European leaders agree on bailout plan to help Italy and Spain

After tough all-night bargaining, European leaders appeared to salvage what had seemed to be a summit teetering toward failure by agreeing Friday to funnel money directly to struggling banks, and in the longer term to form a tighter union.

Vancouver eyes new housing body to end ‘affordability crisis’

Vancouver is hoping to make a dent in the demand for housing from less-wealthy residents by creating a housing-development agency, the way the city’s two universities and the ski resort of Whistler have.

Russian real estate industry moves closer to Western standards

Real estate services in Russia are undergoing big changes as the national government implements massive reform, with the aim of making real estate transactions closer to Western standards of business conduct.

Quantifying the effect of political uncertainty on the global economy

EUROPE teeters at the edge of an economic abyss, its fate in the hands of political leaders at odds over how to solve the continent’s twin debt and bank crises. America may be pushed over a “fiscal cliff” at the end of the year by political dysfunction.

Big Banks Take Risks Expecting Taxpayers To Cover Losses

FRANKFURT, Germany — Governments, banks and households struggling with too much debt are dragging down the world's economy and more needs to be done to make the banking system safer, a global organization of central banks warned Sunday.

Dubai banks considering mortgages for overseas buyers

A number of Dubai banks are close to launching a new mortgage product targeted at overseas investors looking to buy property in the emirate, it is claimed.

China Real Estate Growth Seen as Savior, But Could Be the Devil in Disguise

One of the major data points this week was China Flash PMI, which showed growth in China manufacturing is slowing. While there were other important developments this week, the weakening data out of China should be of particular concern to investors.

CIBC to wind down FirstLine Mortgages unit

TORONTO — CIBC has failed in its attempt to sell its broker mortgage brand, FirstLine Mortgages, one of the rare occasions in recent history in which a bank has not been able to find a buyer for one of its assets.

Ottawa tightening mortgage rules; no more 30-year amortizations

The country’s biggest banks were caught off guard on Wednesday night as the Department of Finance prepared to clamp down on mortgages by reducing the maximum amortization for a government-insured mortgage to 25 years from 30.

Global policy-makers face long ‘to-do’ list to fix economy: CIBC

Troubled global economies and tapped out domestic consumers will weigh on Canada’s economy this year, CIBC warns in its latest forecast.

Greece blinks, but respite could be brief

Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, once said that it is not rational to start a bank run, but it is entirely rational to participate in one.

Good news? The rental market in Canada tightened slightly

The average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada's 35 major centers decreased slightly to 2.3 per cent in April 2012, from 2.5 per cent in April 2011, according to the spring Rental Market Survey released by CMHC.