Tausi Insider

Emera Inc. EMA-T is putting capital spending on clean energy projects in Nova Scotia on hold as it works through the consequences of the Nova Scotia government’s imposed rate cap on the parent company of Nova Scotia Power. In a conference call to discuss the power utility’s latest financial results, Emera chief executive Scott Balfour said Friday that while the company will continue to make investments in safety and reliability of its network, it won’t be able to spend on other projects in the province due to the cap. “The last capital plan included $500-million in planned investment in the Eastern Clean Energy Initiative, including the Atlantic Loop, to fund new wind generation, transmission, infrastructure upgrades and battery storage to help facilitate the transition away from coal-fired generation,” he said. “Given the restrictions imposed by Bill 212, these cleaner energy investments have been forced to be put on hold as our capital investments at Nova Scotia Power are now requi...

New Brunswick seafood giant Cooke Inc. says it has completed a C$1.5-billion acquisition of Australian seafood producer Tassal Group Ltd. The parent company of Cooke Aquaculture Inc. says the deal is the largest-ever purchase for the family-owned company since its launch in 1985. Cooke says it acquired all outstanding shares of Tassal for A$5.23 per share following approval by Tassal shareholders and an Australian court. Cooke CEO Glenn Cooke says the company is thrilled to join the Tasmanian aquaculture industry and welcomed Tassal’s 1,700 employees. Tassal harvests 40,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon annually in five marine farming zones with four land-based freshwater hatcheries and four processing facilities from southern Tasmania to the north of Queensland. It also farms 5,500 tonnes of Australian black tiger prawns from two hatcheries, three pond farms and processing facilities. https://www.tausiinsider.com/new-brunswick-seafood-giant-cooke-inc-acquires-australias-tassal-grou...

A sold sign is seen outside a home in Ottawa in this file photo. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press Canada’s national real estate association is forecasting another year of housing market declines, after home prices sank for the 10th straight month in December and as households continue to struggle with higher borrowing costs. The home price index fell to $730,600 last month, a 1.6-per-cent drop from November and 13 per cent lower than the February peak. That marks the largest downward swing since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the index fell 9 per cent. It also tops the 7-per-cent slide in 2018, when the federal government toughened up mortgage qualifications. (The index excludes sales of extremely expensive homes and is the industry’s preferred measure of home prices.) Home resales increased from November to December but were still 39 per cent below the volume of activity of December, 2021, when the pandemic’s real estate boom was in full swing. The Canadian Real Estate As...

A sold sign is seen outside a home in Ottawa in this file photo. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press Canada’s national real estate association is forecasting another year of housing market declines, after home prices sank for the 10th straight month in December and as households continue to struggle with higher borrowing costs. The home price index fell to $730,600 last month, a 1.6-per-cent drop from November and 13 per cent lower than the February peak. That marks the largest downward swing since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the index fell 9 per cent. It also tops the 7-per-cent slide in 2018, when the federal government toughened up mortgage qualifications. (The index excludes sales of extremely expensive homes and is the industry’s preferred measure of home prices.) Home resales increased from November to December but were still 39 per cent below the volume of activity of December, 2021, when the pandemic’s real estate boom was in full swing. The Canadian Real Estate As...

Workers inspect lumber at West Fraser Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers, B.C., in February, 2020. JESSE WINTER/Reuters Canadian softwood producers are positioned to reap large refunds after paying deposits totalling US$6.1-billion in U.S. lumber tariffs over the past six years. The U.S. Department of Commerce decided this week to maintain the policy of imposing tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments south of the border. Duty rates are set to rise this summer for Canada’s two largest lumber companies, while most other Canadian producers will see a modest decline in their tariffs. After adding interest to duties already held by the U.S. government, the accumulated tariffs paid by Canadian producers since 2017 are now valued at US$6.5-billion, according to a study by CIBC Capital Markets Inc. analyst Hamir Patel. While the trade fight lingers, Mr. Patel said history is on the side of Canadian producers, who recouped 80 per cent of the U.S. lumber tariffs paid in the previous ro...