The Conference Board

Unlocking Opportunity: Canada’s Luxury Real Estate Market Primed for Buyers Amidst Price & Rate Stability

Retrieved on: 
onsdag, januari 31, 2024
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TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada’s metropolitan luxury real estate market evolved over the course of 2023 as buyers emerged from the sidelines with newly altered housing preferences and sharpened priorities, as well as negotiating power that steadily increased as the year progressed. Although overall sales activity was subdued by a volley of stressors that ranged from economic and geopolitical shocks to interest rate hikes, persistent inflation and regulatory changes, high-end buyers remained engaged and strategic. By the end of 2023, as segments of the country’s major metropolitan markets saw softening prices, and an increase in inventory and conditions that leaned in favour of buyers, the collective resilience and preparation of affluent home buyers and investors became apparent. Following years of unyielding constraints on luxury housing supply, affluent buyers and investors were primed to seize opportunities for upward housing mobility in a favourable market with replenished inventory and still-limited competition, foreshadowing strategic sales activity in early 2024.

Key Points: 
  • Vancouver’s luxury real estate market experienced a dramatic transformation over the course of 2023, as single family homes emerged as a focal point for luxury buyers.
  • The City of Vancouver’s luxury real estate market underwent a dramatic transformation over the course of 2023.
  • In the final quarter of 2023, a rise in conventional and luxury real estate inventory tilted the market in further favour of purchasers and tipped the city’s luxury condominium market firmly into buyers’ market territory.
  • Despite these influences, Montreal’s luxury real estate market is well positioned for stability, according to Sotheby’s International Realty Canada experts.

Navigating Cross-Border Data Flows and Security in the Digital Economy

Retrieved on: 
tisdag, januari 30, 2024
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“The digital economy relies on the seamless movement of data across borders,” stated Michael Burt, Vice President at The Conference Board of Canada.

Key Points: 
  • “The digital economy relies on the seamless movement of data across borders,” stated Michael Burt, Vice President at The Conference Board of Canada.
  • “However, amid the uncertainty regarding the regulation of cross-border data flows, there is a looming risk of developing non-interoperable and disconnected networks, posing a threat to Canadian businesses and the broader economy.”
    Cross border data flows are crucial to the contemporary digital economy.
  • The prevailing challenge lies in the divergent approaches adopted by different jurisdictions to regulate these data flows.
  • Without unified standards for privacy and data protection, individuals face the risk of losing control over their personal data, which could render them vulnerable to a myriad of security threats.

Retail Industry Leader Emmanuel Kolady Named Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board

Retrieved on: 
onsdag, januari 31, 2024
Education, COVID-19, CED, Education Committee, Research, Public sector, Macy's, Inc., CVS, Faculty, Private sector, Workforce, The Conference Board, Health, Economic development, Public policy, Trustee, Student, Committee, Conference, CVS Health, Management

WESTCHESTER, Ill., Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmanuel Kolady, CEO of Follett Higher Education, has been named a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development (CED), the public policy center of The Conference Board, a highly-respected nonpartisan think tank that brings together business leaders to identify solutions that foster economic growth and equal opportunity for all Americans. As Trustee, Kolady has been asked to leverage his decades of retail industry expertise and deep insights into the higher education landscape by serving on CED's Education Committee and its Workforce Committee.

Key Points: 
  • As Trustee, Kolady has been asked to leverage his decades of retail industry expertise and deep insights into the higher education landscape by serving on CED's Education Committee and its Workforce Committee.
  • Kolady brings significant industry expertise, having held past leadership roles at CVS Health and Macy's before joining Follett in 2022.
  • As the public policy center of The Conference Board, CED convenes leaders across industries, educational institutions, and the public sector to promote sustained economic growth and development benefitting all Americans.
  • For more information about The Conference Board, visit www.ConferenceBoard.org or www.ced.org .

US Consumer Confidence Increased in January

Retrieved on: 
tisdag, januari 30, 2024
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NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® rose in January to 114.8 (1985=100), up from a revised 108.0 in December. The reading was the highest since December 2021, and marked the third straight monthly increase. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions—surged to 161.3 (1985=100) from 147.2 last month. The Expectations Index—based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—improved to 83.8 (1985=100) in January, up from a revised reading of 81.9 in December.

Key Points: 
  • "January's increase in consumer confidence likely reflected slower inflation, anticipation of lower interest rates ahead, and generally favorable employment conditions as companies continue to hoard labor," said Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board.
  • Likewise, confidence improved for all incomes groups except the very top; only households earning $125,000+ saw a slight dip.
  • "Consumer expectations for the next six months increased slightly in January, due to receding pessimism around future business conditions, labor market, and income prospects.
  • The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index® at 10 a.m.

Report: Child Care Industry Struggling in Pandemic's Aftermath

Retrieved on: 
tisdag, januari 30, 2024
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NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly one in five children in families using paid child care services stopped doing so during the pandemic, severely disrupting the child care industry.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly one in five children in families using paid child care services stopped doing so during the pandemic, severely disrupting the child care industry.
  • While the drop in paid child care usage corresponds with a decline in the number of children of child care age, the report reveals that many other traditional economic, demographic, and child care market factors known to influence the use of paid child care do not adequately explain the industry's weak recovery.
  • Traditional economic, demographic, and child care market factors do not explain the extent of the decline in paid child care usage.
  • Other factors such as work-from-home, shifts in parental preferences, and a reduced supply of paid child care are plausible contributors to the weak rebound in the use of paid care.

Multipronged Approach Needed to Solve Canada’s Housing Woes

Retrieved on: 
måndag, januari 29, 2024
The Conference Board, Growth, Person, Housing, Conference, Pressure, Research, Conference Board of Canada, Real estate

These challenges include interest rates and taxation rates, along with difficulties sourcing land and labour.

Key Points: 
  • These challenges include interest rates and taxation rates, along with difficulties sourcing land and labour.
  • Because such levies are intended to fund residentially related municipal capital projects, they are indexed to the soaring residential construction cost index.
  • According to The Conference Board of Canada, fixing Canada’s housing will take a multi-pronged approach.
  • On the demand side, Canada could reduce its intake of newcomers until the housing supply catches up.

2024 Employee Benefit Plans: Focus on Costs, Mental health, Well-being

Retrieved on: 
måndag, januari 29, 2024
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36% ranked cost containment as the top priority—a 17% increase compared to January 2023.

Key Points: 
  • 36% ranked cost containment as the top priority—a 17% increase compared to January 2023.
  • Today's cost-conscious climate makes it especially important for advisors and customers to clarify priorities, said Mark Sylvia, President and CEO of Empire Life.
  • We definitely see an increased emphasis on making sure employees can come to work feeling better, feeling healthy, feeling connected."
  • According to Black, 72% of businesses surveyed had a specific strategy to support mental health and 30% were adopting the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety.

CED Maps Out 2024 Policy Priorities and Solutions for President and Congress

Retrieved on: 
tisdag, januari 23, 2024
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NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED), has issued a new Solutions Brief, 2024 Policy Priorities: Inflection Point, Charting a Sustainable Path Forward , that outlines the most important policy challenges before the nation in 2024.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED), has issued a new Solutions Brief, 2024 Policy Priorities: Inflection Point, Charting a Sustainable Path Forward , that outlines the most important policy challenges before the nation in 2024.
  • And to meet the challenges, it includes recommendations for building a stronger, more resilient, sustainable economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans.
  • The Solutions Brief—the latest in CED's Sustaining Capitalism series—draws from a letter that CED sent earlier this month to the President and Congressional leadership.
  • The commission should address the biggest drivers of deficits and the long-term debt: Medicare and Social Security, whose Trust Funds are becoming insolvent.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. Inched Down in December

Retrieved on: 
måndag, januari 22, 2024
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NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. fell by 0.1 percent in December 2023 to 103.1 (2016=100), following a 0.5 percent decline in November. The LEI contracted by 2.9 percent over the six-month period between June and December 2023, a smaller decrease than its 4.3 percent contraction over the previous six months.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. fell by 0.1 percent in December 2023 to 103.1 (2016=100), following a 0.5 percent decline in November.
  • "Despite the overall decline, six out of ten leading indicators made positive contributions to the LEI in December.
  • The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.S. rose by 0.2 percent in December 2023 to 111.7 (2016=100), following a 0.2 percent increase in November.
  • The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index® (LAG) for the U.S. declined by 0.2 percent in December 2023 to 118.4 (2016 = 100), partially reversing an increase of 0.5 percent in November.

Fight on Inflation, Flattens Canada’s Economy

Retrieved on: 
tisdag, januari 16, 2024
The Conference Board, Research, Policy, Bank, Federal, Federal Reserve, Government, Conference Board of Canada, Risk, Conference, Capital, Private sector, GDP, Unemployment, Growth

There have been hopeful policy changes at all three levels of government, but it is not enough and not well coordinated.

Key Points: 
  • There have been hopeful policy changes at all three levels of government, but it is not enough and not well coordinated.
  • South of the border, the United States economy continues to defy expectations, with Q3 GDP increasing 5.2 per cent annualized, driven mainly by a jump in consumer spending.
  • The Conference Board of Canada’s baseline view is that U.S. economic growth will slow down in the first half of 2024, but the economy will avoid slipping into a recession.
  • With most international migrants of working age, the strong inflows of temporary and permanent residents are feeding labour force growth.