BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-12

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
B.C. has potential to be a leader in natural gas

British Columbia`s "incredible" potential as a natural gas producer makes it a likely candidate to meet growing market demand in the United States and around the world, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld said Friday.

Recent massive gas deposit discoveries in the northeast, coupled with plans to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Kitimat, are certain to elevate B.C.`s status as a producer, he said.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...0603/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
B.C. home sales continue their fall in November

British Columbia real estate prices hit a 26-month low in November, the B.C. Real Estate Association reported Friday as sales across the province fell by more than half.

Real estate boards recorded only 2,707 multiple-listing-service-recorded sales in November, 62 per cent below the 7,118 recorded in November of 2007.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Homes/home+sal...0598/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208VANC
Industry`s global woes will be felt locally

New-vehicle sales in British Columbia were down nine per cent in October from a year earlier, but with a bailout of the U.S. auto industry in neutral and Canadian auto plants poised to shut down temporarily, falling sales may the least of B.C. car dealers` worries.

Talks continued Friday on whether the U.S. government would bail out Detroit`s Big Three -- General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...0607/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

BC Small Town Updates: 2008-12-14

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
B.C. firms tap Japanese auctions to import used cars and trucks

B.C. auctioneers aren`t the only ones pitching used goods from Japan to buyers elsewhere. There is a growing set of small businesses in B.C. that have discovered daily auctions in Japan as a source for well-kept, second-hand trucks they sell across Canada.

For a variety of reasons, Japan is a unique source.

"There are strict rules and regulations" on auto ownership in Japan, said Barry Roelfsema, owner of Armstrong-based J Cruisers in the Okanagan.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...7167/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Kamloops and Cranbrook attract new airlines

Kamloops and Cranbrook bucked global airline trends this week by attracting new services at a time of international industry cutbacks.

WestJet launched a new daily non-stop Calgary-to-Kamloops service Monday while Delta Airlines begins a three-times-a-week service from Salt Lake City to Cranbrook on Wednesday.

"We face uncertain global market conditions and any progress we can make on this front is a real plus," Tourism BC president Rod Harris said in an interview. "The current economy has caused air carriers to reduce capacity and that will have a significant impact in the near term."

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...0808/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Hint at forestry aid raises hopes and fears

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement`s hint that government will offer assistance to the struggling forest industry raised some hopes, but also some fears, among companies that have to abide by the Canada U.S. softwood lumber agreement.

Clement acknowledged on Sunday during CTV`s Question Period program that Canada has "a number of industries in distress," and that "other industrial sectors, other extraction sectors, are on the table for our budget coming out on Jan. 27."

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...0807/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Rapid transit to Coquitlam on track

The Evergreen Line rapid-transit line moved closer to reality yesterday after a meeting between B.C. Transport Minister Kevin Falcon and his federal counterpart, John Baird.

Falcon pitched Baird several rapid-transit projects, such as extensions to the University of B.C. and Surrey.

But top of his Christmas wish list for Baird was extending rapid transit to Coquitlam, which would go through Port Moody, at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...37-c15a97f3a70a

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208VANC
Highlands ex-councillor`s rezoning approved

Mention of murder charges was nowhere to be heard as Highlands district council held a public hearing last night on rezoning the Brotherston family property in that community.

Ken Brotherston, the former Highlands councillor now facing a second-degree murder charge, his mother and wife are seeking to subdivide their 3.52-hectare property on Munn Road.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/victoria...0678/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Nanaimo airport to stretch

It may be too early for the Nanaimo airport to be looking at new routes and new carriers, but the mid-Island airport is intent on laying the groundwork with a $16.4-million expansion slated to start in early 2009.

An extended runway, improved lighting and instrumentation are all in the works as the airport strives to catch up to the recent expansion of both Victoria International and Comox Valley airports.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/todays-p...0728/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Home sales across the country at lowest level in almost 8 years

National home sales dropped in November by double digits for the second month in a row to their lowest level since January 2001, and average home sale prices slid by nearly 10 per cent year-over-year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said yesterday.

"The housing market reflects the economic reality in Canada," said CREA president Calvin Lindberg, who added that the decline in housing activity translates into $2.8 billion less in spinoff consumer spending.

http://www.timescolonist.com/Homes/Home+sa...0719/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
B.C. residential housing investment slipped in October, StatsCan finds in residential investment

Total investment in residential housing construction in B.C. dipped two per cent in October , mainly due to reduced spending on detached homes, Statistics Canada reported.

Inflation-adjusted spending on housing investment totalled $512 million in October, a two-per-cent decline from September.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Homes/resident...4605/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208VANC
Land deal under scrutiny

A review of Vancouver`s financial dealings around the Olympic village likely won`t be completed before the new year, but that won`t prevent bureaucrats from taking any extraordinary action deemed necessary to protect the project, city Coun. Geoff Meggs said Tuesday.

City council asked its external auditor, KPMG, on Friday to review how the city came to be a major financial backer of the $1-billion development, which is being built on land it owns on the south side of False Creek. In particular, the politicians want to know the details behind the previous administration`s decision to loan $100 million to Millennium Development and its prime backer, Fortress Management.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...4672/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Forestry companies make pitch for federal assistance

Upwards of 8,000 loggers, contractors and mill workers in the B.C. Interior have already lost their jobs, and union representative Terry Tate says another 600 face layoff as employment insurance-based work-share programs expire.

Renewal of the work-share programs would provide some much-needed stability, Tate said Tuesday as the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) delivered the same message in Ottawa.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/regional/...3778/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
B.C.`s newest scams focus on economic downturn

The Better Business Bureau yesterday released details on some of the latest scams to hit the Lower Mainland.

Among the leading schemes is one classified as "an economic downturn scam."

According to Lynda Pasacreta, the president of the Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C., scam artists are trying to use tough economic times to get money out of people through various loan schemes.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...89-084ef7bb60e7

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208VICT
Brick bucks trend and returns to city

Three years after leaving Victoria and building a big-box store on the West Shore, the Brick is back in the core.

Canada`s largest furniture retailer is bucking the trend to hold expansion or scale back by opening six new stores in the last two weeks, including the company`s 57,000-square-foot West Coast flagship in Coquitlam and the new Victoria location, which has been converted from a clearance centre to a full-line outlet.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/todays-p...5235/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Council cannot bar home showings

Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata corporation passed a new bylaw package back in July of this year, and one of the bylaws, that was quietly passed without question, prohibits open houses for sales of units.

How are we expected to sell our units with a reasonable showing, without being able to hold an open house? Our agent has asked permission of council to provide an additional security person to escort prospective purchasers to and from our residence, and still the council refuse to permit access for an open house. What are we supposed to do.

Gary W., Victoria

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/todays-p...5307/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Half of B.C. shoppers plan frugal holiday season: survey

METRO VANCOUVER - British Columbians are keeping a tight hold on their wallets this holiday season with almost half saying they plan to spend less this year than last, according to a survey released Wednesday by Angus Reid Strategies.

And they are not replacing their shopping time with entertainment events: The survey also found Canadians plan to spend less on professional sports and cultural events, with more than half saying they are less likely to go to the opera or ballet, 45 per cent likely to give up going to a play, and 40 per cent less likely to visit a museum.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/vancouver...8044/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Rising sea levels, earthquakes to hit B.C., says study

VICTORIA — With global warming raising sea levels worldwide, parts of B.C. may be kept high and dry by the same geological forces that bringing earthquakes to the province, a government report says.Then again, the safety zones, where those earth-moving tectonic shifts will keep pushing the land higher out of the water, don`t extend much past the west coast of Vancouver Island.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/vancouver...3823/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BCBC
Cities across the country losing economic momentum, CIBC says

Softening of its housing-market activity as well as a slower labour market and less population growth combined to sap economic momentum in Vancouver and other Western cities, CIBC World Markets said in its most recent Metro Monitor Report.

CIBC`s total metropolitan city index, a measure of nine economic variables, has been "losing momentum for two years," CIBC wrote in the report, and "the pace at which the index has been softening has accelerated dramatically over the past six months."

http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/Citie...9151/story.html