Recall issued for 38,000 GM vehicles in Canada over software safety glitch
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
China is trying to ease panic over two of the biggest issues threatening social stability in the country — mortgage boycotts and frozen bank accounts.
On Sunday, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission urged banks to increase loan support for real estate developers so they can complete unfinished projects, as thousands of disgruntled homebuyers across the country.
In China, real estate firms are allowed to sell homes before completing them, and customers have to start repaying mortgages before they are in possession of the new property. These funds are used to finance construction by the developers.
The payment boycott comes as a growing number of projects have been delayed or stalled by a cash crunch among property developers. Evergrande last year, and several other companies are seeking protection from creditors.
Home prices are also falling, putting some buyers underwater: They may be locked into a property that is now worth less than they agreed to pay, making them anguished about meeting their mortgage payments.
Buyers across 18 provinces and 47 cities had stopped making payments by last Wednesday, according to multiple state media reports and data compiled by Shanghai-based research firm China Real Estate Information Corporation.
The regulator pledged Sunday to work closely with local governments to ensure timely delivery of unfinished residential projects, according to a report by , the regulator's own publication, citing an unnamed official from the CBIRC.
Developers rallied across the board on the news on Monday. Guangzhou R&F Properties soared 9%. Country Garden surged 6%. Longfor Properties jumped 4.1%. Vanke Real Estate also advanced 2.9%.
Stocks in the region were also partly boosted by hopes for more stimulus from China. The Hang Seng Index climbed 2.7% while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.6%.
But analysts advised caution.
"While this move [by the regulator] is encouraging, the issue is very complicated and it is unlikely the CBIRC will be able to handle it on its own," said Nomura analysts on Monday.
To address rising public anger over in the country, the regulator on Sunday pledged to boost capital buffers for thousands of , which are facing worsening balance sheets amid and a slump in property market.
Protests have erupted in recent weeks in central China, as thousands of depositors couldn't access their savings at several rural banks in the region.
The regulator added that it has already allowed local governments to issue over US$15 billion worth of special bonds to replenish small banks' capital this year. It will work with the finance ministry to approve an additional $30 billion worth of bonds by the end of August.
This move comes days after Chinese authorities said they will start refunding some bank customers whose accounts have been frozen for months.
Protestors launched a mass demonstration earlier this month in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, which was crushed violently by authorities. It was the largest protest yet by the depositors, who have been fighting for months to retrieve their frozen savings.
Policymakers in the world's second largest economy are facing mounting challenges to keep growth steady, as the country contends with a sharp slowdown in activity due to Beijing's stringent zero-Covid policy, a bruising regulatory crackdown on the private sector, and a real estate crisis that is causing rising bad debts at banks and growing social protests.
On Friday, China reported its gross domestic product, the broadest measure of its economy, in the second quarter. That was the weakest performance since the first quarter of 2020.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut on Friday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
An 11-year-old boy died Monday after subway surfing in New York City. He's the fourth person to die from subway surfing in the city this year.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
An Ontario man says he’s still waiting for a vehicle he purchased on Kijiji to be delivered to his home. But after more than a month, he says he’s losing hope that the car will arrive and believes that he is a victim of a scam.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Israel’s military has struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.