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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
/ c) H; G8 I% ?5 LPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 2007
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EDMONTON - Most Albertans think this is a bad time to buy a house -- but a good time to buy major household items.
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! P4 c; X! b0 L7 N) Y/ ~5 Z3 pLeger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.+ E- \4 G3 z9 {: I) g
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Responses were compiled on a 200-point scale, with scores above 100 indicating optimism that conditions are good or will improve, and lower scores revealing pessimism that conditions are bad or will worsen.
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9 S+ Q) q$ \: |0 ?& l- nIs this a good time to buy a house in Alberta?
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No, not according to the sample's composite score of 71, showing significant doubt.
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Leger's report noted "the relatively pessimistic sentiment regarding interest rates, combined with the fact that the housing market in Alberta has boomed over the last two years."
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0 v2 o# b% v% t' N7 D2 cWhen asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.
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A question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.
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The sample scored 161 -- overwhelmingly affirmative -- when asked whether this is a good time to buy major household items "reflecting the fact that many Albertans are experiencing unprecedented levels of disposable income," the report said.8 J+ h$ h$ D5 ?3 Z- e; k* K4 k
7 F1 t: b( a1 s9 g) y/ I" A. `The prospect for future unemployment was highly optimistic at 127 -- although it's hard to imagine how unemployment could fall any lower.
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8 E z5 ]+ R3 Q+ F c5 sA related online survey of 420 Alberta business leaders similarly found optimism about fiscal conditions, current and future business conditions, and future unemployment -- all pushed by "the hot Alberta economy," the Leger report said.
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Among those several measures, it found that fiscal expectations were the least positive, "which may be attributed in part to the fact that Alberta has a new premier in place, creating uncertainty in relation to fiscal conditions if compared to the previous Klein administration.": L2 N& j4 L5 q$ \
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The business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.
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, Z7 y# t0 H0 E. _8 K: `Barry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates.
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: c4 A% B7 r+ g, Q7 g. L8 B _"If you're going to make a large spend, ask yourself what one or two or three more points would cost," he suggested. |
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狗仔卡
发表于 2007-4-3 06:55
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发表于 2007-4-4 14:25
晕啊~~我看晕了~~~
