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Trudeau blames investors for housing mess

Housing affordability in Canada is facing a mounting crisis, with housing construction not keeping pace with population growth since the 1970s. While experts and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) have highlighted the need for 5.8 million new homes by 2030 to restore affordability, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently placed the blame on investors and corporations for exacerbating the issue.

Speaking in Brampton, Ontario, Trudeau pointed to investors and corporations commodifying homes as an investment vehicle, instead of a place for families to live and build equity.

“But we do know that one of the factors that is challenging for so many people is the commodification of housing (and) the fact that people are using homes and houses as an investment vehicle — particularly corporations using homes as an investment vehicle — rather than families using them as a place to live, grow their lives and to build equity for their future,” the Prime Minister said.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Bitcoin Magazine Threatened With Lawsuit By Federal Reserve Over FedNow Parody Merch (theDeepDive)

• Fed Hiking Cycle Looks Done After US Jobs Report Shows Cooling (Bloomberg)

• BREAKING: Sam Bankman-Fried Found Guilty In All Counts, Faces 100+ Years In Jail (theDeepDive)

• Two years after peak crypto, Bitcoin has faded from the political conversation (CBC)

• Instant View: Canada gains 17,500 jobs in October, jobless rate rises to 5.7% (Reuters)

• “Not Guaranteed For $1”: Is USDC Next To Fail? (theDeepDive)

• Musk Says Mysterious xAI Product to Be Offered to ‘Select Group’ (Bloomberg)

• Biden Administration Launches Initiative to Convert Vacant Offices into Affordable Housing (theDeepDive)

• Musk's xAI set to launch first AI model to select group (Reuters)

• Greater Toronto home sales drop 5.8 per cent in October amid high borrowing costs (BNN)

What’s the latest?

• Trudeau Called To Resign: Senator Percy Downe, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, has suggested that the Liberal Party of Canada should consider a leadership change ahead of the next election. Downe commended Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his achievements but pointed to declining support in successive elections as a reason to discuss potential successors.

• Canada Unemployment Climbs: Canada's labor market exhibited signs of weakening in October, with the addition of only 17,500 jobs, falling short of the expected 25,000. The unemployment rate also saw an increase, rising to 5.7%, which is a 21-month high and 0.2 percentage points more than the previous month. Wage growth for permanent employees slowed down to 5%, missing the anticipated 5.2% increase.

• US Jobs Decline: U.S. job growth in October saw a decline, partially attributed to strikes by the UAW against major car manufacturers, which impacted manufacturing employment. The unemployment rate increased to 3.9%, its highest since January 2022. Nonfarm payrolls climbed by 150,000 jobs in October, falling short of the 180,000 jobs forecasted by economists.

• Alberta CPP Exit: Finance ministers from Canada are set to meet virtually to discuss Alberta's proposal to exit the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and establish its own retirement program. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has deferred the decision on holding a referendum on leaving the CPP until there is clarity on the financial implications of the exit, witha possible referendum slated for 2025.

• Toronto Home Sales Down: Home sales in the Greater Toronto area experienced a decline of 5.8% in October compared to the same month in 2022, with townhouses seeing the largest decrease in sales. Despite this, the average home price saw an increase of 3.5%, reaching $1,125,928. There was also a surge in new listings by 38%, reaching 14,397 in October compared to 10,433 in October 2022, which was a 12-year low.

Gold market strategies in uncertain times

The stock market and stuff

• Coinbase Q3 2023 Financials: “Strong Quarter” Is Weakest Volume Traded In Three Years (theDeepDive)

• Apple ticks lower after warning of dull holiday quarter (Reuters)

• Panera Bread Lays Off 17% of Corporate Staff to Prepare for IPO (theDeepDive)

• Toronto Stock Exchange Has 1 IPO This Year in Historic Dry Spell (Bloomberg)

• Bud Light Maker Anheuser-Busch Sees Uptick In Q3 2023 Financials, But Still Marred By Transgender Controversy (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• Magna Mining Intersects 96 Metres of 0.75% Nickel, 1.29% Copper At Crean Hill (theDeepDive)

• Gladiator Metals: Exploration to Commence at Arctic Chief Trend (JMN)

• Hertz Lithium Identifies 7 Pegmatite Occurrences At AC/DC Project (theDeepDive)

• QYOU Media Appoints Ex-TikTok Country Manager As Group CEO For India (theDeepDive)

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