RAIL SAFETY WEEK– FOUR SAFETY TIPS
- Any time is train time: Trains can run at any time, on any track and come from any direction.
- Speed Misperception: Because of their size, trains appear to be much further away and travelling much slower than their actual speed.
- Trains can’t stop quickly: The average train needs at least 2 km (1 ¼ miles) to stop.
- Safety Pledge: Safety is a shared responsibility. Do your part and take the pledge at mysafetypledge.com.
ALBERTA
- Alberta’s provincial budget will be released October 24th. Premier Kenney says they will have tough touches to fight the deficit but will not reduce funding for health care and education.
- July average hourly wages in Alberta shrank 0.7% M/M after a 1.7% contraction in June.
- Y/Y average earnings are up 0.5%
- Telus is investing $16 billion in Alberta, creating 5,000 jobs, connecting more homes and businesses to fibre optic and preparing for the future of 5G.
- 7 Indigenous groups have acquired a 40% stake in a major power transmission line running from just west of Edmonton to Fort McMurray.
UNITED STATES
- Dallas Fed Energy Survey shows that drilling and completion capex spending is expected to decline 10% in 2020.
- Oil and Gas production increased for the 12th consecutive quarter
- Crude oil prices will need to drop to around $40 per barrel to find a bottom in the rig count (currently down 170 Y/Y)
- Competition for skilled workers is high
- The oil majors are divesting to buy other assets
- Tariffs have resulted in cost escalation over the past 18 months.
- Young US home buyers are priced out of many markets; US had a decline in home sales valued at $300,000 or less.
- Internet Association says that the internet sector contributed $1.2 trillion (10% of GDP) to the US economy in 2018.
- US Interior Department said ‘there is not a climate crisis’ as it seeks to justify plans for oil drilling in the Arctic refuge.
TIDBITS
- Satellites are bringing together governments, technology companies and philanthropies to take advantage of emission and climate sensing technology from space.
- 130 barrels of bitumen were shipped as a semi-solid product from Edmonton to Prince Rupert by rail containers.
- The product is non-flammable, floats in both fresh and salt-water and is non-toxic to marine life.
- The number of doctors in Canada is growing at a rate of more than 2x the population. In 2018, there were almost 90,000 physicians, the highest number per capita on record.
- US family health insurance now costs a record $20,000 annually, making it unaffordable for many workers.
- October 1st is the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China.