CA Economic Fundamentals 2008-09

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Arizona, Florida lead list as Canadians snap up U.S. properties

Canadians have been flooding into the depressed U.S. housing market, purchasing a record number of homes south of the border, and twice as many as a year earlier.

Armed with what until recently was a strong currency, most were also paying cash, according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors annual profile of international home buying activity in the U.S.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...26-4a3aab55ead0

 

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Speculators behind big swings in oil prices: U.S. report

WASHINGTON - Institutional investors caused the rapid rise and subsequent steep fall in oil prices in 2008, according to an independent report released by U.S. lawmakers yesterday.

The report, co-authored by hedge fund manager Michael Masters, said from January to May index traders poured $60 billion into commodity markets, causing a big spike in oil prices. When Congress held hearings in May to July about reining in speculation, traders pulled $39 billion from the market, the report stated.

Oil hit a record $147 U.S. a barrel in July, and then started falling sharply until it reached $102 this week.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/b...e2-bb34071df558

 

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Canadian industry at 16-year low

OTTAWA–Weak exports meant Canadian industries ran at just 78.9 per cent of their capacity in the second quarter of this year, the lowest level in 16 years and down from 79.6 per cent in the first quarter, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Market analysts had predicted a rate of 79.3 per cent. The second-quarter rate was the lowest since the 78.6 per cent recorded in the first three quarters of 1992 and reflects an economy struggling to deal with the U.S. slowdown.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/498043

 

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High gas prices fuel campaign

Higher prices at the gas pumps Friday fuelled talk on the election campaign while a new poll suggested almost four in 10 Canadians would vote strategically to keep Prime Minister Stephen Harper from winning a majority government.

The Ipsos Reid poll for Canwest News Service and Global National suggests the Conservatives have a commanding lead over the Liberals nationally but lower popularity in Ontario and Quebec.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...73-af16fff77014

 

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Manufacturing jobs shift to retail sector

At a time of gut-wrenching job losses in the manufacturing industry, retailers are hiring like gangbusters. But can those who made solid careers working at auto plants and constructing products on factory floors make a transition to satisfying new careers focused on serving the consumer face-to-face?

It`s possible, suggest career and retailing experts, especially for those who can get over the most obvious hurdle: the low starting wages for many retailing positions.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...5f-d79c88d2feb8

 

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Pending changes to mortgage rules may reduce potential condo buyers

A significant portion of Canadians -- especially those who currently don`t own a home and may lean toward condos as their first purchases -- say the upcoming changes in mortgage lending rules will make it harder for them to buy property.

That is the finding of a nationwide survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of a Calgary-based residential mortgage lender, ResMor Trust Co.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...66-6dd490a731b5

 

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Buying on margin: The long anf short of it

Debt, said newsletter writer Jim Grant, is always repaid - either by the borrower or by the lender.

This explains much of what is taking place in the market today: Borrowers can`t pay their debt, so their lenders must - either by selling out the borrowers` assets, or by selling their own. The first is foreclosure; the second is what happened to Bear Stearns, due to its involvement in subprime mortgages. Mortgages are levered debt. So is most private equity (once called levered buyouts). Banks are leveraged. But other parts of the market are leveraged in ways you may not realize.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ory/TPBusiness/

 

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Tories to ease foreign investment rules: Harper

HALIFAX - Stephen Harper`s Conservatives would change Canada`s foreign-investment rules, allowing foreign owners to take bigger stakes in Canadian airline and uranium firms, but keep restrictions that bar foreigners from taking controls of Canadian banks, telecommunications companies and media organizations.

Harper, in a speech to a business audience here Friday, also ruled out the possibility of bank mergers.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...de-8bbf80aa23e8

 

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Real estate drives up our net worth

OTTAWA -- The net worth of Canadians -- what they own, less what they owe -- rose by $111 billion, or two per cent, in the spring to $174,300 for every man, woman and child, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

But with the plunge in the stock market and the fall in home prices since the spring, we`re probably worth less today, according to one bank analyst.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...90-8d8324927a08

 

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Harper touts parental benefits for self-employed

A re-elected Conservative government would extend parental leave benefits to self-employed workers in Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Monday.

"Self-employed Canadians shouldn`t have to choose between starting a business and a family," Harper said in Ottawa.

While campaigns are normally more about mud-slinging than mud wraps, Harper started his day touring a spa, owned by a self-employed couple, to set the stage for his program announcement.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...2d-acd58e7f6abd

 

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Baghdad property market makes a comeback

A dramatic fall in violence has breathed life into Baghdad`s once moribund property market, although the hunt for homes in Sunni and Shi`ite enclaves bodes ill for sectarian reconciliation in the Iraqi capital.

Real estate prices have doubled in some parts of Baghdad in recent months and many properties sell or are leased as soon as they hit the market, say the city`s realtors, who as recently as last year were jobless as sectarian killings raged in the city.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...PStory/Business

 

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Help for homebuyers

What`s this talk about first-time homebuyers?

Stephen Harper promised, if he is re-elected, he`ll give first-time homebuyers a $5,000 tax credit towards the closing costs of a home they buy, new or old.

Five grand back in my pocket, that rocks!

Not exactly. A $5,000 tax credit only equals $750 if you qualify for the whole thing.

How do they work that out?

All tax credits are calculated in the same way. We take the value of the credit, in this case $5,000, multiply that by the lowest rate of income tax, which is 15%, and we get $750.

http://www.ottawasun.com/canadavotes/news/...787621-sun.html

 

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No credit crunch here

TORONTO -- As the credit crunch ravages Wall Street and leaves many Americans unable to borrow money, experts say Canadian consumers remain relatively unaffected - although some businesses are beginning to feel the pinch.

"I think banks are cautious, given the economic climate, but Canadian credit growth has still been quite brisk this year," Avery Shenfeld, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets, said yesterday.

He added that interest rates aren`t as low as they could be given the economic slowdown, but "this has yet to put a major borrowing crunch on the Canadian economy.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/News/2...800631-sun.html

 

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How to take advantage of the dividend tax credit

My son, Win, who is now in fifth grade, seems to have discovered the joy of educating his parents on all manner of new subject matter. I have to admit, he`s taught me quite a bit this year, which leads me to wonder whether or not I am actually smarter than a fifth grader.

No, I`m not applying to appear on the TV show by the same name, lest I should embarrass myself. What`s that? You think you`re smarter than a fifth grader?

Okay, did you know that: The average Canadian goes bowling 207 times in a lifetime; the Swiss army keeps 20,000 carrier pigeons for emergency communication; Vermont maple is the type of wood used to make Scrabble letters; some Egyptian mummies wore dentures; and ostriches yawn in groups before they go to sleep? Not so easy, is it?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ritishColumbia/

 

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Corporate tax easing, but high

The tax burden on Canadian businesses has eased but remains heavier than that imposed by most other countries, separate reports released Thursday conclude.

Canada`s corporate tax rate has fallen well below the rate in the U.S., its largest trading partner, but remains third highest among industrial nations, an international consulting firm reported Thursday.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...e6-28686205440c

 

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WestJet drops fuel surcharge as oil price softens

CALGARY - Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. said Thursday it will drop its fuel surcharge -- which added up to $90 to the cost of a flight within North America -- effective immediately.

"As soon as the cost of fuel came down, we said we would remove the fuel surcharge, and that is exactly what we are doing," WestJet spokeswoman Gillian Bentley said.

Passengers who have already bought WestJet tickets can cancel them and rebook their flights to remove the surcharge, Bentley said at a news conference Thursday. However, they will still have to pay a $50 rebooking fee.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...87-7a7554d0dbad

 

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CIBC plans 18 new branches in everyday banking strategy

While the financial sector is transfixed by turmoil in global money markets, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said yesterday it`s adding 18 new branches to its core Canadian retail franchise.

CIBC – focusing on everyday banking after massive losses from the World Markets investment banking division and exposure to the U.S. housing-finance debacle – has a five-year plan to build, relocate or expand more than 70 branches in Canada by 2011.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/501909

 

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Housing hard to find in booming N.W.T.

YELLOWKNIFE -- Terry Mandeville has a Grade 4 education.

Or maybe Grade 5 -- he can`t quite remember. His mother pulled him out of school because she didn`t like how the teachers treated him. They gave him the strap, he says.

Originally from Fort Resolution, N.W.T., Mandeville, 38, is quick to make jokes. He has long hair that hangs straight to his shoulders. Last month, he says, he gave up alcohol, but he still smokes marijuana.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...4d-3ec256043644

 

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Identity thieves `phishing` the Internet

Identity theft -- a type of fraud in which someone pretends to be someone else for financial gain -- can be accomplished in many ways: pickpocketing a credit card, rummaging through letters from a mailbox, or phone scamming that tricks victims into giving out personal information.

Increasingly, identity thieves are going online, sending out "phishing" scams on fake websites that look real or using other high-tech means to retrieve information you type on a public computer`s keyboard.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...10-9c6e3bbdb8ae

 

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How Canada withstood the financial storm

Why hasn`t Canada been hurt more badly?

At first blush, the country`s ability to withstand the United States` financial storm is a puzzle -- not only because the banking world is so inter-linked, but because the U.S. is by far Canada`s largest trading partner.

Yet the economic damage to date has been limited largely to investors and those with direct exposure to the financial icons that have disappeared on Wall Street.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/s...52-537b107788d1