Financial Update

Home ownership and mortgage debt highest in decades

· TSX fell again slightly -38.15 the falling resource groups were largely responsible for the
benchmark's slide. The heavyweight energy sector, which frequently dictates the
market's direction, followed the oil price to give up 1 %.

· Dow -12.37.

· Dollar slipped further -.95c to $98.20

· Oil -2.01 to $122.30US per barrel The US Energy Department reported demand for
gasoline fell by 1.4%over the last 4weeks while gasoline inventories rose by 2.9 million
barrels last week.

· Gold $-1.70US to $879.90US

Bond Rates: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/bonds.html <http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/bonds.html>

Bankruptcies reach highest level in four years

Record staff and news services TORONTO

Personal bankruptcies in Canada rose to their highest level in more than four years in April, newly released statistics show, as a battered manufacturing sector took its toll on Ontario and Quebec. Across the country, 8,035 consumers declared bankruptcy in April along with 592 businesses, bringing the 12-month national total to 87,929, says a study released yesterday by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

More are buying outside their means

Grant Surridge, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The data, culled from the most recent census, also show that those spending more than an third of their income on shelter costs rose slightly.

Of the 12.4 million households in Canada, about 68% own their home, the highest rate since 1971.

The percentage of Canadians renting fell two points to 31% in the five years leading up to 2006. That means about 3.9-million households rented.

About 60% of people who owned their home had a mortgage, the statistics agency said. That marks the highest level since 1981.

The rise in mortgages likely reflects more incentives now available to entice first time home buyers, said Jim Rawson, regional manager for Invis in Toronto.

"Younger people are stretching themselves," he said in an interview, although he said they are still qualifying for the mortgages.

Less than 4% of owned households were condominiums in the 1981 census. By 2006, that figure had jumped to 11%.

The figures also likely reflect a trend in which Baby Boomers are delaying paying off their mortgages and spending money on things like long-term vacations, Mr. Rawson said.
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