January 2011 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Resale house prices in Calgary expected to climb 5-7%





CALGARY - Short-term year-over-year price growth expectations for Calgary`s resale housing market is in the five to seven per cent range, according to the Conference Board of Canada.




The board`s Metro Resale Index, released Friday, said Calgary joins Victoria, Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Regina, Winnipeg, Halifax and Newfoundland in that category.




However, the price growth expectations are below the top category of seven per cent and more, which includes Edmonton, Saskatoon, Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres and Saguenay.




The conference board said Calgary`s resale housing average price in December for all residential properties was $394,949, down from $401,590 in November and from $403,148 in December 2009.




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[Ally]

Calgary's south Bow tower to move toward after delay





CALGARY ` The south tower of the downtown Bow development is back on track and a signal that Calgary`s economy is as well.




In the spring of 2009, plans for the south tower were shelved due to tough economic times.




But the Herald has learned the smaller tower is now going ahead as part of the development which includes the massive 59-storey Bow tower nearing completion.




The City of Calgary has received a development permit application from Matthews Southwest for a 12-storey building to incorporate some of the facade from the York Hotel which was demolished to make room for the overall office project.




The south Bow tower will be called 600 Centre.




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[Ally]

Private partner for LRT could save Edmonton money, report says





EDMONTON ` The city could save hundreds of millions of dollars by hiring a company to design, build and operate the west-to-southeast LRT line, according to a new report.




A public-private partnership, or P3, could put the route from Lewis Estates to Mill Woods into service by 2017, then run and maintain it for 30 years, five to 10 per cent cheaper than traditional approaches, says a city report released Thursday.




While it doesn`t calculate an overall price for this work, planners now estimate the cost of construction alone for the 27-kilometre project at $3.2 billion.




`The (company) would have clear incentives to reduce the whole-of-life cost through a combination of efficient risk management, innovation and economies of scale,` according to a December study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.




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[Ally]

Multimillion-dollar facelift set for West Edmonton Mall




EDMONTON ` When the first phase of West Edmonton Mall opened in September 1981, Bette Davis Eyes topped the charts, the Oilers hadn`t won their first cup and women wore headbands and leg warmers.




Times have changed, but the mall`s appearance hasn`t changed drastically from the 1980s and `90s, especially compared to older Edmonton malls such as Kingsway Mall and Southgate Centre, which have undergone recent redevelopments.




But starting this spring, Edmonton`s best-known tourist attraction and biggest shopping centre will undergo a multimillion-dollar facelift, West Edmonton Mall president and CEO Don Ghermezian said Thursday.




`You`re going to see a major redevelopment at West Edmonton Mall, commencing March and April of this year,` Ghermezian said.



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[Ally]

Quebec rethinking policy on shale gas







The Quebec government is taking a tougher stance on controversial shale gas development in the province.




Until now a staunch supporter of shale gas extraction ` with its potential bounty of jobs, economic development and lucrative royalties ` the government of Liberal Premier Jean Charest appears to be wavering in the wake of a report Friday of a gas leak at one of the test wells.




For months, provincial ministers have played down concerns expressed by residents and environmentalists about the extraction technology known as `fracking` ` the fracturing of layers of shale with a high-pressure blast of water and chemicals to free up the natural gas. One minister even scoffed that cows give off more greenhouse gas than shale gas wells.




Opponents say there are many documented instances of contaminated drinking water, damage to farmland and other fallout from fracking operations in the United States. They have called for a moratorium on the Quebec development.







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[Ally]

Alberta retail sales grow more than the rest of the country







CALGARY - The growth rate in retail sales in Alberta in November was the highest in the country.




Statistics Canada reported Friday that retail sales in the province hit $5.2 billion in the month, an increase of 8.8 per cent from November 2009 and up by 2.2 per cent from October.




At the national level, retail sales increased 1.3 per cent to $37.3 billion in November, the sixth consecutive monthly rise in sales and the largest increase since March 2010. They were also up 5.3 per cent from a year ago.




Jasmine Surani, owner of Little Footprints, a footwear store for children, opened her business in May in Aspen Glen Landing and overall has benefited from the resurgence of the retail sector in the city and in the province.




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[Ally]

12 Petro states that will boom when oil hits $100






Daily production: 3,289,000 barrels






GDP at $60 bbl: $1,336 billion






GDP at $100 bbl: $1,384 billion


Canada isn't truly a petro state yet, but wait for the tar sands to get up to speed. Canada has proven reserves second only to Saudi Arabia: enough to launch our neighbor into a petrol-fueled boom-bust economy.




Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Drilling activity surges on strong oil prices





CALGARY - Western Canadian drilling activity has surged as producers follow the money to oil plays in Alberta and Saskatchewan, pulling up rig numbers and challenging service companies to find enough workers.




Approximately two-thirds of available rigs in Western Canada are running this month, surpassing an expected 60 per cent forecast by industry associations.




The upward trend is expected to carry through the year on the back of sustained oil prices as Canada's energy centre continues to shift its focus to black gold from poorly priced natural gas.




"While still below the levels achieved in 2003-2006 when shallow gas drilling drove much of the activity, our forecast implies 2011 will be the third straight year of improvement," UBS analyst Chad Friess said in a report Wednesday.




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[Ally]

Alberta average weekly earnings highest among provinces





CALGARY - Average weekly earnings in Alberta continued to top all provinces in the country in November as the annual rate of growth eclipsed the national average.




Statistics Canada reported Friday that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in the province rose to $1,016.27, up 0.7 per cent from the previous month and by 5.6 per cent from November 2009.




Although Alberta has the highest wages among provinces, it is second to the Northwest Territories' average of $1,214.03.




In a research note, Dan Sumner, economist with ATB Financial in Calgary, said there is certainly an advantage to living and working in Alberta.




"Considering that annual inflation in Alberta in November was very close to zero, Albertans are clearly also experiencing strong real wage gains," he said.




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[Ally]

Total's oilsands mines gets OK with conditions





CALGARY- A joint federal-provincial panel has given the conditional approval to Total E&P to proceed with its Joslyn oilsands mine.




In a statement released late Thursday, the panel reviewing the project concluded the mine is in the public interest, but included 20 conditions Total must meet for development. It also included 17 recommendations to federal and provincial governments, as well as Alberta's energy regulator.




The panel was appointed in 2008 to review the project, slated to produce 200,000 barrels a day starting in 2017.




The project will increase the province's approved oilsands mineable area by about seven per cent, the panel noted in a statement.




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[Ally]

Energy board OKs $7B oilsands project





EDMONTON ` A joint federal and provincial review panel has approved Total E&P`s $7-billion to $9-billion Joslyn North Mine north of Fort McMurray with several conditions, an oilsands project that has been criticized by environmental groups.




In a decision released Thursday, the panel said the project will meet the Energy Resources Conservation Board`s Directive 74 tailings criteria, have no net significant adverse effect on species at risk and have no significant adverse environmental effect on water quality.




The panel also reported that objections concerning the project from the Fort McKay First Nation, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have all been dealt with after Total entered into agreements with those groups.








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[Ally]

Bitumen upgrading follows NOVA's lead: North West president





EDMONTON ` The Alberta government will be the province`s biggest bitumen producer within two decades as it collects increasing amounts of royalties from oilsands firms, and has started to act like an owner by planning to use that resource to earn the best return, said the president of North West Upgrading.




Ian MacGregor told Alberta`s Industrial Heartland Association`s annual meeting Thursday that the new BRIK (bitumen royalty in kind) program presents the same generational opportunities as the natural gas boom in the 1970s.




`Look at the ethane plants from the Lougheed era (such as the huge NOVA facility in Joffre). They are here because someone didn`t want all the ethane leaving the province, and the same forces are at work today with the oilsands ` the same opportunities for our kids and grandkids,` he said.




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[Ally]

New bridge across river should link city to future





Should Edmontonians again be frugal and build another plain, functional bridge as the main bridge into our downtown? Or should we invest in a beautiful, elegant bridge? These questions are upon us. The city's transportation general manager, Bob Boutilier, has made it clear that the 99-year-old Walterdale Bridge is going to soon crumble and a replacement bridge is a priority.




City council has asked Boutilier and his staff to come up with various options for a new bridge. They range from a bland girder bridge to a glorious but more expensive arch bridge. As the blunt Boutilier framed the choices: "You get the functional Ikea bridge or you get the iconic bridge."




The drawings of the bridges were displayed at an open house in Rossdale in November. People were most positive about the more expensive option, the arch bridge. Nonetheless, it would be a bold decision to choose an iconic bridge. The price range for a signature bridge is anywhere from $100 million to $250 million.








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