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Welcome To Hell: The Giant Fort McMurray Fire Is The Worst Blaze In Canadian History

May 8, 2016

Welcome To Hell: The Giant Fort McMurray Fire Is The Worst Blaze In Canadian History

Fort McMurray Fire - Photo by DarrenRDThe gigantic wildfire that has forced the evacuation of the entire city of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta has been nicknamed “the Beast“, and mainstream news reports are telling us that it is now approximately 25 percent larger than New York City.  88,000 people have already been forced out of their homes, at least 1,600 buildings have been destroyed, and smoke from the fire has been spotted as far away as Iowa.  To say that this is a “disaster” is a massive understatement.  Northern Alberta is “tinder dry” right now, and authorities say that high winds could result in the size of the fire doubling by the end of the weekend.  One-fourth of Canada’s oil output has already been shut down, and the edge of the fire is now getting very close to the neighboring province of Saskatchewan.  This is already the most expensive natural disaster in the history of Canada, and officials fully expect to be fighting this blaze for months to come.

At this point, only rain is going to stop this fire.  Canadian authorities insist that they are not going to be able to defeat this raging inferno no matter how many resources they throw at it.  The best that they can hope for is to try to steer it away from heavily populated areas until the rain comes.

Nobody knows precisely how this tragedy is going to end, but everyone agrees that it is going to last for quite some time.  According to the Washington Post, this fire has the potential to keep on burning “for months”…

The images are ones of devastation — scorched homes, virtually whole neighborhoods burned to the ground. And Canadian officials say they expect to fight the massive wildfire that has destroyed large parts of Alberta’s oil sands town for months.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Auto loan delinquency spikes in Alberta, Saskatchewan

February 17, 2016

Auto loan delinquency spikes in Alberta, Saskatchewan

Credit agency TransUnion points to non-mortgage debt defaults in oil-producing provinces

Pickup truck sales have grown rapidly in the past five years, but with job losses in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the debt from auto loans is hanging over some consumers.

Pickup truck sales have grown rapidly in the past five years, but with job losses in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the debt from auto loans is hanging over some consumers.

There has been enormous sales growth of pickup trucks and crossover SUVs  in the last five years, but the costs of these larger vehicles are weighing heavily on consumers in some oil-producing provinces.

Auto loan delinquency rates in Canada were at their highest level in four years in the fourth quarter of 2015, driven by spikes of 35 per cent in Alberta and 19 per cent in Saskatchewan.

According to the credit trends reporting agency TransUnion, Saskatchewan has the highest auto loan delinquency rate in the country, at 2.7  per cent, followed by Alberta at 2.4 per cent.

Delinquency on auto loans occurs when payments are 60 or more days past due.

“Falling oil prices have led to rising unemployment rates in oil-rich regions,” said Jason Wang, TransUnion’s director of research and analysis.

“We are now seeing the increase in unemployment in these areas manifest as rising delinquencies across the board, though the greatest impact has been on auto loans.”

For Canada as a whole, auto loan delinquencies rose to 1.3 per cent.

Moody’s has warned some Canadian banks over auto loans, which have been getting larger as buyers opt for large vehicles and is now spread over longer terms of up to seven years.

There were also shifts in delinquency rates on other non-mortgage debt, with more people in British Columbia and Ontario able to keep up with their bills, while delinquencies climbed in Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

TransUnion said Canadians’ average non-mortgage debt edged up slightly to $21,512 at the end of 2015, from $21,248 in 2014.

Canadians used their credit cards more heavily during holiday shopping in 2015, and there was 4.1 per cent more debt on credit cards, Wang said.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

EI claims rose 9.2% in the year to November with Alberta hardest hit

January 21, 2016

EI claims rose 9.2% in the year to November with Alberta hardest hit

More than 31,000 new jobless in Alberta as EI rolls climb to 544,200

There have been several rounds of layoffs in the oilpatch since 2014, with trades, transport, technical support, finance and management affected.

There have been several rounds of layoffs in the oilpatch since 2014, with trades, transport, technical support, finance and management affected. (Todd Korol/Reuters)

The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits rose 9.2 per cent in the year ending in November 2015, according to new data from Statistics Canada, with most of the newly unemployed in Alberta.

There were sharp increases in new applicants from Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, bringing the total receiving EI to 544,200 people. The unemployment rate in Canada last November was 7.1 per cent.

About two-thirds of the increase in the past year has been in Alberta, with 31,030 people applying for benefits in the year to November.

The pain has been spread equally between Edmonton and Calgary, with just over 20,000 new people on the EI rolls in each city.

Alberta has suffered several rounds of layoffs related to the low price of oil, with companies cutting back first contract workers, then long-time employees as the world market price fails to cover the cost of crude production.

Job losses in Saskatchewan, Manitoba

There’s been a 16 per cent increase among workers in trades and transport or equipment operation and a 17 per cent increase in natural and applied sciences, a term Statistics Canada uses to apply to more skilled workers including geologists and mine technicians.

Alberta has also seen job losses in finance, administration and management categories.

Statistics Canada says the number of new claimants has levelled off in the past few months.

Despite that, Saskatchewan saw a 4.6 per cent rise in claimants in November, Alberta was up 2.7 per cent and Manitoba was up 1.9 per cent.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

5 signs of trouble for Saskatchewan’s economy in oil slump

August 3, 2015

5 signs of trouble for Saskatchewan’s economy in oil slump

Many said province could withstand economic blows from oil and gas, but there are troubling signs

When crude oil prices began to plummet, economists comforted Saskatchewan residents that their diversified economy would safeguard them during the oil and gas slump.

In fact, Saskatchewan’s economy isn’t that diverse.

The province relies heavily on natural resources: fuel, food and fertilizer.

fi-oil-pump-jacks-sask

The Canadian Association of Oil Drilling Contractors forecasts it will drill half as many wells in 2015 compared to 2014.

And while economists were banking on the agriculture and potash industries to offset energy losses, they’re no longer confident that will happen.

The potash industry remains strong in production, on par with its growth last year, but nitrogen prices have fallen about $60 US a tonne.

Most worrisome, it’s shaping up to be a disappointing crop year for many Saskatchewan farmers, thanks to an unwelcome mixture of spring frost, drought and poorly timed rains.

While cattle prices remain high, drought has jeopardized hay yields and could force some ranchers to sell off their herd.

The Bank of Montreal has already downgraded its growth projection for Saskatchewan this year from one per cent to half a per cent.

“It’s disappointing,” chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, Douglas Porter, said. “The likelihood of a pretty tough crop this year further dims the outlook for western Canada.”

The Royal Bank of Canada told CBC News it expects to downgrade its growth projection next month as well.

Premier Brad Wall says he’s still confident the province can overcome economic pressures, and points to his government’s four-year plan to spend $5.8 billion on infrastructure.

Still, there are already red flags for the economy. Here are five signs of trouble:

1. Housing sales

The honeymoon is over for Saskatchewan’s housing boom.

The Canadian Real Estate Association predicts house sales in Saskatchewan will decline by nearly 13 per cent this year.

 

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

TransUnion expects spike in debt delinquencies in Alberta, Saskatchewan

August 3, 2015

TransUnion expects spike in debt delinquencies in Alberta, Saskatchewan

Alberta and Saskatchewan will soon see a ‘sharp’ increase in the number of people falling behind on their debts for the rest of this year, credit agency TransUnion says.

The debt monitor said in a study released Wednesday that it is expecting the number of consumer credit delinquencies to increase by double-digits in Saskatchewan, and as much as 60 per cent in parts of Alberta.

Oil’s impact

The two provinces are disproportionately dependent on oil prices to drive their economy. In Alberta’s case, more than a quarter of the province’s GDP is tied to oil revenues, which have halved in the past year. In Saskatchewan’s case, the ratio is still high at more than one sixth of GDP tied to oil.

Cheap oil has hit those economies in many ways. “First, oil price drops cause lower oil sector investment,” TransUnion says. That leads to higher unemployment, which leads to less disposable income to spend in all other aspects of the economy.

“Consumers then have lower ability to service debt, finally resulting in higher delinquency rates,” TransUnion says.

Household Debt

The number of people who pay off only twice their minimum credit card payment has increased by 10 per cent in Fort McMurray since last summer, TransUnion says. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

“Based on an historical analysis of the last oil crash and recent payment behaviour trends, we expect materially higher delinquency rates in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the second half of 2015,” the company’s research director Jason Wang said.

“If lenders do not take proactive measures to address the impact of the decline in oil prices, we could potentially see double-digit delinquency rate increases in Saskatchewan, and as much as a 60 per cent rise in areas of Alberta.”

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

Beef prices could rise further with cruel Alberta drought

August 2, 2015

Beef prices could rise further with cruel Alberta drought

Herd size expected to shrink as ranchers sell off cattle

The price of steaks, roasts and other cuts of beef are expected to increase further because of drought conditions in Alberta, although it may take about a year before consumers feel the full bite on store shelves.

Retail beef prices hit record highs early this year and have continued to climb since then as the number of cattle in the Canada continues to dwindle. Now, drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan means ranchers struggling to feed their animals are choosing to sell some of their cattle at the auction market.

At least nine different counties throughout Alberta have declared states of agricultural disaster due to harsh drought conditions. Many areas received less than 100 mm of rain between the start of April and early July, which is less than 50 per cent of normal rainfall levels. The hardest-hit areas received less than 50 millimetres of precipitation, according to Alberta Agriculture.

Man buying meat at a grocery store

If you thought buying beef this summer was already expensive, prices could rise further with dry conditions in Alberta and Saskatchewan. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

Not only are pastures and hay crops in poor condition, but little feed is available for purchase.

In the short term, for consumers, the price of beef may actually fall slightly as ranchers reduce their herd size, but retail prices may jump further next year as the number of cattle in Canada will be even smaller.

“Over the long run, if the drought causes the cow herd to shrink even further, then the supply, of course, gets tighter,” said Greg Bowie, chair of the Alberta Beef Producers. “It is going to drive the price to a different level again.”

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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