Canadian Economic News

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Investors in AIDS charity tax shelter warned of risk: spokesman

A spokesman for a tax shelter program that promises to reward people for their philanthropy says participants are advised they will likely be audited by the Canada Revenue Agency.

"We accept that as part of the headache that people have to go through," said Steve Arnold, who promotes the Toronto-based Canadian Organization for International Philanthropy or COIP. "If they are worried, they shouldn`t do the program."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...b7-5fdd381c88bb

 

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Energy stocks being undervalued,report says

OTTAWA -- Canadian markets are sharply undervaluing energy stocks, presenting investors a "hidden opportunity" to capitalize on continuing high oil prices, says CIBC World Markets chief economist Jeff Rubin.

"The TSX oil and gas index should be trading about 35 per cent above current levels," Rubin said Wednesday in his monthly Canadian Portfolio Strategy Outlook report.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...39-9ed065fd6899

 

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Real estate equities called a steal

TORONTO -- Either the Canadian commercial real estate market is about to follow the U.S. residential market into the abyss or Canadian real estate equities are a screaming buy.

Ben Stein, economist and Wall Street pundit, believes the latter, saying Wednesday he had never seen a bigger stock market bargain than the Canadian real estate investment trust (REIT) sector, which has lost about 30 per cent of its market value since 2006 in the wake of the U.S. meltdown.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...12-e4fdb57c8edf

 

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Dollar headed to 91¢ this year, RBC predicts

OTTAWA – The high-flying loonie is likely to descend to the 90-cent-US level later this year and continue weakening into next year, says a new forecast from Canada`s largest bank.

The Royal Bank research report predicts the Canadian economy will outperform that of its southern neighbour, but a U.S. recovery in the second half of 2008 and the curtailment of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts will strengthen the American dollar.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/409834

 

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Reno shows have no foundation in reality

If the people at the Television Censorship Board of Canada had a clue, they`d quit their battle against small-screen violence, crude language and porn to take aim at the real bad guys: home improvement shows.* *Not to be confused with Home Improvement, Tim Allen`s late-`90s sitcom (although his trademark grunt could have used some bleeping).

In these ever-so-popular reality television shows, a cute host with large biceps and/or breasts guides the viewer through a home`s seamless remodelling in the span of 30 minutes. Ha!

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/409162

 

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Canadian water vulnerable to gulp from U.S., group says

OTTAWA (Reuters) -- Increasing droughts in the United States and American unhappiness over NAFTA mean Canada could one day be forced to allow bulk shipments of water to its giant neighbour, a left-leaning think tank said Thursday.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...ac-b88e2d1ef9ad

 

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Prosperous times for hotel sector

OTTAWA -- The high Canadian dollar will lead to a 26-per-cent drop in profits for Canadian hotels this year, the Conference Board of Canada said Thursday.

The Ottawa-based research organization said a historically high-valued loonie will discourage foreign visitors -- most notably from the United States -- and encourage Canadians to spend their vacation dollars outside the country.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...72-68e7ed25cd98

 

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Keeping burglars out means more than locks

Every three minutes, a home in Canada is burglarized.

Many of those break-ins occur while the homeowners are away. But burglaries can also take place when you are at home, at any time of the night or day.

To help you keep your house and your family safe and sound, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. offers the following steps you can take to lock crime out of your home:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...4c-3f7db5e1fa12

 

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Canada begins push to reduce nasty paint solvents

Volatile organic compounds. Never heard of them? You will, especially if you`ve got a painting project lined up this spring.

VOCs, as they are usually known, are those nasty solvents that off-gas when you paint, leaving your eyes watering and your head aching if you`ve been using an oil-based product and lingering as that unpleasant new-paint smell if you`ve slapped on less potent latex. VOCs also contribute to the formation of particulate matter and ground-level ozone, both main ingredients of smog.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...c2-945286979180

 

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Garages go upscale with floors, cabinetry

Move over kitchen parties -- the garage is taking over.

That`s right: it`s often the biggest room in the house and it`s becoming an integral part of not just everyday living, but entertaining, too.

"Lifestyles are becoming more and more important to each of us," says Don Fetherstonhaugh, owner of garage interior specialist Slide-Lok of Calgary.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...99-5ab680578e0c

 

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Active investors lose to the `market casino`: author

At one point in the new gambling movie 21, the main character is filmed reading a book called Beat the Dealer.

The shot is a fitting tip of the hat to the book`s author, Edward Thorp, the mathematician who pioneered the use of blackjack card-counting techniques and presented them in his 1962 landmark bestseller.

The movie, and the 2002 book Bringing Down the House, upon which it`s loosely based, tell the story of a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology math whizzes who took Las Vegas casinos for millions with their blackjack card-counting expertise in the 1990s.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...09-4e6bda355ea7

 

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Saving isn`t always the best investment

"With oil prices hovering around $100 US per barrel, gold recently touching $1,000 US per ounce, wheat exceeding $11 per bushel and the sub prime mess, what are the long-term repercussions to the economy?" Bob, my fictitious, middle-aged client asked me the other day.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...eebee7f&p=1

 

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Road to success not an easy one

Those looking for a quick, easy buck need not bother. At least, that`s the advice Kim Caron, owner of Executive Mat Service, would offer any would-be entrepreneur looking to start up a small business.

"You have to be prepared -- especially in the early years -- to do the work yourself," says Caron, whose business -- which has been renting out mats and other textiles, such towels and aprons, to other businesses, more than 11 years -- was named 2007 Calgary Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...a9-fc413d5dfa47

 

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Canadian building permits fall unexpectedly

OTTAWA - Canadian building permits declined unexpectedly in February for a fourth consecutive month, led by a sharp drop in non-residential construction plans in Ontario, Statistics Canada said Monday.

Municipalities issued $5.8 billion worth of building permits in February, down one per cent from the previous month, the federal agency said.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...432&k=57567

 

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Canada trade with non-U.S. partners grows in 2007
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian exports to non-U.S. countries grew 17.4 percent in 2007, extending a trend of decreased reliance on the United States and stronger trade ties with China, Statistics Canada said on Monday.

Total exports to the United States fell by 1.6 percent last year, reducing that country`s share of total exports to 76.4 percent. That is down from 79.2 percent in 2006 and 83.6 percent in 2000.

Shipments to countries other than the United States were at their highest level since before the launch in 1994 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, Statscan said in its annual review of merchandise trade.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews...0080407?sp=true

 

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Canadians to spend their way around recession; 2.2 per cent growth seen

OTTAWA - Too many Canadians have jobs and money to spend for the Canadian economy to succumb to the recessionary pressures coming from the United States., the Conference Board of Canada says in a new forecast issued Monday.

The economic think-tank`s spring outlook presents the most rosy picture of any major private-sector forecaster about Canada`s prospects in 2008, predicting the economy will grow by 2.2 per cent.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080407/business/economy

 

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You are the weakest link

OTTAWA -- Cyber criminals are getting more sophisticated -- sinking their heavily disguised malicious codes into more and more businesses.

Companies are slowly waking up to the problem of tackling increasingly sophisticated attacks and raising their defences. But no matter how good the firewalls, employees are still the weakest link.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...6e-ba235bbb3f0e

 

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If it sounds too good...

Chidi Igwe is delivering the 411 on 419s.

Igwe, who teaches French at the University of Regina, is the author of Taking Back Nigeria from 419. The book -- which is available at Chapters, at the University of Regina bookstore and from its publisher`s Web site (www.iuniverse.com) -- details the variations of scams that are often referred to as "Nigerian letters" or "419s," so-named for the section of the Nigerian criminal code that covers fraud.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...7f-1ec5ed267dab

 

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Hundreds of communities told to boil water

OTTAWA -- More than 1,760 neighbourhoods and communities across Canada are being told to boil their drinking water, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported Monday.

"That`s the minimum. There`s probably more than that," said Steve Hrudey, a public health engineer who also served on the research advisory panel into contaminated water crisis in Walkerton, Ont. Seven people died and at least 2,300 people became ill due to an outbreak of E. coli in the Walkerton water supply in May, 2000.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...c6-aa02723e06dc

 

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Gold prices could climb to US$1200 by early 2009

Gold prices could move sideways in the near term and may not make much of a move in the next two quarters, but they should turn upward after that, according to Martin Murenbeeld, chief economist at DundeeWealth Economics.

"These projections may be considered somewhat bearish by some readers, but we assure them that the medium and long-term outlook remains quite bullish indeed," he told clients in a note.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/t...early-2009.aspx