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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
- p' q8 v9 {" HPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 2007
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V; C; U! _" eEDMONTON - 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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Leger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.0 I) r5 [5 R4 h/ [, I# q
/ y. C9 m# n& u. U3 O3 d4 mResponses 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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Is this a good time to buy a house in Alberta?8 H$ ~/ z0 A, A- Z% D( E* R6 U
! m+ z& B0 ^, [5 `- xNo, 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."; }! Z( `( u0 S4 a. l
1 \! Z% k! q; o) S) u9 Y3 c% t& P; \When asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise.$ l- k# {- f# P, M1 ~ }
, x1 k: ?( r9 c: e8 U( x5 ?A question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.9 p% h; }) ? W5 A" S
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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.0 ~3 Y2 s% Q- T7 g( G
: X4 C+ k4 B4 l, S% `" h. | [+ iThe 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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1 K; C8 _1 _# h# O8 ^4 i' _A 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.9 q, E2 S; {% Z$ s8 P2 ~
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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."
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The business sample, like the consumer sample, expected interest rates to rise.
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* y" V3 p* U7 W; l cBarry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates.
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"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~~~
