AB Economic Fundamentals 2009-01

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What`s Behind the Curtain?
Alberta
2009-01
Daily Online Edition

AB Economic Fundamentals 2009-01

The following codes will be at the top of each post using an eight sequence alphanumeric description of the month, year and area:

MMYYAREA

Examples-->

0109ALTA = Jan 2009 Alberta
0109ARDE = Jan 2009 Airdrie
0109ALBT = Jan 2009 St. Albert
0109CALG = Jan 2009 Calgary
0109CHRN = Jan 2009 Cochrane
0109EDTN = Jan 2009 Edmonton
0109FTMC = Jan 2009 Fort McMurray
0109FTSK = Jan 2009 le="color:#483d8b">Fort Saskatchewan
0109HRVR = Jan 2009 High River
0109GRPR = Jan 2009 Grande Prairie
0109KTKS = Jan 2009 Okotoks
0109LETH = Jan 2009 Lethbridge
0109MDHT = Jan 2009 Medicine Hat
0109PEAC = Jan 2009 Peace River
0109REDR = Jan 2009 Red Deer and surrounding areas
onto:Times New Roman-->0109SHPK = Jan 2009 Sherwood Park
0109STPL = Jan 2009 Stony Plain/Spruce Grove

If you wish to view only one geographic area`s posts, you can use the advanced search mode and type in the 8 sequence code for your area as described above and select the "Result Type" > "Show results as posts".

I have also color coded each area along with the caption to make it easier for you to simply scroll through the posts and locate the ones you are interested in.

 

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0109ALTA
Tax savings in 2009 will mostly come in Alberta

OTTAWA — Unlike recent years, there was no gift box of tax savings from Ottawa under the Christmas tree this year.

But thanks to provincial changes, some Canadians — especially Albertans — will be able to realize significant savings in 2009 starting New Year`s Day.

Alberta is eliminating the health care premium, saving individuals $528 and families $1,056 on average this year, as well as introducing other tax savings.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/money/2008/12/31/7890056.html

 

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0109CALG
City taking pulse of weakening economy

Economic uncertainty will keep the city on the edge of its seat this year, watching for both pitfalls and opportunity in a volatile marketplace.

"Two thousand and nine, no doubt, will be dominated by the economy,"Mayor Dave Bronconnier said.

The quickly changing markets have led the mayor`s office to double its economic updates to two a week and the city`s finance committee will begin receiving a monthly roundup of indicators, including bankruptcies, unemployment rates, the consumer price index and gas and oil prices.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/todays-p...2879/story.html

 

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0109CALG
Industrial real estate market dips

Calgary`s industrial real estate market experienced a significant softening in demand in 2008, but at the same time prices for land jumped, according to a report by Inducor Real Estate Solutions Inc.

The Calgary company said 414 acres of industrial land sold in 2008 with an average selling price of $612,348 per acre, compared with 330 acres selling in 2007 for an average of $322,431 per acre.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Homes/Industr...2892/story.html

 

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0109REDR (Lacombe)
Stalled affordable housing complex restarted

Lacombe Foundation will start the new year off on the right foot after work recently restarted on a stalled 28-unit affordable housing complex in the town.

A dispute involving contractors shut down the project in September. The disagreement eventually wound up in Red Deer Court of Queen`s Bench in early December where the justice dismissed $1.5 million in building liens against the foundation.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv..._restarted.html

 

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0109REDR
Building permits drop sharply

What a difference a year makes.

Last January, the City of Red Deer announced that more than $421 million worth of construction had been approved during the preceding year — a nearly 50 per cent improvement over the record $282.2 million in work authorized in 2006.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...op_sharply.html

 

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0109ALTA
Oil boom no windfall for 50,000 freeholders

When her father died a couple of decades ago, Gloria Delisle and her sister purchased the mineral rights from his estate in the hope the rights might be worth something one day.

For years they received a few hundred dollars annually as compensation for a "shut-in" or non-operating natural gas well on the mineral play they owned six kilometres east of Alix.

Then one day a stranger called to say an energy company was drilling wells all around their play and siphoning off their natural gas.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/todays...7538/story.html

 

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0109ALTA
Ed feels the pinch

What a difference a year makes.

Last January, Alberta Tory forecasters saw nothing but dollar signs when they looked into their crystal balls.

Some far-fetched reports claimed the province would see $160 billion worth of construction in the oilsands and elsewhere, and energy prices would only climb higher.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/20...907506-sun.html

 

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0109CALG
Tax a lot for nothing!

About two-thirds of city homeowners will see a small decrease in their residential tax assessments in 2009, the city announced yesterday. But while 68% of homeowners -- who reside mostly in the city`s outer suburban neighbourhoods -- will see their market-determined taxes retreat less than 10%, city assessor Stuart Dalgleish admitted if council approves a 5.3% tax hike for 2009, Calgarians will still be hit in the pocketbook.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2009/0...908441-sun.html

 

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0109CALG
City home values falling

For the first time in years, the typical home in Calgary is worth less than the year before -- a four per cent decrease, according to city assessors--as the housing market began to cool.

However, tax bills won`t directly reflect those declining values, thanks to the 5.3 per cent increase in the mill rate approved by council in November.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Homes/City+ho...7863/story.html

 

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0109CALG
Real estate markets turning colder

December was a brutal month for weather in Calgary, but the chill was particularly felt in the local residential real estate market.

Preliminary, uno cial MLS data shows single-family home sales plunged by 46.9 per cent compared with December 2007 while condo sales fell by 47.8 per cent, according to the website of Mike Fotiou of First Place Realty.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/todays-p...7922/story.html

 

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0109CALG
Areas to watch in 2009

It`s my first column of the New Year, but I don`t want to spend a lot of space reminiscing about the good and the bad and a little of the ugly of 2008.I much prefer to look ahead to what we can expect in the months ahead.

Not that too many realtors I have talked to had a bad past year considering the ups and downs of the market. Most professionals say they did quite well.I would suggest that those who did not renew their licence were not in for the long haul anyway. In the past it was fairly easy to earn the right to sell real estate, but most are happy that stricter rules mean a better quality of Calgary Real Estate Board representatives are in the business of buying and selling homes.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Homes/Areas+w...7948/story.html

 

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0109CALG
Builders look at fresh start in New Year

So it begins -- the healing process.

For the past 18 months or so, builders have been hurting.

Demand has slackened off, forcing many companies to lay off staff, reconfigure their bottom lines, renegotiate contracts with tradespeople and suppliers -- and to relearn some aspects of running a business during not-so-pleasant times.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Business/Buil...6556/story.html

 

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0109CALG
Cutting the carbon

Today, Kermit would be proud. It may not be easy to be green, but it`s definitely trendy.

Energy efficiency, green building practices, eco-friendly materials and practices, environmental stewardship, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and more -- all buzzwords about making the planet a better place, which people are embracing as new neighbourhoods, homes and products in housing construction and renovation are introduced into today`s building techniques.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/todays-p...6553/story.html

 

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0109ALTA
Power projects put on ice, shortages feared

The downturn in Alberta`s economy is being blamed for the deferral of eight power projects that were being counted on to meet the province`s surging electrical demand.

The Alberta Electric System Operator says the plants would have generated more than 1,500 megawatts. It remains confident the province has a sufficient reserve supply to meet its needs for the foreseeable future.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/todays...9962/story.html

 

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0109ARDE
Mayor reflects on busy 2008, potential for economic change

The first six months of 2008 couldn`t have been much different from the last half of the year. But 2009 could be much different than any year the City of Airdrie has seen this decade.

When the ball dropped on Jan. 1, the economy was still stable, work could be found in abundance and the outlook was rosy. Fast forward to the end of the summer and all that started to change. Now, the country is in a recession and although Alberta is in a better position than most areas of the continent, there are still many questions that have leaders worried.

http://www.airdrieecho.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1369393

 

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0109FTMC
MLA sees infrastructure catching up

The next year will be one of some belt tightening but will also provide an opportunity to possibly catch-up on infrastructure that fell behind with the full steam ahead oilsands development, say Fort McMurray`s elected representatives.

Both MLA Guy Boutilier and MP Brian Jean are predicting some relief in 2009.

Boutilier says he is now seeing the results of his efforts from two years ago — namely the $150-million five-lane bridge and the two interchanges that he called "critical" for moving traffic.

http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1367732

 

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0109MDHT
City not following bylaw

If you`ve been shoveling snow from the sidewalk by your house in order to comply with the bylaw and clear it within 24 hours, it doesn`t sit well when you notice sidewalks that are the City`s responsibility covered in snow for days.
A look at the sidewalks on Carry Drive and Scholten Hill, to name just two, reveals the City has not cleared the sidewalks for a long time. Is the City expected to abide by the bylaw?
"Of course the bylaw applies to the City," said Police Chief Andy McGrogan.

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/62016/27/

 

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0109LETH
`This isn`t the time to slam on the brakes,` says Tarleck

Heading into a new year amid greater economic uncertainty than the world has seen in 80 years, the City of Lethbridge will avoid kneejerk cuts to spending which Mayor Bob Tarleck says could do more harm than good for the local economy.
"We`d be foolish to think that world situation isn`t going to have some impact on us. So I think we need to be careful about overreacting and throttling opportunities for reinvestment in the community. There are a couple of reasons for that. One is purely economic, but the other is psychological: you send out a message that you don`t have faith in the future," he said in a year-end interview with The Herald.

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/19976/26/

 

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0109KTKS
Prime downtown lot to be sold

The Town of Okotoks is selling a valuable piece of downtown land.
The site of the former fire hall/ambulance bays on McRae Street is on the market and the Town expects anything built on the site will comply with the downtown`s historical streetscape and will use eco-friendly construction.
"We`re recognizing the historic nature of the area though architectural details and, obviously, using very modern materials," said Dawn Heffernan, municipal sustainability co-ordinator.

http://www.westernwheel.com/news-lot.htm