BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-11

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1108VICT
Real estate opportunities `are still available`

Today`s real-estate market is stagnant, but there opportunities exist for developers willing to adapt, a Vancouver researcher and consultant told Victoria-area developers yesterday.

"One of the greatest reasons why it`s stagnant is because buyers are not able to make decisions right now," Jennifer Podmore Russell, founder of MPC Intelligence Inc., told an audience of about 110 at an Urban Development Institute event.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...8e-3fb8b672a37a

 

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1108BCBC
No recession on horizon, say premier and finance minister

B.C.`s economy shows no signs of heading into a recession despite dire financial news in other jurisdictions, Finance Minister Colin Hansen said yesterday.

On a day when the Toronto Stock Exchange plunged and the Canadian dollar fell again, Hansen insisted that B.C.`s economy is doing "remarkably well" compared to almost every other place in North America.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...91-a0891990e6f6

 

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1108VANC
Tax hike can be avoided, Cadman will urge council

Vancouver City Coun. David Cadman will ask council next week to order a staff report on capital projects or operating costs that could be cut to ease the tax burden.

That way, he says, projects could be cancelled before they`re started and council`s work on budget considerations, normally left until spring, would be easier.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...ee-2c5058c56f23

 

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1108VANC
Developers found liable in investor suit

VANCOUVER - The developers of the Westin Grand Hotel have been found liable to pay compensation to investors as a result of false financial projections that were overly optimistic, a judge has ruled.

The 1996 financial projections for the hotel, which opened in 1999 on the northwest corner of Robson and Homer, were not reasonable and were negligently prepared, B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Truscott found in a ruling released this week.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...70-b275875e3d3a

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. Ferries to remove fuel surcharges

The official start of service yesterday at Swartz Bay for Coastal Celebration, B.C. Ferries` newest vessel, came in the wake of a shipboard announcement that the fuel surcharge on several routes will be gone before Christmas.

"I`m pleased to announce that the fuel surcharges on the minor routes and Route 3, the Langdale run, will go off on Dec. 5, and on the major routes they`ll go off on Dec. 19," B.C. Ferries president David Hahn said at an event to mark Coastal Celebration`s inaugural sailing from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...bf-a7b0dd8ee763

 

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1108VICT
Vehicle sales still healthy at Victoria dealerships

Vehicle sales are healthy on Greater Victoria lots, but a cloud of uncertainty hovers over North America`s Big Three automakers seeking a $25-billion US rescue package in the U.S. to help them survive today`s troubled economic times.

Thousands of jobs in Canada and the U.S. are at stake. One in seven jobs in this country is tied directly or indirectly to Canada`s automotive sector, according to the Council for Automotive Human Resources. Ontario is home to 10 assembly plants for cars and trucks.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...32-dde730e5884c

 

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1108VICT
New business park proposed for site south of Duncan

If variety is the spice of life, a $40-million commercial development proposed for a 3.25-hectare site just south of Duncan should be hopping when it starts construction in the spring.

The Parhar Business Park, proposed by the Parhar Group, will offer 200,000 square feet of commercial space in a series of buildings designed for a diverse group of businesses, including a 60,000-square-foot food-processing centre, fitness centre and cabinet maker.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...08-5b144b2e90fe

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. gambling faces slowdown

VANCOUVER -- If Las Vegas is any kind of barometer, B.C. gambling operators should brace themselves for slower growth.

The U.S. recession has cut visitation to Sin City by an estimated 15 to 20 per cent and the fire sales are on.

Rooms at the ultra-luxurius Bellagio -- normally $300 and up -- have been slashed to $149. Harrah`s recently scrapped plans to build a $500-million resort in Kansas and casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. avoided bankruptcy this month with a share offering that raised $2.1 billion in badly-needed capital.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...8d-3bdf83181cdd

 

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1108BCBC
Civil service hiring outlook remains healthy

As the reality of a global economic recession sets in, provincial governments across Canada may tighten the purse strings in coming months but the employment outlook remains healthy for public sector workers given that many employees will retire soon while demand for services grows.

In the West, Alberta`s labour market remains the strongest in North America, according to a recent report by the Fraser Institute, while B.C.`s ranks second-best in Canada. The continued strength of western Canadian labour markets, while moderating, combined with an aging population will result in aggressive provincial public sector hiring.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...f4-d2a2223744ad

 

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1108BCBC
Bill entrenches meddling in assessments

"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."

-- Humpty Dumpty, as quoted by Lewis Carroll

So, too, with making a law -- at least one specific law that was apparently written by a panicky government scrambling to cover for its leader`s rashness in shooting from the lip.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...95-e4fa311d0aae

 

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BC Small Town Updates: 2008-11-23

 

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1108VICT
Education tycoon buys University Canada West

University Canada West, a private Victoria institution that has teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and failed to attract enough students since it opened in 2005, has quietly been sold for an undisclosed sum.

"I keep a low profile about my business," explained new owner Peter Chung, 55. "It`s not my nature to show off, and besides this is a private company."

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...87-0487007d2599

 

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1108BCBC
A will can show you the way

After 18 years as a financial planner, Susan Stefura of National Bank Financial is still amazed at public apathy toward estate planning.

"I am continually shocked with the number of people who don`t have a will or an up-to-date will," said Stefura, during a presentation for Altamira Financial Services.

"I met with a 70-year-old lady a month ago and she brought me in her will dated 1964 -- the executors had died, the beneficiaries had died. I met with another guy, in Edmonton, in his 40s, he had a $12-million net worth, two young kids, and he did not have a will.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/mon...a0-066432ce7c47

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. firms go knocking in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai

B.C. company execs have been meeting and greeting contacts in Japan, China and Korea, trying to catch them before many offices in Asia go into hibernation mode before Christmas and into Lunar New Year in late January. The timing this year comes as sources of North American financing have evaporated and as projects and assets here might appear relatively attractive in price to potential partners or investors in Asia.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...37-9a527b893ad9

 

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1108BCBC
Help forestry industry, B.C. urges Ottawa

VANCOUVER — British Columbia is calling on Ottawa to expand its plans for bailing out the manufacturing sector, saying the federal government should give "comparable support" to the province`s beleaguered forestry industry if it subsidizes Eastern Canada`s foundering auto sector. Finance Minister Colin Hansen told The Globe and Mail yesterday that the provincial government remains philosophically opposed to subsidizing struggling companies. But that theoretical objection appears to be giving way to more pragmatic considerations as Ottawa draws up plans for aid to the automotive and aerospace sectors.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

 

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1108BCBC
B.C.`s budget takes a hit

VICTORIA -- The rippling effects of the global financial crisis are expected to drain at least $3 billion from the provincial government`s revenues over next three years, Finance Minister Colin Hansen said Monday.

The significant drop means Premier Gordon Campbell`s Liberal government will have to cut spending, or live within a much narrower margin in the coming years, or break its promise to maintain a balanced budget.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...f9-baab533610be

 

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1108BCBC
Consumer confidence slides

Consumer confidence is falling faster in B.C. than anywhere in the country except the Prairies, according to a a survey released by the Conference Board of Canada Monday.

The board`s Index of Consumer Confidence shows that the index in B.C. has fallen 33 per cent in the past 10 months, from 117.6 in February to just 78.1 in November.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...27-5e1c63ed8a77

 

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1108VANC
Apartment investors suffering with credit squeeze

Sales of rental apartment buildings in the Lower Mainland collapsed earlier this year in the credit squeeze and they haven`t recovered as 2008 winds down, according to research from a major commercial realtor.

Avison Young Commercial Real Estate tracked 76 building sales worth $270 million up to November, down 50 per cent from 153 sales worth $519 million made in all of 2007.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...29-84f48e89ede7

 

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1108BCBC
No doom and gloom from Campbell`s Liberals

If the B.C. Liberals had to choose their election theme song about now, it would probably be a toss-up between "Don`t Worry, Be

Happy" and "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."

The NDP, by contrast, have already got their election ditty all picked out: R.E.M.`s "It`s The End Of The World As We Know It" sums up their attitude perfectly.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...7d-7299251582c7

 

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1108BCBC
Forest revenue predicted to drop by 30%

VANCOUVER -- Forecasts for provincial stumpage revenues have dropped 30 per cent, the worst decline on record, Forests Minister Pat Bell said yesterday as he sounded a warning that the province`s main economic engine is in need of support.

Bell said stumpage revenues for 2008-09 were forecast to be $952 million at the beginning of the year, but now have been revised down to $652 million.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...4e-22dec77a4c3c