December 2013 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Where Canada's biggest job growth will be in 2014





Looking for work? You`re in luck; employers seem to be in a hiring mood. There were more than half a million-job openings in Canada in November, a 22% jump over the same period last year, according to new data from Workopolis.








The online job site is reporting year-over-year increases in job postings in every employment category and every region of the country, except Quebec where the number of job postings declined 4%.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Flaherty regrets massive growth of CMHC





Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he regrets that Canada`s housing agency has grown as large as it has and promised to take additional measures if a reduction in the amount of government insurance on mortgages is needed.





The value of home loans insured by Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp., which is backed by the federal government, has almost doubled since the end of 2006, saddling taxpayers with a growing liability as policy makers warn that gains in house prices may be unsustainable.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Better days ahead for most provincial economies in 2014





Ottawa, December 9, 2013 ` Over the past few years, we have seen a two-tiered economy in Canada, in which resource-rich Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador outperformed the rest of the country. Led by Alberta, most provinces can expect stronger economic growth in 2014, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Provincial Outlook: Autumn 2013.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada's labour shortage threatens $50B LNG plans





Energy companies trying to raise almost US$50-billion for Canada`s first network of natural gas export terminals will face an even more basic challenge: finding the workers to build them.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian housing starts fall in signal market is easing toward soft landing





OTTAWA ` Canada's much-scrutinized housing market showed signs of softening last month, with starts falling a little further than expected, but still to levels many analysts consider too strong to sustain.





The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday housing starts declined to an annualized rate of 192,235 in November, three per cent lower than October's result and about 3,000 fewer than economists expected.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Capitalizing on the energy sector's demand for modular homes





Gilbert Trudeau has seen RCM Modulaire gain new ground since winning a bid to build a 1,500-person work camp for Suncor Energy.








The president of the Saint-BenoÃt-Labre, Quebec-based company is one of the largest builders of modular housing in la belle province, with operations in Ontario and Manitoba, as well. But nabbing the camp contract for the $13.5-billion Fort Hills mining project opened a hard-earned door to the west.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The "why" behind expensive Canadian housing





Have we had enough gloomy news about the housing market? Enough is enough. Fixed rate mortgages are up and housing prices are still rising. One day the headlines say the economy is doing well ` the next day the economy is slumping and there`s a housing crisis. All this news happens at the same time you`re deciding whether or not to buy a house if you`re a first time buyer, or deciding to list your current home for sale to move up to a larger home. Or should you just stay put until things get better?





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Millionaire immigrants invest in Quebec - and then move on





The vast majority of millionaire immigrants who come to Canada through Quebec's immigrant investor program do not stay in that province, allowing Quebec to keep millions in job creation dollars while other provinces carry the costs of settlement.








Numbers from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, obtained by a Vancouver immigration lawyer, show that 90 per cent of those immigrants are not living in Quebec when they re-apply for permanent resident visas five years later





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Hiring outlook improves for early 2014





Canadian employers expect to be hiring in first quarter of 2014, with employers in the construction sector reporting the strongest job prospects, according to an employment outlook survey by international firm Manpower Group.








The survey of more than 1,900 employers across Canada showed 13 per cent planned to add jobs in the first quarter of 2014, compared with just 11 per cent in the final quarter of 2013.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Stop worrying, and love migration





If there was a way to boost global economic output by 100 per cent, we would all be all over it, right? Say that the way to do it was to move technology to strategic places around the globe, because doing so ensured that everyone was more productive. Even if that required countries to co-operate, you would think they would be happy to do it. After all, doubling the size of the world economy sounds pretty good, particularly in these days of sluggish activity and strained finances.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian job growth in 2013 worst in a decade, outside recession





Job creation in Canada this year has been the weakest in a non-recession year in more than a decade, and the low quality of the jobs being created is causing some economists to raise concerns about the country's economy.





Looking at StatsCan`s latest job numbers, released last week, BMO economist Benjamin Reitzes notes that Canada created fewer than 175,000 net jobs in the year to date (meaning all of 2013 except December).





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The millennial saga in Canada





Millennials just want to feel special. Since all of their peers were raised up with the same "You're the most special boy/girl that ever lived or ever will live" mentality, they need some sense of reassurance that they are in fact the chosen one. Millennials: an entire generation of people with an identity crisis.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Re/Max forecasts 'exceptionally healthy' real estate market in 2014





Canada can expect an `exceptionally healthy` housing market in 2014 thanks to improvements in the overall economy that helped produce a surge in the latter half of this year, a leading real estate group said Wednesday.








Re/Max said that nationally, home sales are expected to climb two per cent to 475,000 units next year after a three per cent increase to well over 453,000 projected for 2013 when all the numbers are in.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada to benefit from a strengthening US economy in 2014





After another year of mediocre growth, Canada's economy is expected to perk up in 2014, supported by a pick-up in exports and strengthening business investment, according to the latest Economic and Financial Market Outlook issued today by RBC Economics. RBC is forecasting real GDP growth of 1.7 per cent in 2013, 2.6 per cent in 2014 and 2.7 per cent in 2015.








"The U.S.'s slow and subpar recovery has no doubt played a part in the underperformance of Canadian exports through 2013," said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist, RBC. "Looking ahead to 2014, we anticipate that stronger growth south of the border will translate to increased demand for Canadian exports, especially as the expansion fans out and business investment accelerates. This expected uptick in both exports and business investment is a critical component of our outlook for Canada's economy."





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Montreal ahead of Toronto for unsold condos





Despite fears of investors driving Canada`s largest condo market into an overbuilt ghost town, there are actually more units sitting empty in Montreal than in Toronto, a BMO report says.








`I was surprised,` said BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri. `I didn`t know it (the number of vacant units in Montreal) was that high.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada's 2013 employment growth is the worst in a decade





Here`s a ba humbug statistic heading into the holiday season: Employment growth in Canada is at its slowest pace (excluding the recession) in more than a decade.








BMO Capital Markets crunched the numbers this week and came up with what it says `isn`t exactly encouraging` results for job creation in this country.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Mortgage debate continues





Turns out the sky is not falling.








After 18 months of warning that skyrocketing interest rates will wash over vulnerable homeowners like a tsunami, the Bank of Canada is hinting that its next interest rate move will not be up ` but down. Either way, most economists say the benchmark rate will remain right where it`s been for over three years ` 1 per cent - until at least some time in 2015.








Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Realtor.ca to lose Montreal listings





MONTREAL ` The Canadian Real Estate Association`s popular Realtor.ca website ` widely known as the MLS ` will no longer list Montreal homes for sale.











The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board said Friday its brokers have voted in favour of separating from CREA.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada's economic growth to lag behind U.S. for years: CIBC





After years of stagnation, the U.S. economy is set to outgrow Canada`s for at least the next two years, according to a forecast from CIBC World Markets.








It`s not all bad news: The bank sees Canada`s economy strengthening somewhat next year, thanks to that economic growth in the U.S. helping Canadian exports, and also thanks to a weaker loonie that will make Canadian products cheaper on the global market.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada home sales edge lower in November





TORONTO (Reuters) - Sales of existing homes in Canada dipped in November from October as a surge in autumn sales spurred by rising mortgage rates abated, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Monday.





The industry group for Canadian real estate agents said sales activity was down 0.1 percent last month from October.








While actual sales for November, not seasonally adjusted, rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier, CREA said activity was sharply lower than just two months earlier, when the prospect of rising mortgage rates spurred home buying.





Read the full article here.