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Good news report from Canada

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15 August 2007

4 August was the 4th day of the second month of the 2nd year of Canadian national consciousness rising to invincibility, as indicated by the following press reports:

4 August 2007

Reuters Canada - Canada June building permits 2nd highest on record (3 August 2007) Canada's red-hot construction sector showed little sign of slowing in June with the value of building permits slipping only 0.4 per cent from a peak in May to the second-highest level on record, Statistics Canada said. Analysts had expected permits to retreat by 9.8 per cent in June after double-digit growth the previous month had taken them by surprise. Statscan revised upward the May increase to 23.2 per cent from the 21.4 per cent reported last month 'The back-to-back performances point to very busy construction sites in the coming months,' Statscan said. Unlike May, builders' intentions focused on the residential sector, where the value of permits jumped 7.4 per cent as approvals for single-family units hit a record high and multifamily units resumed their upward climb. Housing growth was strongest in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario.

From a Globe and Mail report on this: In the residential sector, intentions climbed to more than C$4.1 billion, only the second time residential permits have surpassed the C$4 billion mark. The demand for new dwellings remained notably strong as a total of 21,515 new units were approved in June, a number surpassed only twice since 1990. The second quarter of 2007 was the highest on record for the total value of building permits, with construction intentions reaching C$19.5 billion, up 13.6 per cent from the first quarter. Strong quarterly growth was recorded in both the residential (up 12.9 per cent) and non-residential (up 14.5 per cent) sectors.

From an Ottawa Business Journal report on this: Total building permit values rose by 18.2 per cent for the first half of the year to C$36.6 billion, primarily because of a 29.1 per cent gain in non-residential construction intentions.

The Toronto Star - Housing frenzy defies expectations (4 August 2007) The Canadian housing and development market is showing no signs of retreat and is in sight of setting new annual records. Municipalities issued C$6.9 billion worth of building permits in June, the second highest month on record. 'This is an incredibly strong report and yet more evidence that the construction sector is absolutely on fire,' said BMO Capital Markets economist Douglas Porter. In the Toronto area, builders took out more than C$1.2 billion worth of permits, up 31.5 per cent over the prior month. Building permits are up 23 per cent year-to-date, largely due to industrial, commercial and institutional building. While residential permits are up more than 8 per cent compared to the same time last year, non-residential permits are up 52 per cent. 'The value of commercial permits has been on an upward trend since the end of 2005, and the recent strength in the results is largely consistent with a dynamic retail sector, the declining vacancy rates for offices as well as strong corporate profits,' Statistics Canada said. Meanwhile, for the fourth month in a row, home resales have broken a record in the Toronto area. The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 8,912 sales occurred in July, making it the best ever for that month, and 26 per cent ahead of sales at the same time in 2006. Sales are now 14 per cent ahead of the seven month total for 2005, the best year ever. Economists had been forecasting a more moderate year, expecting sales to trend down, not up. Continuing job growth, still low interest rates and a solid economy have been credited with the stellar results.

Reuters Canada - Canada budgets all in the black: report (3 August 2007) The federal government and all of Canada's provinces will post budget surpluses this year, CIBC World Markets forecast. The resilience of the Canadian economy and a strong 2006-07 budget carry-over will likely help both levels of government to overshoot their fiscal targets again in 2007-08, said Warren Lovely, senior economist at CIBC World Markets. Canada is the only Group of Seven industrialized country to run a budget surplus.

From a National Post report on this: The federal and provincial governments will rake in far more cash this fiscal year—perhaps three times as much—than they have forecast, says a report from CIBC World Markets.

Canadian Press on further tax cuts (3 August 2007) In a wide-ranging interview, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was upbeat about the economy and the prospects for bigger tax cuts in his next budget. The economy has performed better than the government had forecast in the 19 March budget, with strong 3.7 per cent first-quarter growth, and the second quarter expected to register a three per cent gain. This robust performance has filled government coffers with tax revenues at a faster pace than even last year, when Ottawa recorded a budget surplus of about C$14 billion. 'I still think that Canadians pay too much tax. We can look at income splitting, we can look at increasing thresholds (at which higher tax rates kick in), or increasing exemptions. These are all possibilities in terms of further tax reductions,' Flaherty said. On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said tax relief has been and remains a top priority for the government.

The Toronto Star - Summertime mutual fund sales sizzling (3 August 2007) Net new sales of mutual funds for July are estimated to come in at between C$2.7 billion and C$3.2 billion, according to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada. Mutual fund sales typically slow down in the summer as investors put the RRSP season behind them. But the last several months of this year have bucked the trend. It was the best July for sales since 1998. Including the July figures, net new sales for the year to date are estimated at C$28.3 billion.

Bloomberg News on Canada's dollar rises for week (4 August 2007) Canada's dollar rose to 94.92 U.S. cents on Friday from 93.97 U.S. cents a week earlier, a weekly gain of 1 per cent. The currency strengthened after a report showed gross domestic product expanded at an annual pace of 0.3 per cent in May. 'The global economy is expected to remain in a period of stable and solid expansion,' said David Watt, a senior currency strategist RBC Capital Markets. That will continue to be 'supporting the pro-cyclical Canadian dollar.'

From a Canadian Press report: In an update to its twice-yearly Global Economic Outlook, the IMF projected global growth of 5.2 per cent for 2007 and 2008, up 0.3 percentage points from 4.9 per cent in its April outlook.

The Toronto Star - Grants helping Ontario students, MP says (3 August 2007) New grants for up to one-half the cost of tuition that never have to be paid back are helping nearly 30,000 students—whose families earn C$37,000 to C$75,000 a year—to pay their college and university fees, said Chris Bentley, Ontario's minister of training, colleges, and universities. 'Ontario made a good decision to help middle-class students and so far they're the only province to do this,' said Andrew Parkin, director of research for the Canada Millenium Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships and conducts research on the cost of higher education. Ontario also tried to help middle-class students by cutting in half the amount of funds their parents are expected to chip in when they apply for a government student loan, he added, and raised the amount of funds students can borrow by 27 per cent.

The Vancouver Sun - Hydrogen bus fleet to roll into Whistler (4 August 2007) Whistler will become home to the world's largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses by the 2010 Olympic Games, the B.C. government announced. Leaving only water in their wake, 20 emission-free buses will provide a northern terminus for a 'hydrogen highway' up the west coast of North America. A hydrogen refuelling station contract for Whistler will be joined by other fuelling stations in Victoria, Surrey, and UBC (University of British Columbia) in the works and likely to be announced in September, said Ron Harmer, vice-president of technical services for B.C. Transit.

These are a few of the news reports reflecting Canada's rising invincibility from the growing Yogic Flying groups across Canada and the Invincible America Assembly at Maharishi University of Management and Maharishi Vedic City, USA.

For further information on creating invincibility for your nation, please visit: www.globalgoodnews.com/invincibility.html

Copyright © 2007 Global Country of World Peace

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