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Feb 21, 2018
By Noah Zivitz
British Columbia’s Finance Minister Carole James says she doesn’t want her province’s housing market to be “used as a stock market”, so she’s digging deeper into the tool kit in an attempt to thwart speculators. The tax on foreign buyers is going up immediately to 20 per cent from 15 per cent, and it’s being spread beyond Metro Vancouver. And an additional “bold new” levy will be imposed on domestic and foreign speculators. All part of a 30-point plan that nearly doubles the number of measures introduced by Ontario last year in its 16-point Fair Housing Plan. Should be pointed out the biggest money maker among B.C.’s 30 housing moves, is the increased property transfer tax on the value of homes above $3 million. That strategy is expected to generate $81 million in revenue per year.
Most important questions to consider today: Are the additional levies enough to scare off foreign buyers? And will those buyers hopscotch elsewhere in Canada?
BUDGET ODDS AND ENDS
James’ fiscal plan is balanced for the next three years, with $200M+ surpluses expected through 2020-21 that would be even larger if not for big hits courtesy of ICBC. Beyond housing, there are some other measures targeting the wealthy, like boosting the surtax on luxury vehicles priced at $125,000+, which is expected to yield $10 million in revenue annually. Wouldn’t hurt to hear from a financial planner who caters to high-net worth clients to gauge sentiment on B.C.’s moves.
LUMBER SURGES. CANADIAN OIL – NOT SO MUCH
Some noteworthy commodity moves to keep track of today. Lumber futures in Chicago are into a sixth straight day of gains, with prices now up almost 17 per cent year-to-date. Meanwhile, the discount on Canadian oil that recently narrowed on the back of rampant speculation has widened again to nearly $30. On the former, we’ll explore the impact for home builders and buyers. On the latter, we’ll assess the catalysts and look ahead to what it means for Alberta’s finances.
WALMART POST-MORTEM
Walmart gets a big chunk of the blame for the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 254-point loss yesterday that snapped a six-session winning streak. Worth pausing to consider whether profit falling a few pennies short of expectations and online sales rising a mere 23% justified having the retailer lose 10% its value.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:
-Nutrien, the newly-merged Agrium and PotashCorp, late yesterday said it will pay a US$0.40/share quarterly dividend
-Glencore is allocating US$2.9 billion for payouts to shareholders this year
-Bloomberg is reporting Apple has reached out to miners with the intent of securing cobalt supplies for iPhone and iPad batteries.
NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS
-Shopify shares are falling in early trading after the company priced the sale of 4.8 million shares at US$137 each this morning
-Notable earnings: Exchange Income Corp., Hudbay Minerals, Iamgold, Stelco Holdings, Maple Leaf Foods, Trican Well Service
-Notable data: U.S. existing home sales
-9:10 a.m. ET: CN Rail CFO Ghislain Houle presents at Barclays Industrial conference
-9:15 a.m. ET: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney discusses inflation outlook in remarks to U.K. Parliamentary Treasury Committee
-10:55 a.m. ET: CP Rail CEO Keith Creel presents at Barclays conference
-2:00 p.m. ET: U.S. Federal Reserve releases minutes from its last meeting
-3:30 p.m. ET: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to launch debate on new procurement legislation in retaliation against state-level Buy American practices
-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's state visit to India continues
Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.
