German investor confidence down amid concern over UK vote + MORE May 24th

BERLIN – A survey of German investor confidence has dipped unexpectedly because of concerns, among others, over whether Britain will vote to leave the European Union.
The ZEW institute said Tuesday its index of economic sentiment for Germany dropped to 6.4 points for May, down from 11.2 in April. Economists had predicted a slight rise to 12.
ZEW President Achim Wambach says positive sentiment from the strong growth of the German economy in the first quarter is being offset by investors’ longer-term concerns.
He says “they seem not to expect the economic situation to improve at the same pace going forward; uncertainties regarding developments such as a possible Brexit currently inhibit a more optimistic outlook.”
The index is based on a survey of 211 financial experts.
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DOHA, Qatar – The oil market is slowly recovering from its steep drop over the past two years but crude is still not trading at a “fair price” to encourage necessary investment, Qatar’s energy and industry minister said Tuesday, ahead of next week’s meeting of OPEC producers.
Speaking to The Associated Press from his high-rise office in the capital, Doha, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said a minimum price of $65 a barrel is “badly needed at the moment.” He cautioned that the security of future supplies is as risk because of the price slump that has squeezed oil producers since 2014.
“The oil market is recovering slowly but steadily. Luckily, the fundamentals show it is heading in the right direction,” al-Sada said. “I don’t think we are yet at a fair price. We need to have a fairer price so that we can have the ability to invest more in order to secure the energy supply to the world and avoid any price shock.”
In the interview, al-Sada did not rule out reviving talks of a freeze in production among major producers after similar negotiations collapsed in Doha last month…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau are greeted by an honour guard as they arrive in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, May 23, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
TOKYO – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will sit down with his Japanese counterpart Tuesday to discuss the countries’ business ties as well as security co-operation before the Group of Seven summit later this week.
Trudeau’s agenda for his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe includes issues like investment, education and trade, such as the huge 12-country treaty known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
With hope of attracting business investment to Canada, Trudeau will also meet auto-sector executives, including the presidents of three automakers: Honda, Toyota and Subaru.
Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, will visit the Meiji Shrine and meet the emperor and empress of Japan before the prime minister sits down with Abe.
For his part, Abe is expected to raise a pressing subject for the Japanese: regional security…

CBC.caJustin Trudeau makes investment pitch to Japan's automakersCBC.ca​Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally invited Japanese auto executives Tuesday in Tokyo to invest more in Canada. But it's unclear whether he will secure concrete commitments from the companies on his first trip to Japan since taking office last fall.Matthew Fisher: Trudeau to get earful from Japanese prime minister on the most vexing issue in AsiaNational PostSeven stories in the news today, May 24TheChronicleHerald.caTrudeau Proves Parliament Is Still An Alpha Male's ShowHuffington Post CanadaGlobalnews.ca -Straight.com -National Observer -Winnipeg Free Pressall 75 news articles »

Housing prices are much higher today, but interest rates are significantly lower, so has housing affordability actually changed? To appreciate the impact of inflation let’s take a look at, as an example, the cost of homes today versus 10 or 2o years ago in Toronto.
According to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s historic home prices for Toronto, houses cost, on average:

Year
Average Price
Average 5-year mortgage rate
20% down payment required

2016
$739,382*
2.33%
$147,876

2006
$351,941
5.25%
$70,388

1996
$198,150
9%**
$39,630

*Based on April 2016 data
**Based on BoC prime + 2%
But to really compare these costs, let’s factor out inflation. Using the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator, here’s what homes and mortgage payments would look like in today’s dollars:

Year
Average Price
In today’s $
20% down in today’s $s
% change in those years

2016
$739,382*
$739,382
$147,876
0%

2006
$351,941
$413,498
$82,670
17.49%

1996
$198,150
$286,614
$57,232
44…