Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

February 2015 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
News articles for February 2015.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
A pause, but not panic, in
Fort McMurray as oil prices languish below US$50. Vacancies Jump


FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - The city at the heart of Canada's oilsands is no ghost town, but things have slowed down a bit in Fort McMurray, Alta.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing, according to the president of the local chamber of commerce.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Shh don't tell politicians
but Pipeline Expansion Through Wisconsin Would Be Larger Than Keystone


A Canadian energy distributor hopes to dramatically expand a pipeline carrying crude oil across the state of Wisconsin — increasing its capacity beyond that of the far more publicized Keystone pipeline.

But concerns over the company's safety record and the consequences of a potential spill have stalled the project in Madison.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Naheed Nenshi, mayor of Calgary, awarded the 2014 World Mayor prize

Naheed Nenshi, the Mayor of Calgary, Canada, has been awarded the 2014 World Mayor Prize. First runner-up Daniël Termont, Mayor of Ghent, Belgium, will be conferred the World Mayor Commendation for Services to European Cities. Second runner-up Mayor Tri Rismaharini will receive the World Mayor Commendation for services to the City of Surabaya, Indonesia.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary housing market at the tipping point

What’s Next For Calgary’s Housing Market?”

Seems like a simple question, and one that everyone seems to be ‘forecasting.’ (in this case with a key missing variable, they are actually more ‘guessing than forecasting). So let’s combine a look at some proven research, some previous Real Estate Cycle results and the latest January 2015 statistics to take a quick look at where it sits.

Tipping Point or Balanced?

Here we sit, now strongly past the magic “6-Month” mark of the start of oil’s decline. The traditional time that the market begins to reflect a combination of trepidation and F.O.M.O. We can see it reflected in the January statistics released by the Calgary Real Estate Board.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Oil price bounce likely
short-lived, don't get too excited


EDMONTON - Break out the bubbly! Oil prices briefly topped the $50 US a barrel mark Monday before settling at $49.35, up more than a buck on the day.

OK, I’m kidding. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the key U.S. grade of light crude, is still mired 54 per cent below its June peak of $107. So maybe it’s a bit early to celebrate.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
In Fort McMurray, contractors bearing the brunt of oilsands cutbacks

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - Roman Skowroniski would go back home to British Columbia if he thought the job prospects there were any brighter.

But, for the time being, the heavy equipment operator will keep trying to make a go of it in Fort Mac.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
OPEC sees oil prices exploding to $200 a barrel

Right now the oil market is totally focused on finding a bottom for oil prices. However, according to OPEC's Secretary-General Abdulla al-Badri we've already hit bottom. Not only that, but he sees a real possibility that oil prices could explode higher to upwards of $200 per barrel in the future. He's far from the only one that sees a return of triple-digit oil prices.

Finding a bottom

According to the Secretary-General, speaking in London on Jan. 26, the oil market doesn't need to look for oil prices to bottom as the market has already bottomed. Instead, he offered quite bullish comments by saying, "Now the prices are around $45-$55, and I think maybe they [have] reached the bottom and we [will] see some rebound very soon." Now, normally that type of remark would be just another layer of noise, but this is coming from OPEC's Secretary-General so it comes with a lot of weight behind it.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Alberta's forestry sector
remains strong


As the price of oil continues to decline, so too are the hopes for a strong 2015 economy.

Paul Whittaker, president and CEO of the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) said while the oil and gas sector is a strong contributor to the provincial and national economy, the forestry sector can not be discounted.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Imperial Oil Ltd pushes forward with multibillion-dollar oilsands projects despite 36% profit plunge

CALGARY — Exxon Mobil Corp., which has a large Canadian presence through majority-owned Imperial Oil Ltd., is on the lookout for acquisitions and is moving forward with Canadian expansions even as low oil prices weakened its earnings.

Exxon’s net income fell to US$6.57 billion, from US$8.35 billion a year earlier, the Irving, Texas- based company said Monday. The results, however, beat analyst estimates.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary home prices to drop 15% as oil slump weighs, says leading economist

A rise in new listings combined with a plunge in sales in January suggest that house prices in Calgary will fall by close to 15%, according to a leading Canadian economist.

“Lower mortgage rates won’t prevent home sales and prices falling sharply in regions directly hit by the slump in oil prices,” said David Madani, with Capital Economics, in a research note published on Wednesday. “While they might support housing activity in other key markets, we fear that this will only fuel greater overvaluation, higher household debt and more overbuilding.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary housing market slows way down

Calgary’s housing market slowed way down in January.

Just 879 homes sold last month, a drop of nearly 40 per cent from January 2014, according to a report by the Calgary Real Estate Board. It was the slowest January in more than seven years, which is not a surprise given the huge drop in oil prices since June.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Calgary's real estate market sinks, but Toronto's big spenders out in force

While real estate market observers are waiting to see if the wobbles in Calgary’s real estate market rattle consumers in other Canadian cities, buyers in Toronto’s high-priced Rosedale enclave seem anything but nervous.

“It’s been quite a week in the neighbourhood,” says real estate agent Linda Drope, who sold the three-storey mansion at 90 Roxborough St. E.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Harper government puts all eggs in one Alberta oil basket

All eggs in one basket, that’s the Harper government policy leading Canada into a resource-based ‘energy super power’ economy for the last nine years led by PM Harper, a self confessed economist. Canadians as a population are regularly advised by financial gurus to diversify … not to put all our eggs in one basket on high yield risky investments but spread our investments over low to high risk.

Over the years, until recently, Harper’s obsession with oil has been a safe bet for the oil producing provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and has brought some wealth to the country as a whole due to the swelling federal coffers and confidence in the dollar.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Looking at Alberta's revenue options

1. Implementing a provincial sales tax would increase revenues by about $1 billion for each percentage point at the cash register. For example, a three-per-cent PST would raises $3 billion, but Premier Jim Prentice has all but ruled this option out.

2. Bring back health premiums, which were eliminated by then premier Ed Stelmach in 2009, at the old rates – about $1,056 a year for families — would raise about $1 billion in revenues.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Drop forecast for Alberta auto sales

The sharp up-front retrenchment in Alberta’s oil patch will drag down vehicle sales to 263,000 units this year, down from a peak of 269,000 in 2014, says the Scotiabank Global Auto Report released on Friday.

But the report said even with the downturn in oil and gas investment, Alberta’s labour market will continue to grow in line with the national average, as the resource sector only accounts for three per cent of all jobs in Alberta.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Suncor sees construction
costs coming down in the oilsands as activity slows


CALGARY - Costs are coming down and high-quality workers are easier to come by in Alberta's oilsands as actvity slows in response to lower world oil prices, the CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. said Thursday.

The Calgary-based oilsands producer is pressing ahead with its $13.5-billion Fort Hills oilsands mine, in partnership with the Canadian arm of France's Total and Vancouver miner Teck Resources.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
More good news: Suncor
Pushes Ahead with $1.3 billion Fort Hills Project


Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest oil company, will push ahead with its planned Fort Hills oil sands project even as the price of oil hovers around $50 a barrel.

Suncor will spend C$1.6 billion ($1.3 billion) this year as it advances construction of the project, the Calgary-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The operation will begin producing oil at the end of 2017, the company added.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Dramatic demand swing away
from Calgary’s luxury real estate will definitely skew "Average Sale
Price" numbers


The calls started coming into Thomas Keeper’s Calgary real estate office a week before Christmas. Oil executives, watching their company stocks plummet in the wake of plunging crude prices, were looking to sell their multimillion-dollar homes ahead of the new year, hoping to cash in before the panic reached the city’s housing market.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Oil prices: Looking at history it may have been
more obvious that oil would drop


The Los Angeles Times headline reads, “Oil Glut, Price Collapse Spreads Across World Economies: As producers squirm, other nations rejoice”. That headline describes the current situation perfectly, but it appeared on March 2, 1986; almost three decades ago.

In a story published days later, Los Angeles Times reporter Don Cook stated “The critical issue . . . is the outright state of economic warfare declared by the Saudis”. Events leading up to these stories were remarkably similar to those of today.

Read the full article here.
 
Top Bottom