Rechercher dans la communauté
Affichage des résultats pour les étiquettes 'month'.
20 résultats trouvés
-
Student residences (3457 du Musée, former Redpath Mansion)
un sujet a posté Malek dans Projets oubliés et/ou en suspens
Voici comment nos projets (une "tour" de 7 étages) naissent à Montréal: dans la contreverse! Publié le 20 janvier 2011 à 08h18 | Mis à jour à 08h18 Le MBAM s'oppose à la construction d'une tour Gabriel Béland La Presse Le tout nouveau pavillon du MBAM devait avoir une vue imprenable sur le mont Royal. Dans le plan des architectes, les visiteurs devaient pouvoir contempler les oeuvres d'art tout en admirant la montagne. Mais tout ça est maintenant mis en péril par le projet de construction d'une tour de 25 m tout près du musée, a appris La Presse. Cette tour d'habitation, qui serait érigée sur le terrain où se trouve l'actuelle maison Redpath, contreviendrait au règlement d'urbanisme de l'arrondissement et viendrait bloquer la vue sur le mont Royal, dénonce le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. Sa directrice générale, Nathalie Bondil, a même écrit au maire Gérald Tremblay pour l'exhorter à bloquer le projet. Elle demande que le futur immeuble, situé à un jet de pierre du musée et de son annexe, respecte le plan d'urbanisme et n'excède pas 16 m de hauteur. «Le Musée s'est astreint à concevoir son projet d'annexe en fonction du règlement de zonage, rappelle le directeur de l'administration du MBAM, Paul Lavallée. La Ville nous a obligés à en limiter le volume. Et puis arrive ce projet d'un promoteur privé qui, lui, obtient une dérogation. C'est majeur.» Sept étages plutôt que trois Amos et Michael Sochaczevski, propriétaires de la maison Redpath, veulent la démolir presque entièrement. À la place de l'immeuble patrimonial, ils entendent ériger une tour de 25 m et 7 étages, même si le règlement d'urbanisme interdit de dépasser 16 m et 3 étages. Ville-Marie et son maire, Gérald Tremblay, ont donné leur accord au projet et à une série de dérogations au règlement d'urbanisme le 8 novembre dernier. Paul Lavallée n'hésite pas à qualifier le projet de «néfaste» pour le Musée. Il rappelle que la verrière qui couronne le nouveau pavillon de 40 millions a été construite justement pour la vue sur la montagne. «Le design de la verrière veut permettre au public de voir la montagne, dit-il. Tout ça va être bloqué. Ça va tout bousiller.» «C'est inacceptable», dénonce l'architecte responsable de l'annexe du musée, Claude Provencher, associé de la firme Provencher Roy " Associés. «Quand on a conçu la verrière, on ne s'attendait pas à se retrouver avec un édifice d'une telle hauteur» tout près. Le MBAM a fait faire une étude d'impact pour savoir comment la construction d'une tour de sept étages à la place de la maison Redpath allait nuire à son nouveau pavillon. Les conclusions sont éloquentes: la vue sur la montagne est presque complètement obstruée par la tour, constate-t-on sur une simulation (photos ci-dessus). Le nouveau pavillon du musée a été aménagé juste en face de l'actuel Musée des beaux-arts, dans l'ancienne église Erskine and American. Le Musée espère avec cette annexe doubler la superficie qu'il consacre à l'art canadien. Le pavillon, dont la construction sera achevée dans quatre semaines, doit être inauguré en septembre. L'arrondissement doit encore approuver le projet en troisième lecture au début du mois de février. Les deux conseillers de l'opposition - François Robillard, de Vision Montréal, et Pierre Mainville, de Projet Montréal - devraient voter contre. Tout indique que les conseillers d'Union Montréal voteront pour, y compris le maire de Montréal et de l'arrondissement, Gérald Tremblay. http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/regional/montreal/201101/20/01-4361884-le-mbam-soppose-a-la-construction-dune-tour.php -
Here is the second short film in a series I'm planning to make this year. All the footage came from YouTube. It took me awhile to complete this. I was able to find some truly special footage, so please give it a look and share it if you like it. I'm not making a penny off this project, just trying to spread the word about this special city we all love. Montreal vue par les touristes francophones:* Here is the first one I released last month, featuring English-speaking tourists:
-
Dans le QDS, sur Bleury http://montreal.eater.com/2015/2/16/8046489/downtown-montreal-new-butcher-sandwich-shop-dans-la-cote-david- From the ex-chef at Le Réservoir. Chef David Aghapekian, late of Plateau craft brewpub Le Réservoir, is about to give Downtown Montreal Boucherie Dans La Côte, a butcher shop with prepared foods and complementary sandwich counter. The makeover of the old La Congolaise at 2123 de Bleury, below Sherbrooke, is almost complete. A source close to Aghapekian tells Eater that the chef spent a month in search of quality, small-scale producers througout Quebec. No word yet on whether Aghapekian's significant other, Chloé Germain-Fredette of Les Chocolats de Chloé fame, will get some counter space. Boucherie Dans La Côte [Official Site] http://www.boucheriedanslacote.com/ sent via Tapatalk
-
Spoilers: Montreal didn't make the cut. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/23/travel/worlds-best-metro-stations/index.html -
X-Men to shoot in Montreal in April 2015
un sujet a posté Chris1989 dans Divertissement, Bouffe et Culture
Huge news! Days of Future Past that was shot here in 2013 grossed $745 million worldwide and cost over $200 million to shoot. The new film's budget could be $250 million + Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Channing Tatum. Rumours of the original cast of Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry returning are also in the air. http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2014/09/04/x-men-returning-to-montreal -
Destination Spotlight - December 2012 Destination Spotlight Get to know our member destinations. Every month we profile a different destination who helps to make the GMIC community so unique. Destination: Montreal, Quebec, Canada http://www.gmicglobal.org/?page=DestSpotlight
-
Gazette begins charging for website access May 25, 2011 – 6:54 am| Posted in Media Publisher Alan Allnutt announced in Wednesday's paper that The Gazette is moving back to a paid model for its website. Based on a similar move by the New York Times earlier this year, montrealgazette.com will have a metered paywall, which allows a certain number of free articles a month and then charges for access beyond that. The model is designed to get heavy users to pay for content while not discouraging occasional readers who might reach an article through a Google search or a blog link. The system, which is managed by Press+ and expected to be running by the end of the day, will allow 20 free articles a month, then charge $6.95 a month (or $69.95 a year) for access. This compares to $26.19/month for six-day print delivery or $9.95/month for the Digital Edition. Print subscribers will, once they register, have unlimited access to online content. The meter will only apply to "premium" content from The Gazette and Postmedia News, including photo galleries and videos. "Major" breaking news stories, blogs and content on affiliated websites like Hockey Inside/Out and West Island Gazette Plus won't be subject to the meter. It's unclear whether other wire copy (Reuters, AFP, etc.) will apply. Wire stories, including those from Postmedia News, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, will count toward the meter, even though many of those are freely available elsewhere. Users of the iPad app will not be metered. Nor will mobile users. "A great deal has been written about the economics of publishing newspapers in 2011," Allnutt writes. "The 'old' model - selling newsprint products very cheaply to readers and selling the audience to advertisers for the majority of income - is increasingly challenged. Simply transferring advertisers from print to online may not work for all. In order to continue our investment in the quality and depth of our award-winning journalism and offer you the features and functions you want from our website, we believe we have to find new sources of revenue." Once upon a time, The Gazette used to charge for online access, under a model similar to what Le Devoir uses today: Some articles free, but most completely locked down behind a paywall, with only the first paragraph available to non-subscribers. Like the Times, The Gazette abandoned this model with the hope that increased advertising revenue would be more profitable than the subscriber revenue that comes out of the paywall. The big question, of course, is whether or not this will work. The Times got 100,000 subscribers in its first month (most of those at 99 cents for four weeks), but its model isn't universally loved, and it has been criticized as being too loose and having too many loopholes. More importantly, there are still plenty of free sources of local, national and international news online, so paid sites need a significant amount of original content that can't be found elsewhere. People aren't going to pay for stories about highway crashes, politics and press releases they can get from six different sources. There's also the added difficulty that, as part of the Postmedia Network, The Gazette shares content with websites of other newspapers, and those newspapers share content with it. Charging for a Gazette article will be pointless if it can be found unmetered on ottawacitizen.com. The Victoria Times-Colonist is also moving to a metered system (one that charges print subscribers as well), but other Postmedia websites are not. Postmedia is waiting to see how The Gazette and the Times-Colonist fare. Of course, as much as I'm a fan of an open Internet and getting things for free, being a Gazette employee I stand to benefit indirectly if this results in a lot of new revenue. So subscribe away! A page of frequently asked questions has been posted, and subscriptions are being taken. UPDATE: Some early reaction from Twitter. As you can imagine a lot of it is negative (or at least sarcastic): trelayne: #Montreal Gazette going to "meter" your access to 10 views/month, then U pay! cooky-clueless readers R screwed justinCgio: Without debate @mtlgazette moves to a "metered" model. $6.95 per month after free 20 articles. #media #nevergoingtopay ArcadiaMachine: I guess I'll be reading Cyberpresse a lot more from now on. MsWendyKH: Check it: @MtlGazette adopts French literacy program! jacobserebrin: The Gazette is setting up a paywall. Why? Gaz has little pull, isn't the NY Times. Other Postmedia sites still giving away same content. codejill: I could imagine paying that for a coalition of papers, but not for the gazette all by itself... NathalieCollard: Ouf! Bonne chance! conradbuck: So they'll start writing premium content? justinCgio: In a job interview with @mtlgazette I brought up how the #RSS feeds were broken and how the web wasn't live enough. Now you want me to pay? ALundyGlobal: Interested to see results in a few months Sita311: #lame I'd put up with advertisement if would remain free. Andrew_MTL: great, that's a simple delete from my bookmarks. PLENTY of credible news resources for free. You going to charge for tweets too? ikenney: Goodbye Montreal Gazette. I won't be reading you anymore!! montrealmarc: People respect the truth. You should just admit that you need the money, not that u r following NY Times business model. tomhawthorn: What will readers do to get around paywall? Whatever it takes. Or they will go elsewhere. They will not pay. noahtron: the #paywall put up by @mtlgazette will certainly help increase readership... just cuz it works for @nytimes doesn't mean it works for you! AVassiliou: We have to pay for @mtlgazette on-line now?? #hugefail Fortunately, plenty of free news sites remain. Times must be tough for @mtlgazette finnertymike: Re Montreal Gazette paywall: current online offer not wow, plus @Cyberpresse outstanding and free. Subscriber interest likely tiny methinks finnertymike: Re MTL Gazette paywall 2: Need an online strategy beyond "Ok, pay now": must-read voices? multimedia/graphics? liveblogs? pizazz? delmarhasissues: Hilarious that The Gazette cites The NY Times when justifying charging for online content. I'll pay for The Times. YOU'RE NOT THE TIMES! jfmezei: Unless all Postmedia papers lock down, people will just go to other postmedia sites to get the exact same news. montrealmarc: All the big newspapers need to meet like the heads of the 5 families in "The Godfather" & make a group agreement to all go metered furry_princess: There's a reason I stopped subscribing to the Gazoo back in 2002. #tabloidfluff JulienMcEvoy: Voir une annonce «The Gazette cherche un(e) directeur(trice) du marketing» le jour où ils annoncent leur paywall, c'est comme ironique. Milnoc: The Gazette already lost me as a reader years ago @finnertymike. What makes them think a paywall will encourage me to come back? Sheesh! aranr: The Gazette's paywall scheme is so misguided. I'd pay to read their HockeyInsideOut mini-site but not the paper itself. #montreal cdiraddo: So now that @mtlgazette has started to meter their site, it means I will no longer link to them in fear that they may ask my visitors to pay jesspatterson: how else are they to pay their costs? gotta come from somewhere. spafax_arjun: If the Montreal Gazette wants people to pay for the content online it needs to step up its game by 2000% The comments on the story on The Gazette's website are even worse (and less grammatically correct), as are those on the Times-Colonist story. There's also some reaction on The Gazette's Facebook page. Other coverage from: The Globe and Mail The CBC (Comments there are similarly not very nice) Presse canadienne Canadian Press Global Montreal Financial Post Métro J-Source UPDATE (May 26): Postmedia boss Paul Godfrey was on Toronto's Metro Morning to explain the paywall deal. Summarized by J-Source. Tags: newspapers, paywalls, The Gazette, Victoria Times-Colonist | Short URL for this post: http://fagstein.com/?p=10546 http://blog.fagstein.com/2011/05/25/gazette-charging-for-online/
-
(Courtesy of The Register) Now all Google has to become Google Government or Google Mint
-
Ce fil est pour mettre des nouvelles sur l'industrie automobile au Canada (ventes, etc) Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2513062#ixzz0eQ4DFfuA It is indeed a little disappointing that the Big 3 aren't really profiting that much from Toyota's woes. Especially considering how good the product is these days (and how reliable American cars are!).
-
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2413317
-
Luxury automakers smash August sales records in Canada
un sujet a posté ErickMontreal dans L'actualité
Luxury automakers smash August sales records in Canada By Nicolas Van Praet, Financial PostSeptember 6, 2009 When auto executives gathered at Pebble Beach in Carmel, Calif. this month to show off a bevy of new luxury car models, the mood was decidedly more downbeat than in previous years. Managers for Lamborghini and Lincoln decried the state of sales for their high-end cars, arguing that their well-heeled American buyers are fearful of flaunting their money with lavish purchases at a time when the United States is still gripped in financial scandals and climbing unemployment. “Keeping up with the Joneses is passé,” lamented Ford Motor Co.’s Mark Fields. Somebody forgot to tell that to Canadians. Amid the worst job market in 15 years, several luxury automakers smashed August sales records in Canada. Mercedes-Benz reported a 20% increase in sales and has sold 2,318 more vehicles this year than last. BMW and Lexus are also besting last year’s tally with double-digit percentage increases last month. Audi nearly doubled its sales in August over a year ago, and has sold 27% more vehicles this year. The country is in a recession and yet the luxury market is holding up. Meanwhile, sales of the most affordable vehicles, subcompacts, are down 26% through the first eight months. “It’s totally counter-intuitive,” said John White, chief executive of Volkswagen Group Canada, Inc., which comprises the Volkswagen and Audi brands. “It’s taken us a little bit by surprise. And the Audi division has had to turn around and ask [headquarters] for more cars because we didn’t think the demand would be as strong in a down market.” Mr. White’s read on the situation is that Canadians who believe they are secure in their jobs are pulling the trigger on buying middle-of-the-road luxury vehicles like the A4 sedan and BMW 3-Series, not the higher-end models. He said the luxury segment has become hyper-competitive as BMW and Mercedes “are out there as aggressive as you’ll see mainstream competitors,” offering deals that were unthinkable only a few years ago and making it easier for buyers to step into premium cars. Mercedes is offering lease deals such as $398 per month on its 2010 C250 car, based on an interest rate of 4.9% for 36 months. That’s on par with a similarly-equipped Honda Accord or Mazda6, according to the Automobile Protection Association. Roughly 40% of luxury vehicle sales transactions in Canada are leases, according to J.D. Power & Associates’ Power Information Network. One third of people pay cash while the rest take out a loan. Sales growth is particularly strong in one sub-segment of the premium market: compact luxury SUVs. Volvo, Mercedes and Audi have launched new vehicles into that category this year, which has helped boost sales volumes 66% over 2008 levels, said industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers. “We’re still a society that needs to carry stuff,” said J.D. Power analyst Geoff Helby in explaining why SUV models like the Volvo XC60 and Audi Q5 are clicking with buyers. “[People] are stepping away from the previous generation of minivans and big honking SUVs and they’re going into something smaller” without giving up luxury features. In the mind of the Canadian luxury buyer, downsizing is the compromise they’re making in the recession, Mr. Helby said. Mary Weil is proof. The media relations professional and her husband started looking around for a new vehicle earlier this year after the lease on a larger sports utility vehicle he drove expired, she recalls. They decided on a Mercedes GLK compact SUV. “The price point was surprisingly not that much higher than comparable vehicles.” In a Jan.15 analysis, Mr. DesRosiers predicted the luxury market in Canada overall will drop 5% this year. Automakers sold 131,436 luxury vehicles in 2008, a 3% decline over the year before. Financial Post nvanpraet@nationalpost.com -
Economy Shed 598,000 Jobs in January Article Tools Sponsored By By EDMUND L. ANDREWS Published: February 6, 2009 WASHINGTON — The United States lost almost 600,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent, its highest level in more than 16 years, the Labor Department said Friday. It was the biggest monthly job loss since the economy tipped into a recession more than a year ago, and it was even worse than most forecasters had been predicting. In addition, the government revised the estimates for previous months to include another 400,000 job losses. For December, the government revised the job loss to 577,000 compared with an initial reading of 524,000. Over all, it said, the nation has lost 3.6 million jobs since it slipped into a recession in December 2007. “Businesses are panicked and fighting for survival and slashing their payrolls,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “I think we’re trapped in a very adverse, self-reinforcing cycle. The downturn is intensifying, and likely to intensify further unless policy makers respond aggressively.” Despite the jobless number, Wall Street opened strongly with all three major exchanges up more than 1.5 percent. As in previous months, employers in January slashed their payrolls in almost every industry except health care Manufacturers eliminated 207,000 jobs, more than in any year since 1982. The construction industry eliminated 111,000 jobs. And retailers, who were wrapping up their worst holiday shopping season in years, eliminated 45,000 jobs. One modest exception to the bad news was in workers’ wages, which have thus far not reflected the dramatic plunge in employment. Hour earnings edged up to $18.46, up 5 cents, and average weekly earnings climbed $614.72, up $1.67. But over all, the new data reinforced the impression of an economy that has become increasingly trapped a vicious circle slumping consumer demand, falling business investment, rising unemployment and mounting losses in the banking system. Christina D. Romer, head of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said the report reinforced the need for Washington to acted quickly on a economic stimulus package. “If we fail to act,” Ms. Romer said, “we are likely to lose millions more jobs and the unemployment rate could reach double digits.” Although the United States officially slipped into a recession in December 2007, the decline was erratic and temporarily disguised by the impact of the emergency tax-rebate last spring. Since September, analysts say, economic activity suddenly plunged on almost every front. The monthly pace of job losses shot up to about 500,000 a month for the last three months of 2008, and the new report offered no hint that bottom is in sight. Last week, the number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims reached a 26-year high, with 626,000 filling out initial applications. “This is a horror show we’re watching,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-of-center economic research organization in Washington. “By every measure available-loss of employment and hours, rise of unemployment, shrinkage of the employment to population rate- this recession is steeper than any recession of the last forty years, including the harsh recession of the early 1980s.” Most forecasters had predicted that the economy would lose about 540,000 in January. Instead, the Labor Department estimated that 598,000 jobs disappeared. To be sure, monthly payroll numbers are subject to big revisions in the months that follow. But most other indicators of the job market had been trending worse as well. Major retailers, rocked by one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in memory, have been shutting stores and laying of armies of workers in recent weeks. On Thursday, the nation’s retailers reported that sales fell 1.6 percent in January, the fourth consecutive month of steep sales declines. And in sign that the country’s slowdown continues to reach beyond its borders, Canada, America’s largest trading partner, reported Friday that its unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent in January, from 6.7 percent in December. In Washington, Friday’s gloomy job report put more pressure on Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill. The House passed a bill last week that would provide more than $800 billion in spending and tax cuts. In the Senate, still bogged down by objections from Republicans, lawmakers were hoping to be able to muster enough votes to pass a measure on Friday “Today’s unemployment numbers are even worse than we thought,” said Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who leads the House Financial Services Committee. “If anything can persuade Congressional Republicans to stop their hyper partisan sniping at the recovery package, these disastrous employment numbers should be it.” For comparison, the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in January 2008. But some analysts contend that the current unemployment rate of 7.6 percent understates the labor market’s problems because the percentage of adults participating in the labor force has slumped in recent years, and those people are not listed as “unemployed.” Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland, estimated that if the labor force participation rate today was as high as it was when President Bush took office, the unemployment rate would be 9.4 percent. Ian Shepherdson, chief North American economist for High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y., said the government had become the only source of energy left to break the cycle of slumping demand for goods and falling production. “The public sector needs to act,” Mr. Shepherdson wrote in a note to clients. “It needs to prevent an endless spiral of attempts to increase saving, leading to reduced spending, leading to reduced incomes, leading to further attempts to raise savings, and so on.” “We remain firmly of the view that the package now in Congress is the bare minimum required to slow the shrinkage of the economy over the next year.” Many economists expect that the economy will continue to contract until July at the very least, but at a slowing pace in the second quarter. That would make it the longest recession since the 1930s, outlasting the two record-holders, the mid-1970s and early 1980s downturns. Each of these recessions lasted 16 months. The current recession, which started in December 2007, would reach that milestone in April. The Federal Reserve continues to pump money into the financial system at a furious pace. Since September, the central bank has more than doubled its reserves, from $900 billion to more than $2 trillion, by literally creating new money. The Fed has used some of that money to help bail out financial institutions, from Citigroup and Bank of America to the American International Group. It has been pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into new lending programs, stepping in for banks and other financial institutions to buy up a widening array of corporate debt. Later this month, the Fed will begin a $200 billion program, in conjunction with the Treasury, to finance consumer debt ranging from car loans and credit card debt to student loans. But analysts say that the big problem is not a shortage of money, but a shortage of demand for products by businesses and consumers. As a result, banks are overloaded with excess reserves, made available by the Fed, which they are often simply parking at the Fed. _________________________________________________________________________ Les Américains payent le gros prix pour les banquiers de Walt Street, je n`ai pas de pitié pour eux, ils ont plongé le monde en crise, en ce sens, ils méritent grandement les conséquences...
-
Building permits fall for third month Canwest News ServiceFebruary 5, 2009 9:01 AM OTTAWA—The value of Canadian building permits fell in December for a third straight month as a slowdown in the economy continued to temper construction activity in both residential and non-residential sectors. Statistic Canada said Thursday that municipalities issued $4.6 billion worth of permits during the month, a decline of 3.9 per cent from November. Residential permits were down 3.2 per cent to $2.6 billion in December, marking the ninth monthly drop in 2008. “Increases in multi-family permits in Ontario were not enough to offset the declines in single-family permits in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia,”the federal agency said. The value non-residential permits fell 4.9 per cent to $2 billion, the third straight monthly decline. This drop was mainly in institutional permits in Alberta and commercial permits in British Columbia, the agency said. Construction permits declined in five provinces and all three territories in December, it said.
-
article de bloomberg -
1,000 new homes for poor in Montreal The Gazette Published: 1 hour ago Quebec announced yesterday it will build 1,000 new social housing units in Montreal, part of a $132-million investment for 2,000 units in Quebec announced in the 2008-2009 budget. "For the past five years, our government has increased its actions to improve conditions for those who are less fortunate in Quebec," said Nathalie Normandeau, minister of municipal affairs. Affordable housing is in high demand in Montreal, with only a 1.4-per-cent vacancy rate in 2007 for units with at least three bedrooms that rent for less than $700 per month.
-
Canada's housing market cools Home prices are still rising but much more slowly.Tyler Anderson/National PostHome prices are still rising but much more slowly. Resale price growth lowest in seven years Garry Marr, Financial Post Published: Friday, June 13, 2008 More On This Story TORONTO -- The Canadian real estate market is being flooded with homes, causing prices to start falling in some key markets, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. The average price of a home sold last month in the country's top 25 markets was $337,071, an all-time record. But that record price was only up 1.1% from May, 2007 -- the smallest year-over-year increase in seven years. "The record number of new listings means more opportunities for buyers," said Gregory Klump. chief economist with CREA. "The resale housing market has evolved in just a few short months." CREA said there were 67,628 new units on the market in May, a 7% jump from last year. It was the second straight month that a record number of houses has gone on sale. The impact on prices is being felt most keenly in Alberta. The average price of a home sold in Calgary last month was $418,881, a 2.4% drop from a year ago. Edmonton sale prices averaged out at $340,499, down 4.8% from a year ago. Unit sales in both Alberta cities are also plummeting. Calgary homes sales were off 34.2% from a year ago while Edmonton sales were down 34.8% during the same period. The home sales are dropping across the country. CREA said on a national basis sales were off 16.9% in May from a year earlier.
-
Building booms across country HEATHER SCOFFIELD Globe and Mail Update June 5, 2008 at 9:10 AM EDT OTTAWA — Building permits in Canada soared in April, rising 14.5 per cent from March because of widespread residential and non-residential activity in all provinces, Statistics Canada said Thursday. The jump means contractors took out $6.4-billion worth of permits, the highest level since last October. “Canadian builder permits were on a tear in April,” Stewart Hall, market strategist for HSBC Canada, said in a note to clients. The gain surpassed economists' expectations by a long shot. They had been expecting a 0.5 per cent increase, after a drop of 4.5 per cent March. House under construction The Globe and Mail Building permits are a notoriously volatile economic indicator, and economists warned not to get too excited about the big monthly leap. The general trend for building permits in both the residential and non-residential sectors has been down since last summer, Statscan noted. Residential permits rose 13.4 per cent from a month earlier, mainly because of growth in multi-family units such as condominiums. Over the past five years, demand has gradually shifted away from more expensive single-family homes to more affordable multi-family buildings, Statscan said. In April, permits for multi-family units rose 19.1 per cent, while single family homes declined 0.6 per cent. “This report does suggest that some improvement in building activity may lie ahead for the Canadian housing sector,” said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist with TD Securities. “However, the fact that all of this increase came from the volatile multi-units component does suggest ... some give-back in the coming month.” In the non-residential sector, the value of permits rose 16.5 per cent from a month earlier, because of strong commercial intentions. Indeed, commercial permits rose 20.2 per cent, as interest in building hotels and retail outlets surged. Industrial permits rose 6.7 per cent, after a large drop in March, as Alberta manufacturing and primary industries regained some interest. Institutional building permits rose 13 per cent in the month, driven by projects for new medical buildings. “The non-residential sector continued to be positively affected by low office vacancy rates and a vigorous retail sector, despite a drop in corporate profits,” Statscan said. Regionally, all provinces saw gains in April, especially in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec, which all posted double-digit increases. Ontario saw the largest increase in dollar terms, with a $2.4-billion leap in the value of permits issued, or a jump of 12.5 per cent. Multi-family homes were the driving force. By city, the largest increase in dollars was in Toronto, again because of multi-family units. “While these gains suggest we will some new housing activity going forward, some of this growth is on the back of declines experienced at the beginning of the year,” said economists at Bank of Nova Scotia. “Thus, despite the fact that permits surged in April, the overall trend remains to the downside.” http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080605.wbuildingpermits0506/BNStory/Business/home
-
Yet another crane collapses in NYC... What is it with cranes in NYC? Every month there's a crane collapse story. Are they raised differently? Does it have to do with the crane company's safety standards? This is a most unfortunate occurence that keeps repeating itself. Especially when lives are lost... http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/30/crane.collapse/index.html
-
Housing starts climb in August, led by Montreal's 283% increase
un sujet a posté mtlurb dans L'actualité
Housing starts climb in August, led by Montreal's 283% increase Foundations poured for 1,878 homes. Construction of condos rises highest, while rental properties fall vs. last year MARY LAMEY, The Gazette Published: 6 hours ago Housing starts rose in August for the fifth consecutive month in greater Montreal, though market demand for rental housing showed signs of cooling, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported yesterday. A total of 1,878 dwellings were started, a seven-per-cent increase over the month a year earlier. The number of condominium starts increased by 65 per cent, while the number of single-family homes rose by 20 per cent. Rental starts fell by 22 per cent to 692 units, compared with 890 a year earlier. Montreal had less new construction than other parts of the metropolitan census area, but still managed the biggest percentage gain for the month, with a 283-per-cent increase in starts. That was powered by the start of work on 413 rental units, compared with 20 a year earlier, and by 252 condo starts, vs. 118 last year. In contrast, Laval and the North Shore construction fell by 29 per cent to 734 units. The drop was most noticeable on the rental front, where the number of new units underway was 155, vs. 618 a year before. Those results were distorted by the start of work on a 500-unit rental project for seniors in August 2006. Construction of single and attached homes and condominiums all rose. On the South Shore, construction declined by 35 per cent for the month, including a 91-per-cent drop in the biggest city, Longueuil, where there wasn't a single rental or attached home start and where only five single-family homes and 14 condominium units were started. The 19 starts for Longueuil compared with 200 a year ago. In Vaudreuil-Soulanges, construction rose by 144 per cent, totaling 100 new units. CMHC considers a project started when the concrete foundation is poured. For the year to date, Montreal is 27 per cent ahead of last year, while Laval and the North Shore are down seven per cent. The South Shore is up eight per cent, and Vaudreuil-Soulanges is up seven per cent. -
Lawyer exodus shutters Desjardins 35 Lawyers Join Rival Lavery Firm; Quebec's Spun Off Jim Middlemiss, Financial Post Published: Saturday, August 18, 2007 An era will end for the 100-lawyer law firm Desjardins Ducharme LLP in September. The once-esteemed law firm will close after more than 50 years in business. Thirty-five of its key Montreal business lawyers will leave the firm to join rival Lavery, de Billy LLP at the end of next month. Concurrently, the Quebec City office of Desjardins, which comprises 50 lawyers and merged into the firm in 1992, has spun out and will operate under its old name Stein Monast LLP. [/url] Another seven litigators from the Montreal office will join litigation specialist Donati Maisonneuve LLP. The final eight lawyers will either retire or have said they are moving to other firms or into corporations. "We have accounted for everyone," said Gerard Coulombe, chairman of Desjardins, who explained that "Quebec City couldn't join the Lavery deal because it would have created too big a firm[for that region.]" Jean Brunet, managing partner of the Quebec City office, agreed: "You can't have a law firm of 100 lawyers in the area. "We're putting down the principles of how it will work in Quebec City," he said of the new firm, adding that he does not rule out opening a smaller Montreal office. The addition of 35 lawyers to Lavery creates a 180-lawyer firm, making it the largest independent provincial firm. The split is no surprise and has been rumoured for weeks once Desjardins started bleeding lawyers to other firms. "We took a good hard look at the various practices and groups lawyers," said Richard Dolan, managing partner at Lavery, said. "We settled on some very strong, solid business lawyers and bankruptcy and insolvency lawyers who had complementary practices to our practice mix. This is a really exciting business opportunity for us." Lavery has always had strong business in insurance, said Mr. Dolan, "The lawyers are going to bring additional bench strength to our corporate merger and acquisitions practice and the insolvency group." Of late it has been a tough go for some independent law firms, squeezed by the creation of large national firms, especially in Montreal, where several Toronto-based firms have opened offices or merged with local firms. In the spring, Goodman and Carr LLP, a 90-lawyer Toronto firm, said it was dissolving its practice. Kip Cobbett, a lawyer with Stikeman Elliott LLP in Montreal, said it is "very sad" to see Desjardins' demise. "It was a wonderful firm. It will certainly change the landscape." The agreement is subject to a vote by the Lavery partners expected later this month. jmiddlemiss@nationalpost.com
