Oct. 9, 2020

CANADIAN EMPLOYMENT DATA (Unemployment rate 9% vs 10.2% in August)

  • Canada added 378,000 jobs in September (vs expected 150,000), bringing employment to within 720,000 of the pre-COVID level. 
    • 334,000 full time
    • Work from home 25.6% vs 26.4% M/M
    • Employment increased in every province except New Brunswick and PEI
  • Alberta added 38,200 jobs in September; unemployment rate 11.7% vs 11.8% in August.
    • Edmonton added 3,800 jobs; unemployment rate 12.6% vs 13.6% M/M
    • Calgary added 27,000 jobs; unemployment rate 12.6% vs 14.4%

ENERGY

  • Alberta’s UCP government is going to table legislation this fall to spur investments in geothermal energy.
    • Geothermal process extracts heat in the form of hot water or steam from deep inside the earth
    • Can be used to generate electricity through large power turbines
    • Provides continuous electricity to the grid 
    • Drilling for geothermal uses the same rigs, properties and people as the oil and gas industry
    • Alberta is on pace to have 12,000 stranded oil and gas wells that are potential geothermal sites
  • OPEC sees oil demand plateauing in the late 2030s. 
    • Oil use is expected to increase to 107.2 million bpd in 2030 from 90.7 million bpd currently (approximately 101 million bpd January 2020)
    • Oil use is expected to increase to 97.7 million bpd in 2021 and 99.8 million bpd in 2022
    • OPEC says “Future demand will likely remain persistently below past …”

TIDBITS

  • Approximately 80% of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in Napa, California will be lost this year to fire and smoke. (Grape skins absorb the smoke)
  • The first remote, virtual presidential debate occurred on October 13, 1960 between VP Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy. Nixon was in a Los Angeles studio while Kennedy was in an identical New York studio. Moderators were in a 3rd location in Los Angeles.
  • China is taking part in a WHO backed effort to provide a COVID-19 vaccine to developing nations. 
    • Initiative is $18 billion 
    • More than 170 countries are now involved
    • US is not participating
  • Neurological issues have been found in 4 of 5 hospitalized COVID-19 patient, ranging from headaches to confusion or coma. (Source: Northwestern Medicine in Chicago) 
  • A group of 7 major central banks, include Federal Reserve are laying out a strategy for digital currencies in an effort to catch-up with China and get ahead of private projects like Facebook’s ‘Libra’.
  • Bank of Japan is starting digital currency experiments next year.