April 2011 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Calgary region EI recipients decline





CALGARY ` The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in the Calgary area has fallen dramatically.




Statistics Canada reported Monday that EI recipients in the Calgary census metropolitan area dropped by 30.2 per cent in February to 14,010 compared with February 2010.




That mirrored a similar decline in Alberta where EI recipients in February decreased to 43,070, down 2.9 per cent from the previous month and by 22.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis.




Across the country, the number of recipients also fell to 628,870 ` a 1.3 per cent month-over-month decline and 9.4 per cent year-over-year drop.




Elsbeth Mehrer, director of research, workforce and strategy for Calgary Economic Development, said the city is continuing to see a decline in beneficiaries.






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[Ally]

Occupied downtown Calgary office space at 2008 level





CALGARY ` Occupied office space in downtown Calgary has surpassed the level reached during the height of the real estate market in the second quarter of 2008.




A report by Colliers International says that occupied space has reached 33.7 million square feet in the first quarter of this year.




The overall vacancy rate declined one percentage point to 10.92 per cent which equated to about 393,000 square feet of positive absorption in the first three months of 2011.




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[Ally]

Calgary inflation rate lowest in country





CALGARY ` Calgarians experienced in March the lowest rate of inflation in the country.




Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that consumer prices in the Calgary census metropolitan area rose by only 0.1 per cent on a monthly basis and by 1.6 per cent from March 2010.




Albertans also experienced the lowest rate of inflation among the provinces.




The federal agency said consumer prices rose by 2.0 per cent in the province from a year ago and by 0.2 per cent on a monthly basis.




At the national level, the federal agency said inflation was 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to March, the largest year-over-year increase since September 2008. On a monthly basis, prices were up 1.1 per cent.




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[Ally]

Secondary suites will be allowed in new Calgary communities





CALGARY ` The city will allow secondary suites in all new neighbourhoods.




A motion passed by council Monday means that homeowners will be able to purchase new residences already knowing their neighbourhood could be built with secondary suites.




Existing homes and zoning that do not allow secondary suites will remain untouched.




Ald. Peter Demong was applauded by Mayor Naheed Nenshi for putting forward this compromise to the previous and contentious proposal to legalize secondary suites in all residential zones.






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[Ally]

Calgary region job prospectives rise





CALGARY ` Job prospects for Calgarians are starting to look up.




In its Metro Help Wanted Index released Tuesday, the Conference Board of Canada classified near-term employment prospects for the Calgary census metropolitan area as being up.




Although employment dipped slightly in Canada in March, the economy still created over 80,000 jobs in the first quarter, and most Canadian cities enjoyed gains, said the conference board.




Employment climbed in 19 of 27 CMAs in the first three months of the year. And according to the conference board, local job prospects remain bright. The near-term employment outlook is up in 22 CMAs, stable in two, and down in only three.






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[Ally]

Observers expect mixed first quarter results from oil patch




Observers are expecting a mixed bag of first quarter financial results from Calgary`s oil and gas companies when earnings season kicks off this week.




Encana Corp. will kick off the earnings season Wednesday with what analysts expect will be lower year-over-year numbers due to lower natural gas prices and a stronger Canadian dollar.




But higher oil prices, especially for synthetic crude oil, and stronger refining margins could add up to some pleasant upside Easter goodies for investors, said Randy Ollenberger, with BMO Nesbitt Burns in Calgary.




`It`s going to be a mixed bag, but I think there`s lots of potential for some positive surprises,` he said in an interview.





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[Ally]

Wake up, Alberta - frenzy's coming




He`s calling it the Wake Up Alberta tour ` and while real estate expert Don Campbell refuses to say another boom is on the way, he says to be prepared.




`Alberta is 18 months away from a real estate frenzy,` says the author of the bestselling book, 97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors. `There`s no question the frenzy is coming here.`




The economic conditions in Alberta are the reasons why ` and it will hit Calgary first and foremost, he says.




`It starts with the GDP numbers, then goes to job growth, which will happen within the next year,` says Campbell. `That, in turn, leads to population growth and that means an increase in rental demand.`





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[Ally]

Calgary region job prospects positive





CALGARY ` Job prospects for Calgarians are starting to look up.




In its Metro Help Wanted Index released Tuesday, the Conference Board of Canada classified near-term employment prospects for the Calgary census metropolitan area as being up.




Although employment dipped slightly in Canada in March, the economy still created over 80,000 jobs in the first quarter, and most Canadian cities enjoyed gains, said the conference board.




Employment climbed in 19 of 27 CMAs in the first three months of the year. And according to the conference board, local job prospects remain bright. The near-term employment outlook is up in 22 CMAs, stable in two, and down in only three.




Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary average house price increases over last year by 1%





CALGARY ` The average MLS sale price of a residential property in Calgary has increased slightly so far this year compared with 2010.




The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Friday that year-to-date, for the first quarter of 2011, the average residential price was $398,558, up one per cent compared with the first quarter of 2010.




At the national level, the average sale price for the quarter was $362,997, up 7.9 per cent from last year.




In Calgary, sales during the first quarter totalled 5,492 transactions, a decrease of 4.6 per cent from last year while sales across Canada dipped by 6.4 per cent to 103,906.






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[Ally]

Calgary council urged to OK suburban levy deal





Calgary`s development industry is urging council to accept a new suburban levy deal that adds about $8,000 per new home, but also demands the city commit to reining in the costs of building new communities.




The developers` main lobby group hopes aldermen don`t tinker with the deal ` although at least one admits she`s disappointed by it ` but opposes the plan to make undeveloped areas help the city recoup three-quarters of the price tag for the proposed airport tunnel.




City hall`s debt and taxpayers citywide have long shouldered the burden for much of the costs of water systems, fire halls and the new suburban infrastructure.




The new deal doubles the land levies to help close the massive gap, bringing Calgary into the top one-third of Canadian cities` developer charges, according to Mike Flynn, executive director of the Urban Development Institute-Calgary.




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[Ally]

Calgary house prices headed for peak levels: Analyst





CALGARY ` Average house prices in Calgary could flirt with record levels within the next two years due to a commodity boom in the province, says a real estate industry analyst.




Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network, said house prices could increase five to seven per cent this year and another five to seven per cent in 2012.




`And then after that, we`re going to be back in a bit of a frenzy,` said Campbell. `A frenzy as in a seller`s market. Now I hope it`s not as hot as it was in 2007 and 2006 but I`m telling you by looking at the job market and the population growth expectations I wouldn`t be surprised if it was in the double digits in two years.`






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[Ally]

Edmonton #9 in big-city quality of life ranking




EDMONTON - For quality of life, Edmonton is in good company across North and South America, ranking ninth among major cities in a survey published Tuesday by fDi magazine.




The Cities of the Future shortlist is based on independent data collected from 405 cities in North and South America and placed in a number of categories ` economic potential, cost effectiveness, human resources, quality of life, infrastructure, business friendliness and promotion strategy.




Major Canadian cities did well in the quality of life category for major cities, which weighed attributes such as life expectancy, hospital beds, education levels, unemployment rates, household income and crime rates.




While Washington, D.C., topped the category, Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa placed third to fifth, and Toronto placed eighth.





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[Ally]

Haliburton profit up on North American drilling




The rapid growth of land-based drilling projects in the U.S. appears to be helping the oil industry to shrug off a slowdown in both the Gulf of Mexico and Libya.






Halliburton Co., HAL-N the first major energy company to report first-quarter results, said Monday that earnings more than doubled thanks to drilling in North America. Halliburton's earnings appear much as they did in 2008, the first time crude hit $100 (U.S.) per barrel and before the recession hit global demand for energy.





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[Ally]

Edmonton downtown by design is within reach




EDMONTON - For years, we've complained about the overall dumpiness of Edmonton. Our downtown is a garden of parking lots and pre-clad concrete, neither lively nor lovely. Old Strathcona is being overrun by thugs and graffiti. The suburbs, the shopping malls and power centres, the dominion of the fast-food restaurant, the esthetically punishing drive into town from the airport.




Complaining has become an art form in itself. We travel. We see what Edmonton could be if only ... if only what?




It has to stop. The moment we decide, as a community, that it's over -it's over. Now, doesn't that feel glorious? And daunting?




On April 6, more than 50 people were turned away from a sold-out panel discussion about architecture and urban design at the Art Gallery of Alberta. On stage, two architects from Edmonton and two architects from Vancouver talked about designing a downtown.





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[Ally]

Top American cities of the future for 2011-2012




Edmonton has been named in fDi Magazine's Top 10 American Cities of the Future for 2011-12 placing seventh among Large Cities of the Future in North, Central and South America. The following is a look at the 10 major cities with the highest ranked quality of life ratings.



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[Ally]

When will see demand destruction for oil?




How high must oil prices go before they start killing the very demand that feeds them?




Everybody from the International Monetary Fund to the International Energy Agency (IEA) is warning of dire economic consequences if today`s triple digit oil prices persist.




Curiously though, the IEA, which is warning of a potential global recession due to today`s oil prices, is also predicting an almost a one-and-a-half-million-barrel-a-day increase in world demand this year. And judging by their recent track record, this forecast, like the one it made early last year for 2010, will once again be on the light side.





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[Ally]

Soaring loonie has its downside for Alberta manufacturing sector





Alberta consumers planning to reap the spoils of a muscular loonie in a burst of cross border shopping this Easter long weekend might want to hold back a bit for the future.




Continued strength in the Canadian dollar is taking a bite -and jobs -out of a number of industries, most notably manufacturing, say analysts.




"(A strong dollar) is good up to a point, but you have to be careful what you wish for," said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets. "Because if the companies that are employing you are getting into difficulties, it's not good for consumers."




The loonie on Wednesday touched its highest level against the U.S. greenback since late 2007.






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[Ally]

Natural gas: Fuel of the future





You know a trend is in the making when you start receiving invitations to multiple conferences on a subject. Five years ago a barrage of oil sands symposiums emerged, then a few years later there was American shale gas. Tit for tat amidst all the new fossil fuel supply options were gatherings on the carbon economy, cap and trade, and renewable energy. Eventually, the conference buzz surrounding a subject dies down, either because the trend becomes part of mainstream thinking, or because the whole thing fizzles. I`m sure more than a few of us can shred old notes from all-day sessions on Arctic gas.







Of late, the conference circuit is signaling a new megatrend: international shale gas. Invitations to attend events in Europe, Asia, Australia, and just about anywhere except price-depressed North America, are popping up in email inboxes. Those in the natural gas business have surmised that the shale revolution would eventually proliferate around the globe; now it`s starting to happen. And if North America is even a small proxy for the rest of the world, the implications will be quite profound.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Airdrie survey show businesses like setting up shop there





CALGARY ` A survey of Airdrie businesses has rated the city as a good place to do business.




The city`s first Business Satisfaction Survey had nearly one-third of Airdrie-based companies, including commercial/industrial and home-based businesses, responding. It was conducted by Banister Research & Consulting Inc. in February.




Of the 522 businesses responding, 89 per cent said Airdrie is a `good`, `very good` or `excellent` place to do business.






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[Ally]

Alberta retail sector bounces back





CALGARY ` Retail sales in Alberta have bounced back.




After two months of declines, retail sales in the province grew in February to $5.237 billion, up 1.5 per cent from January and an increase of 5.7 per cent compared with February 2010, according to Statistics Canada.




At the national level, the federal agency said retail sales increased 0.4 per cent in February to $37.338 billion, offsetting most of the decline in January. Higher sales were reported in nine of 11 subsectors. February`s figure was also 3.7 per cent up from a year ago.




The largest contribution to the national gain in came from gasoline stations, where sales increased 1.3 per cent. This was the seventh increase in eight months.




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