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Canadian dollar rallying back up?

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tsx-surges-after-oil-gains-13-in-3-days-1.2943107

The Toronto stock market shot up nearly 200 points in early trading Tuesday after oil continued the climb that has seen it gain 13 per cent in the last three sessions.

The S&P/TSX composite index was ahead 141 points at midday Tuesday to 15,041, with strong advances by energy and mining companies.


The TSX energy sector was ahead 3.7 per cent after a 4.5 per cent gain on Tuesday.

The Canadian dollar was trading above 80 cents at 80.29 US, continuing its upward momentum from Monday.

News of a drop in the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs has spurred hope that the glut of oil might ease in the near future.

West Texas Intermediate, the main North American oil contract traded in New York, moved above $51 for the first time in since the beginning of January. It rose $1.56 to $51.11 US a barrel at midday. Brent, the most common international oil contract, rose $1.68 to $56.43.

Western Canada Select, the blend of oil coming out of Canadian oilsands producers, was up 99 cents at $38.56 US a barrel.

Oil companies are delivering earnings reports this week, and many have cut their capital spending for 2015.

On Tuesday, British Petroleum reported a loss of $4.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2014. BP also said it would pull back on investment, reducing capital spending to $20 billion worldwide, down from its previous guidance of $24-26 billion.

Oil investors also were buoyed by news that the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in January at the same pace as in December, meaning demand for energy products could rise.


The U.S. dollar, which has made its goods more expensive in the rest of the world, slipped 0.5 per cent against a basket of currencies.

U.S. stocks rose broadly on higher oil prices and signs that the new Greek government won't press for a write-off of its bailout loans.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 170 points to 17,531, the S&P 500 index climbed 12 points to 2,032 and the Nasdaq was up 7 points to 4,693.

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Pakkidis

Member
Am I the only one who is concerned that our economy is tied to a single commodity that fluctuates in price on a daily basis? What happens when oil reserves on earth run low?
 
Am I the only one who is concerned that our economy is tied to a single commodity that fluctuates in price on a daily basis? What happens when oil reserves on earth run low?

It's a very big concern. It's our major export and the government needs to bank on other exports.

No one wants to buy from Canada when the prices are equal to that in the US. It's a far smaller population and realistically the world doesn't need us for anything.

We need to expand to other sectors and show that we can do it better and cheaper than the southern counterpart. They need to invest in more products. We have banked on automobile and aerospace and gaming industry but that's a very small fraction of profit compared to oil which is an always-on export machine.

More assemblies and developments need to initiate here to ensure a strong economy, but no one buys from a strong economic country when you have alternatives in country like China, and with US now eyeing India, it's only a matter of time that a lot of industries will establish permanent HQs there, especially with lenient laws and regulations when it comes to human rights.

Canada is a country that can overtake US but US doesn't want that to happen and have a noose on their neck whenever that happens.

At least that's what it seems like, and it sucks for such a great country to bow down like that even if the two countries are practically brothers.
 

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
No way in hell will it keep going up, housing bubble has yet to burst.
 
No way in hell will it keep going up, housing bubble has yet to burst.

"Personally speaking", I don't think housing bubble will burst at least for the next few years. A lot of young adults in Canada are moving out of their parents homes and need a place to stay. People are willing to relocate and expand the suburbs. I don't think there are any empty homes in Canada.

The bubble will burst when the old folks no longer live these homes, and there's no one willing to buy them. The market is inflated and a correction will come, but not a full-on burst like the American market.

Indeed more people are living in rentals than they can afford and they're happy that way since no one knows where their future lies and no one wants to buy a permanent land.

Immigrants who don't know where to invest are investing in Real Estate, keeping the market afloat.
 

MutFox

Banned
"Personally speaking", I don't think housing bubble will burst at least for the next few years. A lot of young adults in Canada are moving out of their parents homes and need a place to stay. People are willing to relocate and expand the suburbs. I don't think there are any empty homes in Canada.

The bubble will burst when the old folks no longer live these homes, and there's no one willing to buy them. The market is inflated and a correction will come, but not a full-on burst like the American market.

Indeed more people are living in rentals than they can afford and they're happy that way since no one knows where their future lies and no one wants to buy a permanent land.

Immigrants who don't know where to invest are investing in Real Estate, keeping the market afloat.

Vancouver has literal ghost neighborhoods.
People overseas are buying and not staying in the houses. (Paying the same as citizens here, as there's no foreign tax on them)
Sometimes buying more than 1 house.

The secondary houses are for guests, if they ever have any.

It pisses off the people here,
but our politicians are in foreign pocket books.
 
Vancouver has literal ghost neighborhoods.
People overseas are buying and not staying in the houses. (Paying the same as citizens here, as there's no foreign tax on them)
Sometimes buying more than 1 house.

The secondary houses are for guests, if they ever have any.

It pisses off the people here,
but our politicians are in foreign pocket books.

Ahh yeah. Sorry for my ignorance, I'm talking about Toronto market. Vancouver is a lost cause and will be the biggest reason for the burst. Government regulations need to improve and prevent such acquisitions from happening.

As much as I hate squatting in UK, these people are leaving the real residents no choice but to think this way. I would hate for people to resort to that in Vancouver.
 

Dazzler

Member
Can confirm entire neighborhoods of Vancouver are ghost towns

Coal Harbour can't sustain local businesses because so many of the condos sit unoccupied

Kerrisdale is rife with empty family homes. Nothing will ever be done about it while locals have to move further and further out to find affordable housing
 

sikkinixx

Member
Can confirm entire neighborhoods of Vancouver are ghost towns

Coal Harbour can't sustain local businesses because so many of the condos sit unoccupied

Kerrisdale is rife with empty family homes. Nothing will ever be done about it while locals have to move further and further out to find affordable housing

Yup. My dad's side of the family all live in North Van and the prices there are insane. million plus for tear downs.

Meanwhile my wife and I need to move at LEAST to Maple Ridge, if not Mission, to be able to afford a 800 sq ft old ass house. *le sigh*
 

dankir

Member
Gas in Montreal has been hovering around 1,00 for the last few weeks. I got it at around 94c a week ago at costco where I fill up primarily.

I do hope the loonie does go back I have a lot of figures and toys that I want to get, all of my sellers are now quoting in USD so a 500 USD figure which I would have paid 590 Canadian on a month or two ago now will cost me about 620 bucks, at least I save on duties.
 
Vancouver has literal ghost neighborhoods.
People overseas are buying and not staying in the houses. (Paying the same as citizens here, as there's no foreign tax on them)
Sometimes buying more than 1 house.

The secondary houses are for guests, if they ever have any.

It pisses off the people here,
but our politicians are in foreign pocket books.

How depressing.

Wanna hang out?

Always, bitch.
 

Mrmartel

Banned
I couldn't be an economist. Because I just don't understand oil in particular. I've been reading articles about this today from various outlets. Now it seems gas prices will be up again to 80$ a barrel by fall with gas at the pumps possibly doubling, huh? I remember one thread with the doom and gloom specifically for Russia. Now it's possibly back in the up and up.

I don't mind because as an avid traveler, the low Canadian dollar was really cramping my favorite pastime.
 

Mrmartel

Banned
Vancouver has literal ghost neighborhoods.
People overseas are buying and not staying in the houses. (Paying the same as citizens here, as there's no foreign tax on them)
Sometimes buying more than 1 house.

The secondary houses are for guests, if they ever have any.

It pisses off the people here,
but our politicians are in foreign pocket books.

Vancouver, like London and probably other world cities in the West have a huge amount of foreign owned property in them. A lot of those places act as a getting the hell out of dodge card if shit hits the fan in their home countries (Asia, Africa, Middle East etc). In the meantime it's a house for there kids as they go to western university's as well as guests.
 
I couldn't be an economist. Because I just don't understand in particular oil. I've been reading articles about this today from various outlets. Now it seems gas prices will be up again to 80$ a barrel by fall with gas at pumps possibly doubling, huh? I remember one thread with the doom and gloom specifically for Russia. Now it's possibly back in the up and up.

I don't mind because as an avid traveler, the low Canadian dollar was really cramping my favorite pastime.

Oil is a really weird commodity. There's also a lot of demand from a variety of places, but there's also a wide variety of sources for it and it's often withheld for political reasons. It's sold in spot markets and it also has a limited shelf life. It's not like trading salt or iron or any sane commodity. It's kinda natural for it to have a really volatile price.

I'd expect this is just a bull trap. The fundamentals of why the price crashed (oversupply) hasn't changed.

It will probably go back up eventually in the mid-term, but I think not to the same levels as before.

Long term ideally we all get on board with green energy sources and we don't need oil anymore and it all just stays in the ground.
 

Holmes

Member
I'm moving to California in the summer and I'm almost freaking out about this. I might just convert some of my money now to American dollars now and take a hit, in case it still keeps going down.
 
Gas was $1.79 last week and now it's $1.89. Fuck that. Crude Oil needs to go back down in price!!

Never thought I would complain about sub-$2 gas
 

MutFox

Banned
Vancouver, like London and probably other world cities in the West have a huge amount of foreign owned property in them. A lot of those places act as a getting the hell out of dodge card if shit hits the fan in their home countries (Asia, Africa, Middle East etc). In the meantime it's a house for there kids as they go to western university's as well as guests.

There are no kids at these homes.
There's no one in these ghost neighborhoods.

The part that pisses people off the most is that they're paying the same taxes as everyone else.
For housing, I think the solution is being a citizen or fully landed immigrant to own a home.
They're driving all the youth out of the city, which is very sad.
(Or at least tax to hell, make some more money off of the situation)

This will deeply the hurt Vancouver economy in the future.
But politicians see dollars now and for the coming elections.
 

Archer

Member
Can confirm entire neighborhoods of Vancouver are ghost towns

Coal Harbour can't sustain local businesses because so many of the condos sit unoccupied

Kerrisdale is rife with empty family homes. Nothing will ever be done about it while locals have to move further and further out to find affordable housing

Coal Harbour holla
 

Kieli

Member
There are no kids at these homes.
There's no one in these ghost neighborhoods.

The part that pisses people off the most is that they're paying the same taxes as everyone else.
For housing, I think the solution is being a citizen or fully landed immigrant to own a home.
They're driving all the youth out of the city, which is very sad.
(Or at least tax to hell, make some more money off of the situation)

This will deeply the hurt Vancouver economy in the future.
But politicians see dollars now and for the coming elections.

I'm not quite sure how the bubble will pop, though.

Foreign investment dollars, especially from China, may as well be infinite. They're never going to run out of very wealthy individuals who can afford to buy and sit on 9 fantastic properties.

I'm very curious about how the young individuals are going to tackle this issue. Maybe there will be a mass exodus? Maybe young adults will be forced to the suburbia (therefore making it more vibrant)?
 

Archer

Member
I'm very curious about how the young individuals are going to tackle this issue. Maybe there will be a mass exodus? Maybe young adults will be forced to the suburbia (therefore making it more vibrant)?

Already happening with Surrey.
 

Mrmartel

Banned
There are no kids at these homes.
There's no one in these ghost neighborhoods.

The part that pisses people off the most is that they're paying the same taxes as everyone else.
For housing, I think the solution is being a citizen or fully landed immigrant to own a home.
They're driving all the youth out of the city, which is very sad.
(Or at least tax to hell, make some more money off of the situation)

This will deeply the hurt Vancouver economy in the future.
But politicians see dollars now and for the coming elections.

I 've noticed this personally everywhere in the world I've been. If it's a first world country, or one that is safe, stable and has a developed economy than the best locations/real estate is completely out of the realm of affordability for the vast majority of that nations citizens. In Canada, the best locations which include but not limited to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, Victoria Island, and any area with pretty scenery (coasts, mountains, pretty much all of BC) are impossible for the middle class to own property in. They are owned by a combination of Internationals and domestic wealthy citizens.

One good example is Canmore Alberta, population 12,000. Out of that it has a year round stable population of 5,000, but an additional 7,000 people are drop-ins, either on the weekend or a Chinese owner will stop in maybe once a year. This is a town whose property 40 years ago was largely owned by local business men, tradesmen and farmers. Of course they all sold out in the last 20 years for thousands, even millions of dollars.

The town now is literally impossible to purchase property for anyone who makes less than 6 figures a year. This is Canmore remember, a town that is nice and just within the mountains. But there are much more beautiful locations like Fernie, Tofino, Hope, etc..

It's depressing because as a Nurse (solid middle class pay), even I could never hope to own this property. A house by the mountains or coasts is a pipe dream, where as it was completely doable for our middleclass parents/grandparents generation.

So that's why I said fuck it. Moved back to Manitoba where my disposable income is massive compared to similar people in these prime locations. I live in a boring place, but I have nice toys and take awesome vacations. I like the people better too in the praries. Much more down to earth and nicer.

I'm seeing more of an exodus as well back to the cheaper areas of the country because of this problem as well.
 
I 've noticed this personally everywhere in the world I've been. If it's a first world country, or one that is safe, stable and has a developed economy than the best locations/real estate is completely out of the realm of affordability for the vast majority of that nations citizens. In Canada, the best locations which include but not limited to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, Victoria Island, and any area with pretty scenery (coasts, mountains, pretty much all of BC) are impossible for the middle class to own property in. They are owned by a combination of Internationals and domestic wealthy citizens.

One good example is Canmore Alberta, it has a year round population of 5,000 people, but an additional 7,000 are drop-ins, either on the weekend or a Chinese owner will stop in maybe once a year. This is a town whose property 40 years ago was largely owned by local business men, tradesmen and farmers. Of course they all sold out in the last 20 years for thousands, even millions of dollars.

The town now is literally impossible to purchase property for anyone who makes less than 6 figures a year. This is Canmore remember, a town that is nice and just within the mountains. There are much more beautiful locations like Fernie, Tofino, Hope, etc..

It's depressing because as a Nurse (solid middle class pay), even I could never hope to own this property. A house by the mountains or coasts is a pipe dream, where as it was completely doable for our middleclass parents/grandparents generation.

So that's why I said fuck it. Moved back to Manitoba where my disposable income is massive compared to similar people in these prime locations. I live in a boring place, but I have nice toys and take awesome vacations. I like the people better too in the praries. Much more down to earth and nicer.

I'm seeing more of an exodus as well back to the cheaper areas of the country because of this problem as well.

Halifax is hardly a case of unattainable real estate.
 

Mrmartel

Banned
Just looked up the average house price to the closet big city to me, which is Winnipeg. It's 275,000 in Winnipeg... winnipeg.
 
How much is the average house for by the ocean? Also I'm not saying that entire cities are unaffordable, but do you want to live in the areas that are within them

"By the ocean," I assume you mean the harbour, isn't a good place to live. It smells and is loud, and was recently very polluted. So cheap.

The most expensive area is the south end near the northwest arm. It's expensive there but even then a high-middle class income could afford it.
 
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