Alberta Economic Fundamentals

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The hottest housing market in North America, driven by oil

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A boom of unprecedented dimensions is sweeping Canada`s spectacularly scenic western province of Alberta, the Texas-sized territory with a population of 3 million that is home to a pair of world-class cities -- Calgary (population 1.2 million) and Edmonton (population 1.1 million).

Most important today, though, is that Alberta is the source of the world`s largest trove of tar sands, the sticky substance locked in rock that North American Indians have used for centuries to caulk their canoes but that also can be mined and processed into oil.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/hott...&dist=msr_1


David.

 

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Rags-to-riches self-help book may need footnote on fraud

CALGARY - The author of a book touted as the definitive Canadian guide to achieving financial freedom is facing multiple charges relating to mortgage fraud and identity theft.

Douglas U. Idugboe last year released Credit Miracle for Canadians, a book that tells the rags-to-riches story of a Nigerian refugee who arrived here with $5 and, in the decade since, amassed a fortune in real estate. The book explains how to get out of debt, build or repair your credit rating and devotes an entire chapter on identity theft.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...a6-5e3c5ef9c8e3

 

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Budget to tackle infrastructure deficit

EDMONTON - Premier Ed Stelmach`s Conservative government will deliver another budget with record spending today, an attempt to get ahead of the infrastructure demands of a rapidly growing province.

Last year`s budget, Stelmach`s first as premier, included $33.1 billion in spending, up more than 12 per cent from the previous year.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...7e-209567916626

 

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Royalty rules looking out of synch already

EDMONTON - The Stelmach government`s new resource royalty plan is at risk of becoming outdated eight months before it`s even set to take effect, as record oil prices are threatening to surpass the province`s $120 rate caps.

Energy economists and members of the government`s expert royalty panel said Alberta will quickly fall behind the rest of the world in collecting economic rent if it doesn`t adjust its price caps, and insisted a system is needed "that reflects reality."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...af-f91a24aa564a

 

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Strong global demand expected to fuel rise in oil prices

EDMONTON - The explosion in crude oil prices -- which topped $117 US a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a new high -- reflects much more than the dynamics of supply and demand.

As Journal energy writer Gordon Jaremko recently reported, speculators, hedge funds and other "non-commercial" buyers have fuelled a 350-per-cent jump in oil futures trading activity on NYMEX since 2002.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...73-23a0dba5d271

 

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Alberta outpaces mortgage market

`CALGARY - Canada`s mortgage market set another record year for growth in 2007, with total outstanding residential mortgage debt soaring by a staggering $94 billion from the previous year, according to a housing report by AltusClayton.

The report said that in percentage terms the growth rate is not as high as the peaks in the late 1980s, "but market-wide growth of 13 per cent a year in an `established industry` (and low inflation environment) is still very impressive."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...ab-6ad293bbe0f4

 

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Water rights battle hits court

The first legal challenge of the province`s southern water limits will surface in a Calgary courtroom today as a new report warns Alberta`s scarcity is a wake-up call to the rest of Canada.

Two aboriginal communities, Tsuu T`ina Nation southwest of the city and Samson Cree Nation in Hobbema north of Red Deer, are asking the Court of Queen`s Bench to overturn the Alberta government`s August 2006 decision to close nearly every river, lake and stream in southern Alberta. They contend the overall plan doesn`t effectively protect the environment.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...83-89f35364a1c3

 

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Starbucks finds unlikely allies in Inglewood

In one corner is a community known for its deep historical roots and independently owned, quirky businesses -- and an almost militant passion for keeping it that way.

In the other, a company thought by some to represent the worst of corporate imperialism.

So can it really be that, instead of sparring off with the world`s biggest purveyor of half-caf lattes, the good folks of Inglewood are welcoming a Starbucks with open arms?

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...4b-8666bf888c34

 

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New science centre design unveiled

The Telus World of Science unveiled the distinctive design for its new building Monday, with construction scheduled to begin this fall.

"We`ve made the building a big science exhibit," Bill Peters, the chief project officer, said.

"Buildings tend to be designed not to change. "This building is designed to change in a number of ways as Calgary changes."

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...6d-a0bff700c25b

 

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Surging oil lifts Husky`s profit to $887M

Husky Energy Inc. kicked off the first quarter earnings season in the oilpatch Monday and showed oil`s unflinching, meteoric price rise is stuffing pockets with heady profits.

The country`s third largest integrated oil company reported first quarter net earnings of $887 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, up 36 per cent from a year ago when Husky`s earnings were $650 million, or 77 cents per diluted share.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e6-d6ae9477217e

 

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One-time charges weigh on TransAlta`s earnings

One-time charges dragged down TransAlta Corp.`s first-quarter profits, but the company said it posted higher year-over-year results after excluding special items.

Net earnings fell 41 per cent to $33 million or 17 cents a share compared with $56 million or 28 cents in 2007. Excluding a $65-million writedown related to the sale of a pair of power plants in Mexico, profits climbed to $99 million or 50 cents a share, beating analyst estimates by five to seven cents.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...f6-faa296673182

 

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Resource development getting harder: NEB boss

With skyrocketing commodity prices, the rise of unconventional energy sources and an increasingly engaged public and landowners, North American utility and resource development regulation is becoming increasingly difficult, top officials said Monday.

"It`s getting harder and harder," National Energy Board chair and chief executive Gaetan Caron told the Herald at the annual conference of Canadian utility regulators held in Banff, organized by the Canadian Association of Members of Public Utility Tribunals.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...a3-5f4c036872ce

 

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Premier sidesteps oilsands moratorium

The Alberta government has postponed making any decision on an appeal to preserve 11,400 square kilometres of forest in the Fort McMurray oilsands region.

In a letter dated March 7, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development promised only to review a recommendation to prevent sales of new bitumen production leases in three proposed green areas.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...64-a1063921ddcd

 

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Price of farmland steadily rising

The value of farmland in Alberta saw its biggest average increase in a decade during the last half of 2007.

Strong demand pushed land values up an average of 10.3 per cent in the latter half of last year Farm Credit Canada (FCC) said last week.

"There are a lot of industries interested in Alberta`s land," said Ken Gurney, an appraiser with FCC. "Everything from the oil and gas industry to grain or those involved in urban growth, that`s going to cause your numbers to go up."

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

 

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Regional water plan should get quick approval

Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling expects the provincial government will financially support a $285- to $300-million regional wastewater treatment project proposed for the Red Deer corridor.

Flewwelling believes the government is anxious to promote the idea of regional services. He also believes the creation of a central wastewater treatment plant fits with the province`s Water for Life conservation strategy.

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

 

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Health-care premiums gone as of Jan. 1

EDMONTON - Alberta Finance Minister Iris Evans announced Tuesday the government will end health-care premiums next Jan. 1, saving Albertans $1 billion a year.

An additional $300 million will be cut in taxes.

Evans says Alberta`s torrid economy, fuelled by record high oil prices, enables the province to eliminate the 40-year-old premiums now rather than phase them out over four years as planned earlier.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...5f-62fc65658cbf

 

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Province hits `new low` in lowballing projected oil prices

EDMONTON - Call it another gloom-to-boom budget prediction, or the annual round of Alberta`s Happy Mistake.

If the oil price does not plunge $40 US per barrel this year to $78 -- as the province`s fiscal blueprint forecast Tuesday -- the province will enjoy a surplus bonanza that will likely include money for new schools or other construction projects, highway repairs and top-ups to the Heritage Savings Trust Fund.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...04-9f594e9fb2a2

 

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Consumer rebates part of green initiative

EDMONTON - The province has begun drafting plans to regulate energy use in homes and businesses in an effort to drive down power consumption.

Environment Minister Rob Renner said the development of energy efficiency legislation is in its infancy, but he expects several options will be considered, including possibly changing the building code to mandate so-called green construction -- such as high-efficiency furnaces -- or requiring municipalities to make conservation the centrepiece of planning.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...6e-73102acde0b1

 

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Trucking firms need more drivers

EDMONTON - Oh, to be back in 1977 when Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed were glamourizing the truck-driving life in Smokey and The Bandit. ("I take my hat off for one thing, and one thing only")

Bruno Muller is only half-joking when he says another trucking movie might help bring more drivers to an industry struggling to compete with oil and gas, and high-tech sectors.

"We`re at a critical stage. Almost every company in Alberta has between seven and 12 per cent empty seats, and that could affect consumers at some point. Trains can`t bring goods to your door."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...66-9089a1a3ebbd

 

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Winalta builds on housing squeeze

EDMONTON - Land developer and modular homebuilder Winalta Inc. is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the demand for low-cost housing in Alberta and Saskatchewan, CEO Artie Kos said Tuesday.

The Spruce Grove company, which Kos acquired in 2006, has land in key development areas -- especially the industrial heartland north of Edmonton -- and a manufacturing plant that`s more efficient and producing better product, he told the annual meeting.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...38-19581068dde0