sauce of Alabama, or the molasses thick brown sauce of the Midwest.

This July, consider having a barbecue taste test with friends. You supply the barbecue and have each invited guest bring their favorite sauce, whether it is homemade or store- bought. No matter which variation ends up being the winner, you’ll get a fun evening with friends and good food.