Business Matters: May ‘another sleepy month’ for homebuyers. Will a rate cut wake them up?

I'm Ange Viola with your top business headlines right now. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the annual pace of housing starts in May climb 10% compared with April, helped by gains in Montreal and Toronto. The annual pace of starts in Montreal more than doubled with an increase of 104%. Toronto gained 47% with both cities boosted by multi unit starts. However, the pace of starts in Vancouver for May fell 32% compared with April. Meanwhile, home sales in May were quiet across much of the country. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, home sales edged slightly lower, new listings increased and the composite home price index was essentially flat. Ontario's main liquor retailer says it has a plan to keep the doors open for customers. If it's more than 10,000 workers end up on strike. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says 97% of participating LCBO workers voted in favor of walking out. The unions collective agreement with the LCBO expired March 31st. An interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada earlier this month marked the 1st signal that borrowing costs are heading down, but experts say the rates Canadians can expect on savings accounts are also at risk. When interest rates are high and loans are less attractive, lenders might opt to raise their savings rates to attract Canadians money. Personal finance experts tell Global News that with only a single rate cut so far, they expect many banks to keep their savings rates higher to remain competitive. This past weekend's massive debut of Inside Out Two in movie theaters is a much needed win for Pixar. Studio estimates peg the animated films opening weekend at 155,000,000 U.S. dollars in Canadian and American theaters. Pixar has had a string of underwhelming launches, including Elemental, which did eventually become a success, and Lightyear, which didn't. It's also vitally important for the health of the movie theater industry, which had been running at a 26% deficit. Those are the top business stories right now. For more, you can head to globalnews.ca. I'm Anne Cafiola.