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Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
5 o. _ o: a* m! FPublished: Tuesday, April 03, 2007
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7 e, E. ?. Q, W7 zEDMONTON - 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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" ]+ d5 P! G* P* `Leger Marketing surveyed 900 Alberta consumers for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in February, asking about the economy.
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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.3 r R# v9 b. }! Q$ J; h. m
3 w3 k) ^' j9 c% k/ [Is this a good time to buy a house in Alberta?
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# Z7 B, z* |- M5 Q4 K) _# jNo, not according to the sample's composite score of 71, showing significant doubt.9 U5 b, q- ~ ^) S
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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."# X: M" a2 J& z, @- H1 L) `
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When asked specifically about interest rates, the sample scored 66, with a widely-shared belief that rates will rise. u3 Q" O( m% o1 x* Z
\! } O$ Y- h \( m, nA question about household incomes drew a score of 141, as most people expected incomes to rise.
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9 n2 l- H7 r/ t* AThe 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.
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The prospect for future unemployment was highly optimistic at 127 -- although it's hard to imagine how unemployment could fall any lower.1 ?5 Y( x+ ]8 `& O
* ^5 T9 `5 O; E# zA 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.: k1 L2 h" s, F) u
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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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Barry James, PricewaterhouseCoopers' managing partner in Edmonton, urged borrowers to consider the risk of higher rates., z+ N7 R4 s$ s* m
7 N: Q, E- @ c* E"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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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~~~
