The (Right) News Rundown
- According to a new report from market research group New World Wealth, an estimated 8,000 millionaires moved to the country last year. That number put it third overall, behind Australia (11,000) and the US (10,000).
- Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, told CNBC that millionaires are primarily drawn by the prospects of a better education for their kids and improved personal safety. “They want the best schools for their children and to feel safe,” he said. “Climate, health care and cleanliness all follow those top two.”
- The overall number of millionaire migrants is rising. Last year, 82,000 millionaires migrated worldwide, up from 64,000 in 2015.
- France (12,000), China (9,000), and Brazil: (8,000) are the biggest losers of millionaires, while China creates just as many per year as the number that leaves, the religious tension and high tax rate created by the Socialist Party in France is perpetuating the wealth drain since the election in 2012. Many millionaires in South America are leaving for the United States, whereas Vancouver is the destination for many Chinese millionaire immigrants.
- The BC Liberal government announced their budget on Tuesday, and the big news was cutting of Medical Services Premium costs, or MSP by 50% for households making less than $120,000 a year, which is about half of the population of the province.
- Finance Minister Mike de Jong announced the change Tuesday in a $50.2-billion 5th in a row balanced budget that also trims the small business tax and boosts spending on education, child protection and youth mental health. It is forecasted to include a $295M surplus. The surplus would have been bigger, but spending was increased for housing, education, infrastructure and forest fire prevention.
- Other highlights include eliminating tax on electricity for businesses, lowered property transfer tax for first time homebuyers, and an additional $287M to the Ministry of Children and Family Development, with about half going to address concerns about indigenous child welfare.
- “We’ve got a triple A rating on the finance side; I think on a social policy we’ve got a triple C,” said Michael Prince, Lansdowne professor of social policy at the University of Victoria.
- What's worrying is that Michael Prince is a professor of social policy, yet uses the term ""triple C"", which in financial terms refers to failed or failing economic states like Venezuela, Greece, Ukraine, and several Sub-Saharan African countries. Canada's economies, and British Columbia in particular are AAA, the best you can get, and should be compared with other strong economies, not described as ""triple C"". Prince also regularly appears on local news broadcasts like Chek News and CTV Vancouver Island as an ""expert"" on Political Science. It's worrying that we always get the same so called ""experts"" on TV, when some of the time they're not correct about the subject at hand.
- The annual inflation rate has climbed to 2.5 per cent in Alberta — driven largely by soaring gas prices that can be attributed in part to the province's new carbon tax, Statistics Canada says.
- Gas prices have leaped by 33.9 per cent in Alberta in the 12 months ending in January — including a 7.9 per cent jump in December.
- It went from an average of 94.9 cents a litre in December to 106.8 cents a litre in January.
- In Edmonton, it climbed by 11.2 cents a litre, from 89.7 in December to 100.9 in January.
- Shutdowns late last year at refineries in Illinois and Indiana have also been linked to rising gas prices.
- Natural gas prices spiked by 42.3 per cent year over year in January, also driven in part by the carbon tax, Statistics Canada said.
- The national inflation rate rose to 2.1% from 1.5%. This can be attributed to the new carbon levies in Alberta and Ontario.
The Firing Line
- The Trudeau government has green-lighted the sale of one of British Columbia’s biggest retirement home chains to a Beijing-based insurance titan with a murky ownership structure in a deal that gives China a foothold in Canada’s health-care sector.
- Anbang Insurance group is the Chinese company behind the purchase, and it is unclear who actually owns and controls the company. It is estimated that about 92% of the company is owned by relatives of the chairman Wu Xiaohui and his wife Zhuo Ran, the granddaughter of former General Secretary of the Communist Party Deng Xiaoping, and relatives of Chen Xiaolu, the son of a high ranking People's Liberation Army general.
- With high up connections with the ruling party of China, a country well documented with human rights abuses, it is curious that the Trudeau government would open give the OK for a sale to a Chinese company.
- Anbang has withdrawn from offers to buy other companies in the US in the past, when regulatory agencies requested a shareholder structure and the company's funding sources in order to approve the sale.
- Canadian officials said on Tuesday their review of the takeover included a screening for any potential impact on national security. “No issues were raised,” a spokeswoman for Innovation, Science and Economic Minister Navdeep Bains said.
Word of the Week
inflation |inˈflāSH(ə)n|
a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money: policies aimed at controlling inflation | [as modifier] : high inflation rates.
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Show Data
Episode Title: Inflation Rates and The Rise of China
Teaser: A firing line segment you do not want to miss regarding Chinese influence in Canada’s healthcare sector. Economic news from BC and Alberta and just who is immigrating to Canada?
Recorded Date: February 25, 2017
Release Date: February 25, 2017
Duration: 33:10
Edit Notes: Blip at AB inflation.