Juggling Dynamite

The Globe and Mail reports on a hidden risk in Canada’s housing markets: The rise of automated lending approvals, which have created a rapid-fire system that has financial regulators worried about the foundations of Canada’s housing market – that the true value of Canadians’ homes could be far lower than what computerized or human appraisers have estimated.

Click here for a short video summary and read the full story here at Shaky Foundations: how Ottawa’s computers get Canadian home prices wrong

Both sides have given up ground in the “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations in Washington, but the surprise tactic of the Republicans to put forth a “Plan B” has suddenly thrown the whole deal into doubt.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner essentially stormed out of the negotiations a couple of days ago and put forth his own bill, which he refers to as “Plan B.” This bill extends the Bush tax cuts for all Americans except those making $1 million or more.

Greg Valliere, the Chief Political Strategist at Potomac Research Group, says the Republican ploy is the “worst case scenario” for the negotiations. Here is a direct link.

The Piano Guys in New York City. See a direct link here.