March 2012 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Calgary's economy back on track for another uptick




Western Canada's most vibrant economy is back on a roll. A strong comeback in retail sales, greatly reduced office vacancy rates and the return of jobs, jobs, jobs, have convinced the staff and board of Calgary Economic Developmenthttp://http://www.calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com/ that one of the shortest, nastiest slumps in city history has drawn to a close.




Based on a series of upbeat economic indicators, there are plenty of reasons to feel bullish about the future, and reason for the robust economic forecasts included in the recent provincial budget.






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[Ally]

New chapter being written in Edmonton tale of two downtowns




EDMONTON - Even top city planner Walter Trocenko sounds a bit nervous when he talks about The Quarters.




`We`re so close and yet so far,` says the man charged with sparking new life in Edmonton`s forgotten east downtown. `Until we actually see that soil being turned, that`s when we`ll take that deep sigh of relief and say, `Mission accomplished. We got one off the ground. Only a couple dozen more to go.`




`If we`re successful in getting these projects off the ground, there will be sufficient momentum to carry on after.`





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[Ally]

Work on renaissance of downtown Edmonton's gritty begins




EDMONTON - Edmonton has two downtowns ` rich and poor, west and east of 97th Street.




The west side sprouted glass office towers; the east flattened into parking lots, gravel and potholes, empty lots and rooming houses, with a crime rate five times the city average.




That`s the reality on the ground, which makes the glossy renderings for the $80-million, 27-storey upscale condo project planned for Jasper Avenue and 95th Street seem incongruous.





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[Ally]

Fear of fracking: How public concerns put an energy renaissance at risk




Chad Winters keeps his hand on his radio, politely giving orders to co-workers toiling at an oil property in a stretch of Alberta farmland.




`One tonne of 40/70,` Mr. Winters requests over the radio. `Three thirty-three, then hold till I tell you otherwise.`





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[Ally]

Rising gas prices leave Obama vulnerable on Keystone




For Barack Obama, the decision to stall construction of the Keystone XL pipeline is shaping up to have been one of those it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time mistakes.




In November, when the Obama administration moved to postpone approval of Keystone until 2013, the American voters who knew and cared most about the pipeline were against it.





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[Ally]

IEA sees 'bumpy ride' ahead for oil market






Oil (CL-FT106.07-0.64-0.60%) supply from non-OPEC countries will grow less than expected in the first quarter this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, leaving its global oil demand growth forecast unchanged.




The agency, which advises industrialized nations on energy policy, said non-OPEC oil production will rise by just 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter, down from 490,000 bpd in previous forecasts as unplanned shut-ins topped 750,000 bpd.





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[Ally]

Alberta producers losing $18 billion a year to crude discount



CALGARY - Oil producers in Alberta are giving up $18 billion a year by selling barrels of Canadian oil priced substantially lower than international crudes and the losses are poised to continue into 2014, CIBC World Markets said Monday.




The warning comes as analysts say strong volumes out of the Bakkenhttp://http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/regions/miscellaneous/Bakken Formation/topic2.html oil play in North Dakota and rising oilsandshttp://http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/topics/miscellaneous/oilsands/topic2.html production in Alberta are competing for access to U.S. refiners and markets.




The resulting congestion on existing pipelines has put Alberta crude at a disadvantage, with $30-per-barrel discounts to benchmark West Texas Intermediate expected to be more the norm than the exception.






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[Ally]

Oil shut-ins slow supply growth support price: IEA




Incremental oil supply from non-OPEC countries that is running short of expectations and a high level of supply outages are supporting oil prices despite slack global fuel demand growth, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.




Oil supply from non-OPEC will rise only 300,000 barrels a day in the first quarter, 190,000 bpd less than previously forecast, the IEA said in a monthly report.




The agency, which advises industrialised nations on energy policy, said unplanned shut-ins now were topping 750,000 bpd. It downgraded its full year non-OPEC production growth forecast to 730,000 bpd from 900,000 bpd.





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[Ally]

Imperial gets last of Kearl on road




After months of delays, route changes and extra work to disassemble huge oilsands modules sent from South Korea, the last loads are on the road to Imperial's $10.9-bil-lion Kearl project.




The final shipment of 33 modules left the Port of Lewiston, Idaho, last week on the way to Edmonton, where they will be reassembled and sent to Fort McMurray.




Meanwhile, about half of the 205 imported modules remain at the Port of Pasco, midway between Lewiston and the Port of Vancouver, Wash. The Korean units represent about 20 per cent of the modules needed for the vast Kearl project. Almost all the remainder were constructed in Edmonton-area yards, primarily in Nisku.





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[Ally]

Edmonton's hiring pace stays upbeat for spring




More than one quarter of Edmonton-area employers plan to hire for the second quarter of 2012, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The survey, released Tuesday by the employment services firm, said 28 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (April to June), while 11 per cent anticipated cutbacks.




Another 59 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels while two per cent are un-sure of their hiring intentions.




Edmonton's second-quarter net employment outlook of 17 per cent is a decrease from 32 per cent reported for the previous quarter.





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[Ally]

Europe ends beef trade war with U.S., Canada




STRASBOURG ` Europe ended Wednesday a two-decade beef trade war with the United States and Canada by increasing imports of high-quality meat while keeping a ban on hormone-treated beef.







The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a deal to resolve the dispute, which erupted in 1988 when Europe banned imports of beef products from animals that are given growth hormones.







In retaliation, the United States and Canada, with the backing of the World Trade Organization, limited imports of certain EU products ranging from chocolate to cheese and mustard in 1999.





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[Ally]

Alberta economy indicators at a glance





In 2010, Alberta`s real GDP advanced 3.3% up from a 4.5% decrease recorded in 2009. Nationally, real GDP expanded 3.2% in 2010, following a 2.8% decline of 2009.





Read the full report here.

 

[Ally]

Calgary homeowners face possibility of 6.5% tax hike





CALGARY ` Calgary homeowners are in line to pay 6.5 per cent more in property taxes than last year, thanks to a provincial tax request that`s even higher than the 6.0 per cent hike city council has approved.




The mayor and aldermen could find a way to keep this year`s overall tax bill increase at only 6.0 per cent in a way that doesn`t cut spending or drain reserves ` but that will likely be part of a complex debate at Monday`s council meeting.




The Conservative government`s first budget under Premier Alison Redford calculates the growth in its education property tax in a far more aggressive way than most past budgets.






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[Ally]

Calgary MLS growth better than average





CALGARY ` Year-over-year MLS sales growth in Calgary exceeded the Canadian average last month, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Thursday.




The organization said MLS sales of 2,113 units in Calgary was up 10 per cent from a year earlier, while Alberta sales of 4,476 units grew 13.5 per cent from 2011. Sales nationally rose by 8.6 per cent, compared with February 2011, and by 1.4 per cent over January.




"The resale market in Calgary continues to gain some momentum as we approach the spring and summer seasons," said Richard Cho, of Calgary for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.






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[Ally]

Calgary home prices up 2.7% from a year ago





A new measuring stick for Canadian real estate finds that while year-over-year values of Calgary homes grew in January, pricing is trending downward.




The new MLS home price index - introduced by the Canadian Real Estate Association and Canada's largest real estate boards, including Calgary, showed prices here up 2.7 per cent last month.




However, short-term numbers are less positive locally, according to CREA, as Calgary's index is down 0.12 per cent from a month earlier and 0.83 per cent from six months ago.





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[Ally]

What you can get for $268,000 in Calgary's inner city






The Calgary Real Estate Board released data MLS data for January that showed average condo prices dropping by 6.86 per cent to $268,526. Take a look at what you can get in the inner city for around that price.





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[Ally]

Western barrels moving by rail to skirt steep price discounts





Producers shunning sales of Canadian oil on the cheap in the U.S. Mid-west have found more lucrative markets by rail.




A growing number of western Canadian barrels are moving in rail cars, to skirt steep price discounts to U.S. and international crudes that smacked Canadian producers last month.




CIBC World Markets said this week that yawning heavy and light differentials are costing Western Canadian producers $18 billion a year in lost revenue - or $50 million a day - and predicted the situation will last into 2014 as fast-growing production out-paces new pipeline builds into Canada's primary crude ex-port market, the Midwest.






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[Ally]

Alberta's oil sands







` Every dollar invested in the oil sands creates about $8 worth of economic activity; with one-third of that economic value generated outside Alberta ` in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.













` In 2009, oil sands accounted for one-fifth of total investment in the province and about 60% of investment in Alberta`s major capital projects.





` The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) estimates capital investment at $218 billion over the next 25 years.







Read the full report here.

 

[Ally]

Teamwork, transparency key to oilsands respect, stakeholders say







Transparency, collaboration and innovation represent the best options for Canada`s oilsands sector to gain the public`s confidence, speakers at the Globe 2012 conference said Thursday.




The 12 largest developers of the sprawling Alberta fossil fuel resource, stinging from international controversy over adverse environmental impacts of their operations, recently formed a group called Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance in a bid to court public opinion.




Water contamination, large scale greenhouse gas emissions and aggressive opposition to proposed pipelines to carry oilsands crude to the southern United States and across British Columbia for tanker delivery to Pacific U.S. states and Asia have so far outweighed appreciation potential of the resource to give a relative boost to Canada`s economy and provide enhanced energy security for North America.






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[Ally]

Proposed 6.5% Calgary property tax hike stirs up hornet's nest





CALGARY ` The unusually high provincial-municipal property tax hike that council will debate Monday has stirred up an unusually intense maelstrom of controversy ` kicking up fury in the business sector, stoking pre-election fodder in the legislature, and leaving aldermen divided on how to resolve this tangled situation.




It took council nearly two weeks of intense debate last fall to settle the 2012 municipal property tax hike at 6.0 per cent. The Redford government`s budget decision delivers a 7.2 per cent hike on the provincial side of property tax, creating a blended rate of 6.5 per cent for homeowners.






Read the ful article here.