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The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities decreased 17.1 percent to $6.0 billion in April. Multi-family dwellings were the only category to show an increase at the national level in April, up 4.8 percent to $2.6 billion. —Statistics Canada

Real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada fell 2.1 percent in the first quarter, owing to reduced household spending and widespread shutdowns of non-essential businesses in March. —Statistics Canada

U.S. sales of new single-family houses in April edged upward 0.6 percent to reach 623,000. —U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. ceramic tile consumption in 2019 was 2.9 billion sq. ft., down 5.4 percent from the previous year and the first decline in a decade. —Tile Council of North America

The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index held steady in May, following a sharp decline in April. The Index now stands at 86.6 (1985=100), up from 85.7 in April. The Present Situation Index — based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labour market conditions — declined from 73.0 to 71.1. However, the Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labour market conditions — improved from 94.3 in April to 96.9 in May. —Conference Board

Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the U.S. decreased 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2019, real GDP increased 2.1 percent. —U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

The U.S. has committed to the largest rescue package of any country in pure dollar terms over three congressional stimulus phases ($8.3 billion US, $192 billion US and $2.5 trillion US), an estimated 13 percent of GDP. As large as that is, it actually trails Japan’s measures which equate to just over 21 percent of its GDP. In Europe where Spain and Italy have endured devastating coronavirus outbreaks, the size of stimulus packages are estimated to be 7.3 percent and 5.7 percent of GDP, respectively. —Ceyhun Elgin/Columbia University

Japan’s imports of assembled flooring month-on-month dropped 21 percent in March, but year-on-year there was little change. There was a slight rise in the value of firstquarter flooring imports compared to the first quarter 2019. —Japan Ministry of Finance 28 July/August 2020 In March, payroll employment in Canada decreased by 914,500 (-5.4 percent) compared with February, in line with the 5.3 percent decrease in total employment. —Statistics Canada

Total U.S. construction activity for April 2020 was $1,346.2 billion US, 2.9 percent below March 2020. —U.S. Census Bureau

The Pokémon Go mobile app weekly player spending jumped 70 percent between March 9-16 and hit $23 million US. —Statista/GoldenCasinoNews

The world’s top three online banks — Nubank, Revolut and Chime — reached 38.4 million customers in 2020, a 255 percent increase in two years. —AksjeBloggen

Canada’s merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $1.5 billion in March to $3.3 billion in April. It is important to note that trade deficits of more than $3 billion are not uncommon, most recently occurring in February 2019 (deficit of $3.4 billion). In volume terms, exports were down 19.9 percent in April and imports fell 24.8 percent. —Statistics Canada

Exports of merchandise to the U.S. in April from Canada fell 35.7 percent, while imports were down 35.3 percent. As a result, Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed from $3.5 billion in March to $2.2 billion in April. —Statistics Canada

As of June 1, the latest data shows that Sweden had 43 deaths per 100,000 of its population from Covid-19. That’s in contrast to neighbours Denmark and Finland who have recorded less than 10 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants and Norway which has had less than 5. Sweden established a more relaxed isolation restrictions policy than others in the region. —Johns Hopkins University

Canadian imports of tropical hardwood fell by 5 percent in March but remain 4 percent ahead of 2019 year-to-date. Canadian imports from Ecuador are up more than nine-fold over 2019 year-to-date. —ITTO

U.S. imports of hardwood flooring rose by 12 percent in March from the previous month. Imports from China fell by 85 percent to its lowest level in more than 10 years, while imports from Brazil dropped 99 percent, to a level not seen in three years. Mean while, imports from Malaysia and Indonesia grew by 64 percent and 145 percent respectively. Imports of assembled flooring pan els from China also fell in March, dropping 80 percent. Year-todate, imports from China are down 32 percent through the first quarter. —U.S. Census Bureau/Foreign Trade Statistics