Friday Post

Just in time for the week-end...


Uh-oh:

The Canadian dollar closed lower Friday as data from China and an international forecast of weak demand for oil further depressed crude prices.

The loonie fell 0.33 of a cent to a 5 1/2 year low of 86.42 cents US.

January crude in New York lost another $2.14 to settle at a five-year low of US$57.81 a barrel after a report that China's factory output, although up 7.2 per cent in November for a year earlier, was down from October's 7.7 per cent growth rate and September's eight per cent rate.

China's economic growth slowed last quarter to a five-year low of 7.3 per cent, below the official full-year target of 7.5 per cent. China's leaders are try to steer the economy toward more sustainable expansion based on domestic consumption.

Also depressing prices was a revised 2015 forecast from the International Energy Agency. The IEA cut its forecast for global oil demand growth by 230,000 barrels per day to 900,000 barrels, citing lower expectations from oil-exporting countries.

Well, the Arab oil barons will drill no matter what, so there's that.

I guess it would be too much to ask for Canada to cut its ties with the paper dragon China and to have the Keystone Pipeline completed.


The only confrontation exists in Wynne's mind. She and McGuinty have run Ontario into the ground. That isn't Harper's fault:

In a letter to the Prime Minister Thursday, the Ontario Premier said the two should end their “confrontation” and meet for the first time in more than a year.

“That is too long a time between meetings of the Prime Minister and the Premier of Canada’s largest province, whose relationship should be one of collaboration, not confrontation,” she wrote.

 Whatever distracts the electorate from what a terrible job Wynne has done.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi calls Albertans "hillbillies":

Calgary's mayor says a now-delayed Alberta government bill about gay-straight alliances in schools would have focused international attention on "what kind of hillbillies we are."

During a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Naheed Nenshi called the debate over Bill 10 "damaging and hateful."

Premier Jim Prentice put the legislation on hold last week, saying he wanted to hear more from all sides before proceeding with it.

Nenshi said the bill would have done nothing but reinforce negative stereotypes about the province.

(Sidebar: way to help push that slur, Naheed.)

While I'm sure Nenshi actually feels that way about Albertans in general, his calling them "hillbillies" is rather like calling one "racist" in the heat of an argument. What better way to stifle debate and corner one's opponent than characterise them as something ugly rather than- let's say- dispute the need for and the reasoning behind the contentious gay/straight groups in schools?