Portugal’s 2014 budget deficit rises sharply after loan to troubled bank is included + MORE Sep 23rd

Canada’s Competition Bureau is taking on the Toronto Real Estate Board in a dispute that could shake up the traditional real estate industry. The battle boils down to whether the public can have easy online access to important real estate data.

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It’s true the loonie hasn’t been this low since George Bush was president—and U.S. real estate prices fell by as much as 75%. But you can still find good deals, provided you know the lay of the land. These five tips show you how.
1. Hunt for value
To find undervalued properties, examine housing reports compiled by the National Association of Realtors as well as statistical reports from Trulia, the robust U.S. version of MLS. Also, look for urban areas where builders are starting to ramp up production, which pushes resale prices down temporarily. For instance, a surge in new-builds lowered prices in Fayetteville, NC., by 4% in 2014.
2. Think local
Sure, you can poke around on Zillow.com and find a two-bedroom Florida condo for US$45,000, but you risk being mugged walking up to the front door. Work with a local realtor who knows the area and can also alert you to make-or-break investment trends…

TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was steady and U.S. index futures were positive ahead of the North Amercian stock market open.
The Dow Jones industrial futures were up 52 points at 16,281.0, the S&P 500 futures advanced 5.3 points to 1,937.4 and the Nasdaq futures gained 15.2 points to 4,282.5.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.03 of a U.S. cent at 75.40 cents US.
On the commodity markets, the December gold contract FELL/ROSE xx to US$ an ounce, the November crude contract was up 38 cents at US$46.74 a barrel and the November contract for natural gas was up one cent at US$2.65.
On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX composite index in Toronto tumbled 288.35 points, or more than two per cent, to 13,491.09, with all sectors in negative territory.
The post U.S. index futures up ahead of North American stock market opening, loonie stable appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

LISBON, Portugal – Portugal’s statistics agency has revised sharply upward the country’s 2014 budget deficit, from 4.5 per cent to 7.2 per cent, after the Treasury failed to recoup a loan it made to a bank.
The government placed 4.9 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in a bank resolution fund — a mechanism adopted during the eurozone debt crisis to support the financial sector — that kept Novo Banco afloat. Novo Banco was the so-called good bank salvaged from last year’s collapse of major lender Banco Espirito Santo.
The Bank of Portugal announced this month it had failed to find a buyer for Novo Banco willing to pay the sale price, which aimed to cover public liabilities.
The National Statistics Agency added the Treasury outlay to the deficit Wednesday.
The post Portugal’s 2014 budget deficit rises sharply after loan to troubled bank is included appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

The cost cutting deepens previous steps taken by Total to withstand the oil price rout