US house prices continue to drop:
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped at a slower pace in January, pointing to stabilization in the real estate market.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index (SPX) of property values in 20 cities fell 3.8 percent from a year earlier, matching the median forecast of 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, after decreasing 4.1 percent in December, a report from the group showed today in New York. Prices were little changed in January from the prior month, the best performance since July.
But some straws in the wind suggest a bottom:
Bidding wars, absent from most parts of the U.S. residential market since its peak in 2006, are erupting from Seattle and Silicon Valley to Miami and Washington, D.C. The inventory of homes hovers close to a six-year low, while an increase in jobs and record affordability are tempting more buyers. The number of contracts to buy previously owned homes jumped 14 percent in February from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday.
There wasn’t much of interest in today’s Ontario budget. As usual, the politicians are all excited about targetting a balanced budget, and couldn’t care less about repaying today’s borrowings – nor are they interested in making a realistic projection of a business cycle and providing estimates and targets for the budget balance through the cycle.
It was a positive day for the Canadian preferred share market,with PerpetualPremiums gaining 14bp, FixedResets up 3bp and DeemedRetractibles winning 15bp. Volatility was moderate. Volume was average.
| HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices Values are provisional and are finalized monthly |
|||||||
| Index | Mean Current Yield (at bid) |
Median YTW |
Median Average Trading Value |
Median Mod Dur (YTW) |
Issues | Day’s Perf. | Index Value |
| Ratchet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0192 % | 2,390.6 |
| FixedFloater | 4.49 % | 3.84 % | 36,010 | 17.43 | 1 | 1.1962 % | 3,471.6 |
| Floater | 3.02 % | 3.01 % | 45,562 | 19.69 | 3 | -0.0192 % | 2,581.2 |
| OpRet | 4.90 % | 2.53 % | 47,570 | 1.22 | 6 | 0.5927 % | 2,514.6 |
| SplitShare | 5.27 % | -4.03 % | 82,531 | 0.72 | 4 | 0.3241 % | 2,683.0 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.5927 % | 2,299.4 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.44 % | 3.34 % | 97,216 | 0.18 | 25 | 0.1430 % | 2,206.2 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.23 % | 5.35 % | 196,344 | 14.90 | 7 | -0.0242 % | 2,370.2 |
| FixedReset | 5.06 % | 3.08 % | 196,826 | 2.23 | 67 | 0.0304 % | 2,381.6 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 4.97 % | 4.02 % | 218,404 | 2.85 | 46 | 0.1483 % | 2,298.2 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| MFC.PR.F | FixedReset | -1.06 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.19 Bid-YTW : 4.00 % |
| CM.PR.K | FixedReset | 1.04 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.35 Bid-YTW : 2.76 % |
| BAM.PR.G | FixedFloater | 1.20 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-03-27 Maturity Price : 21.46 Evaluated at bid price : 21.15 Bid-YTW : 3.84 % |
| BNA.PR.E | SplitShare | 1.22 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2017-12-10 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.80 Bid-YTW : 5.10 % |
| IAG.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | 1.23 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.90 Bid-YTW : 5.20 % |
| FTS.PR.E | OpRet | 3.06 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.91 Bid-YTW : 1.20 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| BAM.PF.A | FixedReset | 167,575 | Recent new issue. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-03-27 Maturity Price : 23.08 Evaluated at bid price : 24.96 Bid-YTW : 4.43 % |
| BNS.PR.Z | FixedReset | 164,463 | RBC crossed 100,000 at 25.25; Desjardins crossed 40,000 at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.26 Bid-YTW : 3.24 % |
| POW.PR.C | Perpetual-Premium | 50,225 | Desjardins crossed 40,000 at 25.25. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-04-26 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.25 Bid-YTW : -9.74 % |
| ENB.PR.D | FixedReset | 44,770 | Desjardins bought two blocks of 10,000 each from National, both at 25.15. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-03-27 Maturity Price : 23.18 Evaluated at bid price : 25.20 Bid-YTW : 3.85 % |
| RY.PR.I | FixedReset | 44,280 | RBC crossed 11,700 at 26.01. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-02-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.01 Bid-YTW : 3.07 % |
| TD.PR.A | FixedReset | 39,200 | RBC crossed blocks of 20,000 and 16,500, both at 26.06. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.04 Bid-YTW : 3.11 % |
| There were 35 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| MFC.PR.F | FixedReset | Quote: 24.19 – 24.49 Spot Rate : 0.3000 Average : 0.1798 YTW SCENARIO |
| TD.PR.S | FixedReset | Quote: 26.00 – 26.30 Spot Rate : 0.3000 Average : 0.2072 YTW SCENARIO |
| MFC.PR.D | FixedReset | Quote: 26.78 – 27.00 Spot Rate : 0.2200 Average : 0.1404 YTW SCENARIO |
| BNA.PR.C | SplitShare | Quote: 22.67 – 22.95 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.2016 YTW SCENARIO |
| CM.PR.L | FixedReset | Quote: 26.66 – 26.88 Spot Rate : 0.2200 Average : 0.1432 YTW SCENARIO |
| TD.PR.Y | FixedReset | Quote: 26.03 – 26.26 Spot Rate : 0.2300 Average : 0.1554 YTW SCENARIO |