February 2013 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Billions project in savings if Quebec refiners switch to Alberta oil




Quebec could save up to $3-billion a year buying Alberta`s oil instead of importing all the fuel it consumes from Europe or North Africa, according to a new projection.




The savings estimate by National Bank Financial assumes Alberta`s oil could physically get to Quebec, which currently isn`t the case. But with two projects under consideration, buying Albertan oil is no longer a far-fetched scenario for Quebeckers.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Fears of Canadian housing bubble unfounded




Fears of a Canadian housing bubble are largely unfounded and, in fact, house prices remain affordable in three-quarters of the country, with the exception of Vancouver, Toronto and Victoria, says a new BMO report.




Overall, the Canadian housing market is about 10 per cent overvalued ` half what it was in 1989, when prices began a 13 per cent decline, and a third of the height U.S. houses hit before crashing by some 34 per cent, says the Canadian Housing Affordability study released Friday.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian housing agency cuts 2013 forecast




TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's federal housing agency scaled back its forecast for homebuilding in 2013 on Friday, saying that a slowdown in economic growth and job gains will dampen demand for new homes, the latest sign that Canada's housing market is cooling rapidly.




The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said that while it expects the housing market slowdown that hit in the second half of 2012 will continue into 2013, it believes momentum will return later in 2013 and 2014.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The world wants Vancouverism. Shouldn't Canada




I recently flipped through aerial photos of Canadian cities in the 1970s. One thing stood out: the parking lots. They were everywhere. Downtown Vancouver was a checkerboard of them. Post-Olympic Montreal was streaked with them. Toronto, especially south of King Street, seemed to be nothing but one giant, contiguous grey parking lot yawning across the lakefront.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada and Ontario invest in Highway 401 bridges




Bridges along one of Ontario's busiest highways will soon be improved, thanks to $7.5 million in joint funding announced today by the governments of Canada and Ontario.




A new bridge underpass will be built at East Townline Road in Port Hope, and sandblasting and structural work will be performed on the Trent River Bridge in Trenton. Rehabilitation and replacement work on the two bridges will improve their structural integrity and lifespan. Both bridges are important links to tourist destinations and local businesses in the Port Hope and Trenton regions.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

In most of Canada, housing's not out of reach




MONTREAL - With contradictory things being reported about the existence of a housing bubble in this country, it must be frustrating for many to understand what`s actually happening. A new report from economist Sal Guatieri at BMO Capital Markets, should help. His basic message: there really isn`t any national housing bubble, although there may well be unhealthy priceyness in three cities: Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

How single women are shaping the new housing market




When Charise Bauman bought her condominium in Toronto she wanted it to be in an established, walkable downtown neighbourhood, have a concierge service and, among other criteria, have good lighting. `Lighting is huge,` Bauman says. The 25-year-old hairdresser has a few rules about interior design, including this one: `If you`re going to put in a walk-in closet, there better be a light in there.`



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Demand for tank cars to ship crude oil by rail rises at breakneck speed





By early 2015, thousands of newly minted, gleaming crude tank cars will leave the sheds of manufacturers such as Trinity Industries Inc., Union Tank Car Co. and Greenbrier Co. to carry rising North American crude production, offering some relief to the choked North American oil pipelines.


Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Other pipelines press on while Keystone XL stalls





Between 2004 and 2011, the United States laid enough new oil and gas pipelines to stretch three quarters of the way to the moon.




The standoff over the controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline is not typical. In seven years, the U.S. laid more than 180,000 miles of new oil and gas pipelines, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation`s Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

EI recipients drop in December, third time in 4 months




OTTAWA ` Statistics Canada says the number of people receiving regular employment insurance fell in December for the third time in four months, hitting a level similar to that of last spring.




The agency says there were 517,000 people on EI in December, down 1.6 per cent from November.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Most baby boomers have no intention of downsizing, according to Royal LePage national survey






TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2013 /CNW/ - Despite the perception that aging Baby Boomers may create an oversupply of traditional single-family homes as they downsize into smaller residences, a new Royal LePage Real Estate survey shows that demand for suburban detached homes remains strong among Baby Boomers and Generation Y.




The poll by Leger Marketing found that of the 40.6 per cent of Baby Boomers (born between 1947 and 1966), who do have plans to move to another primary residence, almost half (43.5 per cent) are looking to purchase another primary residence that is a similar size or larger than their current property. Of the total responses from Baby Boomers who intend to purchase their next primary residence, 66.8 per cent said they will do so in the next five years.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Baby boomers may be planning to move, but not into condos





Baby boomers may well be on the move over the next five years, but don`t expect them to be downsizing to condos, according to a new report by realtor Royal LePage.






`They love their garages and their yards,` says Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper.






Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Self employment booming in Canada





More than half a million Canadian entrepreneurs are in the process of establishing their own business this year, according to a CIBC report.



`Irreversible structural forces suggest that the next decade might see the strongest start-up activity in the Canadian economy on record,` says Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC. `The gradual shift to a strong culture of individualism and self-betterment are among those forces that are likely to support a net creation of 150,000 new businesses in Canada in the coming ten years.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian economy growing at a steady pace




OTTAWA ` Despite indications to the contrary, Canada`s economy may actually be chugging along at a steady ` if not stellar ` pace.




Signs of growth are continuing to appear, according to a leading Canada indicator, and much of that strength is the product of an improving U.S. environment.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

CMHC seeking to hide foreclosure information from home buyers




Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has been asking realtors for months to keep consumers in the dark about whether the properties it sells are part of a foreclosure, according to a document obtained by The Financial Post.





Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is cutting back on mortgages it insures as the Crown corporation edges closer to a $600-billion cap imposed on it by the federal government, the Financial Post has learned.




A CMHC spokesman confirmed that it had approached a number of lenders at the end of 2011 about reducing its `bulk or portfolio insurance` after third-quarter results showed the agency had committed to back $541-billion in mortgages.





The move, said to be part of CMHC national policy, upset Quebec realtors who refused to play ball, worried about an ethical breach.





Read the full article here.