December 2012 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

As thousands flock to Alberta, communities grapple with population pressure




EDMONTON - The roads are jammed with cars and trucks, the schools are crowded with kids, and new neighbourhoods are popping up like spring crocuses all across the province.




Of the top 15 fastest-growing communities in Canada, 10 are in Alberta.





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[Ally]

Promised Land reignites fracking war starring celebrities, billionaires, and banjos




Not so long ago, fracking was a technical term little known beyond the energy industry. Now it`s coming to Hollywood, as the fierce battle between environmentalists and oil firms is played out in several forthcoming films.




Hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling technique also known as fracking, has lifted U.S. energy output dramatically, despite warnings from critics who fear it pollutes water deep underground.







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[Ally]

Alberta's future - bright or dour?




Alberta is at a crossroads with our major industry ` energy production. Over the past several years the Alberta economy has had the rug pulled out from under it with unconventional natural gas extraction (fracking) moving our largest trading partner from a net importer to an exporter of this environmentally friendly fuel.




The price of natural gas is just now starting to recover from its recent lows but the focus has moved from natural gas as a heating fuel for U.S. markets to trans-ocean export as liquid natural gas or LNG. Fortunately there is a growing local market for refining into natural gas liquid byproducts.




Fracking has also created an oil boom in the United States with the Bakken field in North Dakota. Some speculate that the U.S. could become a net exporter by 2020.





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[Ally]

Ottawa's $800 billion housing problem




It was a sweltering afternoon in July, 2006, and David Dodge was meeting with executives at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in Ottawa, in search of the answer to a pressing question: Why were they lowering their standards in such a reckless fashion?




As Canada`s largest mortgage insurer, federally-run CMHC is a gatekeeper to the housing market, influencing who gets to buy a home and who doesn`t. For decades it has sought to make it easier for people to enter the housing market, but it has also enforced some strict rules, requiring home buyers to make minimum down payments and pay off their mortgages in 25 years.





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