5 things that happened in the business world you should know about

Each week, we bring you a roundup of some of the biggest stories making headlines in the business world.

Here are five things that happened that you should know about:

1. The 4 major causes of skyrocketing housing prices in Toronto and Vancouver

The Royal Bank of Canada issued a report on Friday highlighting the four main reasons why housing prices are soaring in Vancouver and Toronto. The sources of the high prices are:

1. Lower interest rates
2. Higher annual household incomes
3. A greater percentage of the income going towards mortgage payments
4. Family members providing a portion of the down payment for housing

The indicated four outcomes combine to make up 90% of the appreciation in the housing markets seen in Vancouver and Toronto, where the rest of 10% is due to factors such as foreign buyers.

• Read more on BNN

2. Foreign countries suffering from terror also reeling from financial blows

With the recent coup attempt occurring in Turkey along with the airport terror attacks, the appeal to travel to Turkey inevitably drops, affecting the tourism economy within Turkey. This devastation to the industry is a common denominator when examining countries such as France, Egypt, and Tunisia. Moreover, France is the most popular destination for international tourists, hosting for 80 million visitors, yet this number is much less considering the acts of terrorism occurring in the nation.

• Read more on CNN

3. TSX showing gains while Wall Street breaks records yet again

The central stock in Canada illustrated solid increases while Wall Street etched new records following closing. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones set new records following Bank of America’s quarterly results indicating strong performances supplementing the market.

• Read more on BNN

4. Popular mobile game Pokémon Go has battery stock rising

Battery case manufacturer Zagg had its stock rising due to the popularity of the new game Pokémon Go. The game is known to quickly drain the batteries of phones pushing users to search for additional batteries as well battery cases in order to continue playing the game.

• Read more on CNN

5. The fundamental aspects of the Hyperloop

Brought to mainstream popularity by Elon Musk’s blueprints, the transportation method is tremendous in the field of national mobility. Important notes to know of the Hyperloop:

1. Ability to reach speeds of 1,100 km/h
2. Designed for travel between cities less than 1,500 kilometres
3. Comfort is a key concern considering the rapid acceleration
4. Managed by a computer rather than human direction
5. Cost estimation for construction in the US is $6 billion to $7.5 billion according to Elon Musk

• Read more on CNN