Brewing War of Words Between Canada and Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and Canada are currently locked in a diplomatic spat over human rights, with both countries refusing to back down despite a breakdown in future trade deals, suspended passenger flights and a flurry of other sanctions.

The war of words between the two countries stems back to a series of tweets from Canada's Foreign Ministry last week, when Ottawa expressed concern over arrested civil society activists in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh called the move a violation of its sovereignty and sought to impose a string of diplomatic sanctions against the North American country. In a tweet posted Friday, Canadian officials urged Riyadh to "immediately release" women's rights activists Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah. Both campaigners were arrested in Saudi Arabia in late July, according to Human Rights Watch.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry took exception to Canada's online plea, calling it a "grave and unacceptable violation of the kingdom's laws and procedures."

2018: Canadian Job Market Going Strong

Economists were left grasping for superlatives to describe the country’s latest jobs report out today. TD called it “unbelievable,” Scotiabank went with “ridiculously strong,” while BMO described it as a “blowout report.” So why are economists so excited? Just about everything is going right. Still, it makes you wonder if the jobs market is hot, where is the wage inflation?

The country added 78,600 jobs in December, according to Statistics Canada, an impressive number given that a whopping 79,500 positions were created in November. In the past year, the Canadian economy created 422,000 jobs, an increase of 2.3 per cent. That’s the strongest percentage gain in 14 years, according to BMO.

Trade War: US slaps 220 percent duty on Canada's Bombardier jets

The Bombardier CS 300 performs its demonstration flight during the Paris Air Show, at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, June 15, 2015

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jets after rival Boeing Co accused Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft, a move likely to strain trade relations between the neighbors.

The department said it imposed a steep 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidization. Boeing has complained the 110-to-130 seat aircraft were dumped below cost in the U.S. market last year while benefiting from unfair subsidies.

An April 2016 order for 75 CSeries jets from Delta Air Lines stemmed from the same harmful sales practices European rival Airbus SE employed to win business in the 1990s, according to Boeing.

The Commerce Department’s penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favor in a final decision expected in 2018.

Welcome to the Good Times! Canada's Unemployment Rate Lowest in Two Years

Canada's unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 per cent last month, its lowest level in more than two years, as fewer people were looking for work, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Several economists were quick to hail the numbers as a sign that Canada's economy is on the mend, though at least one questioned the survey's findings of a massive swing toward full-time employment at the expense of part-time jobs.

The decline of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month brought the rate down to a number not seen since January 2015.

The agency's February employment survey indicated the national labour market added 15,300 jobs overall last month, higher than analyst expectations.

Economists had projected a gain of 2,500 jobs and the unemployment rate to stay at 6.8 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

Some Goodnews As Canada Had Best Job Creation in 4 years

Canada's job market had a promising end to a year marked by big employment gains — but, unlike recent history, growth in 2016 was driven by a less-encouraging factor: an upsurge in part-time work. Canada added more than 53,000 jobs in December, bringing the total for 2016 to 214,000.

The total for last month was 54,000, according to Statistics Canada. The economy actually added 81,000 full-time jobs during the month, but that was slightly offset by a loss of 27,000 part-time positions.

The results were a positive surprise to economists, who had been expecting a slight loss of jobs during the month.

Car Sharing Hits Canadian Market

Turo peer-to-peer car rentals expand Canada's sharing economy. Canadians can now rent their personal vehicle to others through a U.S. company that has just launched in this country.

"We're actually the first company to bring the benefits of peer-to-peer car rental to Canada." says Cedric Mathieu, director at Turo Canada. "It's an entirely new way for you to start making money out of your car."

How it works? Turo, based in San Francisco, offers a service that is similar to AirBnB, but for vehicles.  Through Turo's app or on its website, owners can list their vehicles for rent by the day, week or month, earning money from what is often an under-utilized, depreciating asset.

Canada Registers Second Place In World's Most Competitive Market

Accounting giant KPMG says Canada was the second most competitive market in a comparison of 10 leading industrial countries. Following is the list of countries in order.
1. Mexico
2. Canada
3. The Netherlands
4. Italy
5. Australia
6. France
7. United Kingdom
8. Germany
9. Japan
10. United States

In its report, KPMG says Canada lags only behind Mexico when it comes to how little businesses have to pay for labour, facilities, transportation and taxes. Montreal topped the list among 34 major cities in North America, followed by Toronto and Vancouver. The three Canadian cities beat out all U.S. cities.

Canadian Toy Testing Council Shut Down After 63yrs For Insolvency

Children play during a 2010 Canadian Toy Testing Council event to announce its top toy picks. (Pawel Dwulit/CP)

The Canadian Toy Testing Council known for testing toys for children since 1952 has shut down after members were unable to secure financial backing. The council operates through a network of through families in the Ottawa region who would take the toys home and judge them on design, durability, safety and playability.

The group also produced an annual pre-Christmas list of top toys and books.

But last year the volunteer-run organization did not operate its toy testing program or produce its annual list because of what it described as funding challenges.

In a news release Tuesday, the organization said it had been under financial stress for several years.

Canada Revenue Agency filings for the council show the organization's revenue was cut in half from 2011 to 2012, to $52,328 from $98,743, and the group could not recover. The council reported revenue of $46,101 in 2014.

Canadian Housing Market Ready To Bust - IMF warns

Andrea Janus, CTV
Canada’s housing market could be headed for “a hard landing,” the International Monetary Fund says, warning that an “overheated housing market” and record-high household debt remain drags on the domestic economy.

In a commentary posted to the agency’s website, Hamid Faruqee and Andrea Pescatori hail how the Canadian economy weathered the 2008 financial crisis, but note that “certain financial risks” remain at play, namely: “its overheated housing markets and high household debt.”

While household debt has recently stabilized, it has “increased to historical highs over the past decade,” and now rests at 150 per cent of disposable income. That is “one of the highest” among OECD member countries, the commentary noted.

Prince Edward Island wholesale market sees fewer buyers and sellers

CBC - P.E.I. wholesale market sees fewer buyers and sellers

CBC
P.E.I.'s 15th annual craft and giftware wholesale market is happening today at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, but the number of buyers and sellers is down.

Vendors are set up in booths displaying pottery, jewelry, photography and more.

The public is not invited, instead, craft store owners are shopping wholesale looking for stock for their shelves.

Jennifer Ridgeway is buying for her two stores, Moonsnail and Luna. She says it's becoming harder to find and purchase unique crafts made on P.E.I.

"That's what I'm always looking for. Something traditional, like pottery, but with a new look -- Jewelry, new look -- you know that's what's exciting to me to be able to find," she says.

This year, there are 40 craftspeople wholesaling their wares. A decade ago, there were about 70.
As well there are fewer craft stores buying, and the dollar value of orders placed at the show has been declining.

Toronto Stock Exchange closes up 7.4% on year end

The TSX is up about seven per cent this year, following a nine per cent gain in 2013. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

CBC News
The Toronto stock market wrapped up the year with a 7.4 per cent gain, almost equivalent to the Dow Jones industrial index, which is up 7.5 per cent in 2014.

These gains follow on a stellar 2013, when the TSX rose nine per cent and the Dow was up 26 per cent.

The TSX index is closing the year down slightly in light trading, dipping 10 points to 14,629.50 on Wednesday afternoon.

Oil and metal prices were in decline after the HSBC's monthly purchasing managers' index showed a decline in orders for Chinese manufacturers. The index fell below the 50-point threshold to 49.6, meaning that orders were contracting.

Declining demand for raw materials from China has hurt Canadian exports this year and helped knock commodity prices lower.

Stock futures indicate a higher opening for Toronto Stock Market

A man walks past an old Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) sign in Toronto, June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Reuters

Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday, the last day of 2014.

March futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.23 percent at 7.15 a.m. ET.

No major economic events scheduled on Wednesday .

Canada's main stock closed slightly lower on Tuesday, with a fall in financial and energy stocks partly offset by gains in the materials sector as precious metal prices jumped. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures <1YMc1> were up 0.06 percent at 7.15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.12 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.09 percent.

Plunge in crude oil prices named top Canadian Press business story of the year

A person pumps fuel in Toronto after gasoline prices rose overnight on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.  CP

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

From Alberta oilfields to Bay Street boardrooms to the gas station on the corner, the precipitous drop in crude prices is expected to have far-reaching impacts across the country heading into 2015, making it The Canadian Press Business News Story of the Year.

The abrupt turnaround in oil markets was chosen by half of the 50 editors and news directors across the country who participated in the annual survey.

In explaining their pick, many respondents noted the story's ripple effects beyond the oilpatch.

Richard Dettman, business editor at News 1130 in Vancouver, said the halving in crude prices over a six-month span created a "gusher of stories" — the hit to federal and provincial government coffers, the plunging loonie and the benefit to consumers, to name a few.

Toronto Stock Exchange Has Best Week in 3yrs

The TSX closed off its best week in three years on Friday, closing the day up 121.51 points, at 14,468.26. | CP

The Canadian Press reports:

TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market closed sharply higher Friday, adding to a string of solid gains as investors continue to buy up stocks oversold in the course of a fall sell-off.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished the day up 121.51 points at 14,468.26.

The major corporate story of the day was BlackBerry (TSX:BB) as the smartphone maker's revenue fell short of estimates even as the company posted a profit of one cent a share after adjustments, beating expectations of an adjust loss of five cents a share.

Foreign Owned Condo Rentals A Small Part Of Canada Housing Market

Rob Atkins /Getty Images

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says only a small minority of the condos for rent in most major urban areas have foreign owners, although some neighbourhoods in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are higher.

The CMHC says its first survey of foreign ownership of condos for rent found a wide range within the 11 major markets that were tracked, from a high of 2.4 per cent in Toronto and 2.3 per cent in Vancouver to a low of only one-tenth of a percentage point in several cities.

The survey suggests, however, that certain areas of Montreal had Canada's highest concentration of rental condos under foreign ownership — at 6.9 per cent.

Parts of Vancouver had about 5.8 per cent of rental condos under foreign ownership while in Toronto's centre core the rate was about 4.3 per cent.

Canada real estate market could fall like oil

A pump jack and a house northwest of Calgary. Experts in the oil industry seemed not to see the fall in prices coming. Could the same thing be happening again with house prices? (The Canadian Press)

Don Pittis, CBC News
Recent reassuring comments about the Canadian housing market remind me of similar blandishments when oil prices began to fall.

I wouldn't want to overemphasize the parallels between houses and petroleum. Indeed, there are many differences in the two markets, which I will expand upon in a moment.

But first the similarity. It is that, just as with oil, so many of the people we expect to know what is happening refuse to admit that house prices can go through big declines as well as big increases.

Read full story on CBC

Toronto Stock Exchange Has Its Worst Day In Years

The Canadian Press
The Toronto stock market plunged over 300 points Monday, registering its steepest one-day drop since April 2013, as energy stocks were pounded amid weak Chinese trade data and a report suggesting oil has a long way to go before finding a bottom.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed off the worst levels of the session when it was down almost 500 points, ending the session down 329.53 points or 2.3 per cent to 14,144.17 on top of a slide of almost two per cent last week.

"We're going to continue to see volatility in oil prices and it's going to react to near-term economic data and it will take us some time to work through the supply and demand imbalances that are in the energy market right now,'' said Colum McKinley, Canadian equities manager at CIBC Asset Management.

Oil prices have tumbled nearly 40 per cent since mid-summer on lower demand and a glut of supply, due in large measure to increased production in the U.S. Prices have also been depressed by OPEC's decision to leave production levels unchanged and a move by Saudi Arabia last week to cut prices.

The TSX energy sector fell 6.5 per cent Monday in addition to a five per cent plunge last week as the price of crude settled at a five-year low.

Toronto stock market tumbles as investors bailout of banks and energy

CBC News

The Toronto stock market tumbled nearly two per cent in a broad sell-off that hit financial and energy stocks particularly hard.

The S&P/TSX composite index pulled back 284.11 points or 1.93 per cent to close at 14,469.95.Energy stocks dropped 4.1 per cent as the January crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 67 cents to $66.76 US.

Oil was hammered by news that Saudi Arabia had reduced January prices to U.S. and Asian customers and was anticipating oil prices could go as low as $60 a barrel.

Financial stocks fell after TD Bank released a disappointing earnings report. TD Bank earnings were up three per cent to 98 cents a share, but investors had anticipated $1.05 a share.

The bank also said it was anticipating slow growth in 2015.