April 2011 BC Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

B.C.'s curious energy double standard




VICTORIA - The controversy over the proposed Northern Gateway oil-sands pipeline highlights a unique perspective in British Columbia on fossil fuels -- bring on the gas, but not the oil.




The province's benign treatment of natural gas extends to practices and plans that give communities elsewhere a lot of heartburn. B.C. has vast fracking operations in the northeast, plans to build at least two terminals in the Kitimat area on the northern coast to liquefy the gas, and then there are plans to transport the gas aboard special tankers to markets in Asia.




The gas side of the industry even gets the nod of powerful First Nations -- the Haisla is a partner in both LNG facilities. Meanwhile, the risk of spills, contamination and explosions seems to get little attention.





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[Ally]

Foreign buyers buoy Vancouver housing





On a recent trip to Vancouver, Jin Wang, a Chinese businesswoman, toured a large home ` six bedrooms and seven baths ` listed at $3.6-million in the British Properties, a wealthy enclave on the north shore overlooking the ocean and the city.




Ms. Wang and her husband, Hui Huang, made their money in the import and export of electronics, leveraging government connections in Beijing to do business in Shanghai. The Chinese nationals also expanded their business to domestic real estate in China.





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[Ally]

South Fraser Perimeter Road protestors say it's not too late to stop construction





Protesters blocking construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road continued their camp-out Tuesday below River Road in Delta.




They have food and shelter and some of them are determined to stay on the site until the $1 billion project is shelved or they are removed.




The camp, which was established Friday, was busy Tuesday. But except for one truck that showed up early in the morning there has been no sign of anyone attempting construction ` or confrontation.




There were more than a dozen people camped on the site after 11 p.m. when Eric Doherty showed up Monday night.




Doherty is with StopThePave.org, one of the organizers of the occupation along with the Council of Canadians.




The SFPR project, which connects Deltaport to the TransCanada Highway with a four-lane highway, is more than 25 per cent of the way to its 2013 completion date.



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[Ally]

Do we need restrictions on foreign ownership





Housing prices are on a steep climb again in Metro Vancouver, causing some to react with suggestions that restrictive measures are needed to cool what they perceive is an overheated market.




A new wave of overseas investment interest, primarily from mainland China, is creating a frenzy in some parts of the market. Bidding wars are erupting over houses listed for sale in Richmond and on the west side of Vancouver.




We are experiencing the spillover effect in other parts of the market as well. The lag in supply of new housing to a Metro Vancouver market recovering from an almost halt three years ago, amid the worldwide recession, has prices on the upward climb almost everywhere as demand surges again.



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[Ally]

More than gold glittering on world commodity markets





Sustained high demand coupled with limited new supplies have made copper the new gold as far as profit margins are concerned.




Soaring gold prices, which reached a world spot price of $1,502 US per ounce on Tuesday, may be attracting a lot of attention, said Patricia Mohr, vice-president of industry and commodity research for Scotiabank Economics. It is copper, however, that boasts the higher profit margin.




Mohr said in an interview that at Tuesday's price on the London Metal Exchange of $4.29 US per pound, copper had a 68-per-cent profit margin over industry-average break-even costs, compared with gold's 52 per cent.




And while copper prices may have waned a little bit from their most recent high of $4.60 US per pound in February, Mohr said the continuing dynamic of demand outstripping supply will keep prices in a range that is lucrative enough to fuel acquisitions in the sector, such as Barrick Gold Corp.'s $7.3-billion bid for Equinox Minerals Ltd.



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