Canadian housing starts rise in 23% in January -CMHC - Reuters

OTTAWA, Feb 15 - Canadian housing starts rose 23% in January compared with the previous month as groundbreaking increased on both multiple unit and single-family detached homes, data from the national housing agency showed on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose to 282,428 units from revised 229,350 units in December, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said.

Canadian home sales up 2% in January, set new record - Reuters

OTTAWA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Canadian home sales rose 2.0% in January from December, setting a new record amid strong demand in markets across the country, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Tuesday.

The industry group said actual sales, not seasonally adjusted, rose 35.2% from a year earlier, while the group's Home Price Index was up 13.5% from last January and up 1.9% from December.

Foreigners buy C$5.08 bln in Canadian securities in December - Reuters News

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Foreign investors bought a net C$5.08 billion ($4.00 billion) in Canadian securities in December, led by private corporate paper, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.

Canadian investors bought a record net C$26.94 billion worth of foreign securities, led by U.S. shares. The previous record was a purchase of $21.99 billion, in December 2017.

Net foreign investment in Canadian securities (blns of Canadian dollars)

                             Dec      Nov(rev)    Nov(prev)

Total                    +5.081     +11.782      +11.783

Bonds                    -8.690      +6.197       +6.198

Stocks                   +6.901      +4.485       +4.485

Money markets            +6.870      +1.100       +1.100

Net Canadian investment in foreign securities (blns of Canadian dollars)

                             Dec      Nov(rev)    Nov(prev)

Total                   +26.941      +7.562       +7.576

Bonds                    -1.016      +0.527       +0.527

Stocks                  +26.783      +7.087       +7.102

Money markets            +1.174      -0.053       -0.053

Euro zone Q4 GDP falls less than earlier estimated - Reuters News

BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Euro zone gross domestic product fell less than initially estimated in the last quarter of 2020 and employment edged higher against the previous three months despite pandemic lockdowns, new estimates showed on Tuesday.

The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said GDP in the 19 countries sharing the euro contracted 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the October-December period, for a 5.0% year-on-year fall. Eurostat earlier estimated the contraction was 0.7% on the quarter and 5.1% in annual terms. 

Eurostat also said that employment grew 0.3% on the quarter in the last three months of 2020 after a 1.0% quarterly rise in the previous three months, but was still 2.0% lower than in the same period a year earlier.

German investor morale surges on shopping spree expectations - Reuters News

BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Investor morale in Germany rose beyond even the most optimistic forecast in February on expectations consumption will take off in the coming months, the ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday, buoying the outlook for Europe's largest economy.

The ZEW said its survey of investors' economic sentiment showed a rise to 71.2 points from 61.8 the previous month. A Reuters poll had pointed to a fall to 59.6, and the February reading surpassed even the highest forecast, of 68.0. 

The read-out, which came as a separate read-out showed euro zone output fell less than initially estimated in the last quarter of 2020, boosted the euro EUR=. (Full Story) (Full Story)

"The financial market experts are optimistic about the future. They are confident that the German economy will be back on the growth track within the next six months," ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement.

"Consumption and retail trade in particular are expected to recover significantly, accompanied by higher inflation expectations," he added.

A separate gauge of current conditions eased to -67.2 from -66.4 the previous month. That compared with a consensus forecast of -67.0 points.

The Economy Ministry said on Monday lockdown measures to slow the spread of the new coronavirus in Germany will continue to weigh on the economy in the first quarter of 2021, but prospects for exporters are cautiously positive. (Full Story)

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the premiers of Germany's states agreed last Wednesday to extend restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus until March 7.

German exports rose in December as solid trade with China and the United States helped the economy as it struggles to grow under the lockdown restrictions. (Full Story)

Last week, German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE raised its full-year outlook for the first time in nearly four years, and CEO Martina Merz said "we're noticing signs of an economic recovery". (Full Story)

Separately, the European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, said gross domestic product in the 19 countries sharing the euro contracted 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the October-December period, for a 5.0% year-on-year decline. Eurostat earlier estimated the contraction was 0.7% in the quarter and 5.1% in annual terms.

Eurostat also said that employment grew 0.3% on the quarter in the last three months of 2020 after a 1.0% quarterly rise in the previous three months. It was still 2.0% lower than in the same period a year earlier.