Canada February building permits fall on single-family, institutional buildings – Reuters

OTTAWA The value of Canadian building permits fell in February, driven by a decrease in construction plans for single-family homes, government buildings and elementary schools, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday.

Permits decreased 2.5 percent, though January's figures were revised slightly higher to show a gain of 5.8 percent, from the originally reported 5.4 percent.

Intentions for residential buildings slipped 1.5 percent as plans for single-family homes tumbled 5.4 percent, with the province of Ontario seeing the largest decrease.

However, building plans for multi-family residences rose for a second month, up 3.0 percent on increased intentions for apartment buildings in British Columbia and Alberta.

Non-residential permits dropped 4.5 percent, amid a decrease in the institutional sector due to lower construction plans for government buildings and elementary schools.

Permits for industrial buildings fell 2.7 percent after a nearly 10 percent increase the previous month. On the upside, intentions for commercial buildings rose 1.0 percent on higher construction plans for office buildings in Quebec and Manitoba.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of beaten-down shopping-mall retailers bounced back on Thursday after March sales figures from L Brands, the owner of Victoria's Secret, were not as bad as feared.

WASHINGTON U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held out hope on Thursday that the Trump administration will revive the U.S. Export-Import bank's full lending powers, saying the institution is part of its "trade toolbox" to boost exports.

WASHINGTON White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said he backed bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act, a Depression-era law that would revamp Wall Street banks by splitting their consumer-lending businesses from their investment arms.

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Canada February building permits fall on single-family, institutional buildings - Reuters