The dog days of summer are an excellent time to make sure your pets - cats and dogs alike - have up-to-date information on file. While you’re at it, you can update home products to keep your favorite friends safe and secure. Here are a few tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association:

1. Make sure identification tags have current information and replace worn out tags that have faded information with new, legible ones.

2. If your pets aren’t already microchipped, talk with your veterinarian about having this done. This simple procedure can greatly improve your chances of getting your pets back if they become lost.

3. Confirm your contact information on any local pet pages, like Finding Rover, is also up-to-date.

4. Snap a photo of all of your pets that shows any distinctive markings. Position them near a standard item, like a refrigerator or laptop computer, so their relative size is clear.

5. Walk your yard and confirm fences are secure enough to contain your pet. If anything has come loose, now is the time to get it repaired.

6. Check your veterinary records to make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and, if you carry pet insurance, confirm your policy is still what you need.

The Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 0.25 per cent this morning, a level it considers its effective lower bound. The Bank reiterated what it calls "extraordinary forward guidance" in committing to leaving the overnight rate at 0.25 per cent until slack in the economy is absorbed and inflation sustainably returns to its 2 per cent target. The Bank projects that will not occur until the second half of 2022.  The Bank announced that it is adjusting its quantitative easing (QE) program down to purchasing $2 billion per week Government of Canada bonds per week. In the statement accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that it expects a strong pick-up in economic growth over the second half of the year as vaccinations progress and restrictions are lifted.  The Bank expects growth of close to 6 per cent this year, followed by 4.5 per cent growth in 2022.

As we hopefully approach the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of inflation has arisen as the most hotly debated topic among economists and analysts.  Specifically, whether current elevated inflation of around 3.5 per cent is a sign of accelerating prices or merely the transitory effect of supply constraints brought on by the pandemic.  The Bank of Canada is firmly on the side of believing higher than normal inflation is a temporary phenomenon. In today's announcement, the Bank noted that base-year effects, meaning we are comparing prices in a recovered economy now to one in which prices were falling amidst a severe recession one year ago, rising gasoline prices and pandemic related bottlenecks in supply chains account for most of the increase in inflation.  The Bank expects inflation to remain above 3 per cent through the remainder of this year before easing back toward its 2 per cent target in 2022.  Given that outlook, and uncertainty surrounding timing of when the economy may be fully back to normal, the Bank seems to be on a path to raising its policy rate between the end of 2022 and early 2023.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/bank-of-canada-interest-rate-announcement-45ohc9mxz2

Vancouver, BC – July, 2021. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 11,070 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in June 2021, an increase of 34.7 per cent over June 2020. The average MLS^® residential price in BC was $910,445, a 22.2 per cent increase from $745,194 recorded in June 2020. Total sales dollar volume was $10.1 billion, a 64.6 per cent increase from last year.
“As expected, housing market activity is calming to start the second half of 2021,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “That said, while down from record highs earlier this year, home sales across the province remain well above long-run average levels"

Total active residential listings were down 23.4 per cent year-over-year in June and continued to fall on a monthly seasonally adjusted basis.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 161.6 per cent to $64.7 billion, compared with the same period in 2020. Residential unit sales were up 114.3 per cent to 70,690 units, while the average MLS^® residential price was up 22.1 per cent to $915,563.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

anadian employment grew by 231,000 jobs in June (1.2%, m/m) to 18.79 million, led by a 264,000 rise in the number of part-time jobs (offsetting a small decline in the number of full-time jobs). This growth brings employment back to nearly the levels in March, prior to two consecutive months of decline amid third-wave restrictions. The level of Canadian employment is now -1.8% (-340k) below its February 2020 pre-pandemic level. Ontario and other provinces eased third-wave restrictions in June. As a result, the industries driving growth in June across Canada were in accommodation & food services (+101k) and retail trade (+75k). The unemployment rate declined 0.4% to 7.8%.

In BC, employment rose by 42,000 (+1.6% m/m), following declines in April and May. The unemployment rate fell slightly from 7.0% to 6.6%, driven by growth in part-time work and the food & accommodation sector (+19k). BC is the lone province with employment above its pre-pandemic level. 

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link: https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-employment-june-2021-july-9-2021

Nothing beats a platter of cool fruit or crispy vegetables on a hot summer day, perfect for munching as a light, mid-afternoon meal. Here are three easy spreads:

• Nut Butter: Perfect for more solid foods that can hold up to the texture, nut butters of any kind are great for sliced apples and skewers of celery. Consider adding a small dish of dried cherries to complete the flavor.

• Hummus: This low-fat option was made for Mediterranean inspired snacking. Try it with tomatoes, cucumbers and a side of pita or crispy crackers. Yum!

Vanilla Yogurt: A fruit-flavor friend, yogurt is so complimentary that even delicate raspberries can hold their own. Pair it with sliced mangoes, blackberries and strawberries. For an extra kick, try it with kiwi!

On July 12, 1932, almost a century ago, player Babe Ruth set a jaw-dropping world record of 137 career home runs. But the lore that still surrounds the ballplayer is often remembered more than his incredible stats. Did he really point to the outfield and “call” where he was going to hit a home run in the 1932 World Series? Some sports reporters said he did; he later claimed he was merely pointing toward the scoreboard to insult the Cubs.

Whether or not the legend is true, the attitude behind that gesture is one I sincerely hope you adopt this summer.

Do you remember being seven or eight years old during summer vacation? You knew what you were going to do: play outside… eat popsicles… maybe just sit in front of the fan. It was remarkably easy to point and say what you were going to do. Of course, part of that was likely because— let’s face it— eating a popsicle isn’t exactly tough work.

However, the simplicity of voicing your plan is worth acknowledging. Not just hoping that something might push you to create a goal, but telling the world ‘this is my plan’ turns a daydream into a possibility. Pointing to your goal makes it very real.

1. Develop different options for yourself. Don’t limit yourself to one role in your job or career. Look at all your strengths, and plan how you could use each one to position yourself differently.
2. Focus on enabling success. Working from home forced people to question conventional workplace practices, collaborate with each other, and achieve results from different locations. Keep this mindset going forward instead of seeking 'business as usual'.
3. Recognize the value of the people in your life. The crisis of the past year has probably made you aware of who you can depend on—who can solve problems, who manages projects well, who collaborates effectively with others, and so on. Seek out opportunities for collaboration where you will mesh well.
4. Embrace the uncertainty. Change takes you out of your comfort zone. Get used to dealing with the in-between feeling of moving from the past to the future. Take advantage of downtime to recharge yourself and learn new skills and coping mechanisms.
5. Work on exploratory projects. Volunteer for whatever you can in your organization, or outside of it. You’ll stay busy, learn new things, and show that you’re flexible and ready to adapt to your employer’s needs, even if they take you in a new direction. At the same time, try to develop a few projects on your own to stretch and stay fresh instead of hiding from the world.
6. Reconnect with other people. Check in with the people in your network. Your goal shouldn’t be simply to scout out new jobs, but to find out what’s going on, how other people are coping, what you can do to help, and maybe spot some new opportunities as the environment continues to change.

A Yahoo! survey of 1,000 Americans found that 67% agree that technology makes life easier, but nearly as many (55%) believe that it can be a distraction, and 33% worry it undermines people’s ability to connect with one another. Still, 54% said that abstaining from their devices didn’t result in the positive benefits they’d hoped for and questioned whether shutting down is truly beneficial.

Rather than forcing yourself to close down entirely, it might be wiser to turn off notifications or schedule some time on a “Do Not Disturb” setting. That leaves you free to utilize technology on your own terms, while stepping away from the virtual world.

An old, tired-looking dog ambled into a man’s backyard one afternoon. He was obviously well fed with a red collar and a good disposition.

The man pet the golden dog on his soft head for a few minutes, then the pooch stretched out and went to sleep on the sunny porch. The man went inside to make lunch and when he returned, the dog had left.

The dog came back the next day, and the day after that, sitting for attention until he fell asleep. Soon, he was coming every single day. The man didn’t mind, but he was curious, so one day he pinned a note to the dog’s collar: “Your friendly, sweet dog comes to visit

me every day for head pats and I wanted you to know that we enjoy his visits. Where does he live?”

The next day the dog arrived with a response tied to his collar: “Thank you! Our family lives in the blue house on the corner. We have five children at home and I think my dog might be trying to get some rest. Can I maybe come with him tomorrow?”

Canadian inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 3.6% year-over-year in May, up from 3.4% in April. This is the highest level since May of 2011. Much of the increase in inflation was the result of base-year effects, as prices remained depressed in May of last year due to pandemic-induced shutdowns. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, the CPI was up 0.5% in May. The Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation (which strip out volatile elements) rose an average of 0.2% from April, to 2.3% year-over-year. In BC, consumer prices were unchanged month-over-month and down from 3% year-over-year in April to 2.7% year-over-year in May.

While inflation is currently running higher than the Bank of Canada's 2 per cent target, much of the increase looks to be temporary and is likely to fade as base-year effects become less significant in coming months. Base-year effects are now beginning to fall out of the inflation statistics, as April was the CPI's nadir last year. How inflation evolves over the next 3 to 6 months will be very important for the stance of monetary policy over the next year. If higher inflation is not just a temporary phenomenon but is being driven by an over-stimulated economy, than we could see the Bank of Canada act on interest rates prior to 2023. However, if the uptick in inflation starts to fade in 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-may-2021

The Canadian economy contracted for the first time in 12 months in April as monthly real GDP fell 0.3 per cent due to restrictions put in place to contain the third wave of COVID-19. The largest declines were felt in high-touch services sector industries like retail trade and food services.  Output of the real estate sector also dipped in April, though coming off a record month of sales in March.

Many sectors are currently dealing with the complexities of recovering from a pandemic that has produced significant shortages of materials and labour. As a result, there is an adjustment process underway, highlighted by rapidly rising costs, as businesses scramble to recover back to pre-pandemic levels of production and service. That process will continue to create some ups and downs as the economy moves into a post-pandemic environment but the overall trend in the economy is overwhelmingly positive. Statistics Canada estimates that strong growth resumed in May and we anticipate the Canadian economy will expand at a 6 per cent rate this year.  The same is true of the BC economy, where we are tracking economic growth for 2021 at 6.2 per cent.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

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