China to Nurture Stock Rally by Masking Live Foreign Flows Data
China is set to switch off a live feed of foreign flows for stocks as early as Monday, the latest policy move to shore up confidence by removing a potential source of negative data.
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China is set to switch off a live feed of foreign flows for stocks as early as Monday, the latest policy move to shore up confidence by removing a potential source of negative data.
China’s credit in April shrank for the first time as government bond sales slowed, while loan expansion was worse than expected in a sign of weak demand.
Underlying US inflation probably moderated in April for the first time in six months, offering a ray of hope that price pressures will start to ease again after a string of upside surprises.
Rising housing costs and stubbornly high inflation are battering many consumers and the hit to their wallets is now hurting America’s low-cost restaurants.
Startup Kelvin has a solution to make radiators more efficient and New York apartments less sauna-like.
Jan 19, 2022
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- New U.S. home construction unexpectedly strengthened in December to the fastest pace in nine months, led by apartment projects and suggesting builders found some success navigating shortages of materials and labor.
Residential starts rose 1.4% to a 1.70 million annualized rate from a 1.68 million pace in November, according to government data released Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey called for a 1.65 million pace.
Applications to build, a proxy for future construction, jumped 9.1% to an annualized 1.87 million units in December, the highest since January of last year.
Home prices have surged over the last year as potential buyers compete for a very limited number of homes. Builders are racing to replenish inventory, but supply chain challenges, high commodities prices and a lack of skilled workers have elongated construction timelines and inflated backlogs.
Without enough finished homes to meet demand, housing affordability is poised to deteriorate further in 2022. Mortgage rates now stand at the highest level in nearly two years, which will make it that much more difficult for those looking to become homeowners for the first time.
Multifamily starts -- which tend to be volatile and include apartment buildings and condominiums -- climbed 10.7% to a 530,000 rate, the fastest since February 2020.
Single-Family Homes
Single-family starts eased 2.3% in December to an annualized pace of 1.17 million units, the government’s report showed. At the same time, applications to build one-family dwellings increased 2% to the highest level since May.
Overall new home construction slumped nearly 14% in the West and slipped 1.9% in the South. Starts advanced solidly in the Northeast and Midwest.
Looking ahead, the omicron variant and the corresponding surge in Covid-19 cases could exacerbate the issues already faced by builders. Homebuilding sentiment so far remains intact though with a gauge of builder confidence slipping just slightly in January.
The number of one-family housing units still under construction increased to the highest level in almost 15 years, extending a steady uptrend since June 2020.
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©2022 Bloomberg L.P.