Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 3, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press july 1981 pages 1322 Winnipeg retail sales gain but its slow big three in Manitoba mining carefully business finance minister Brian Ransom on Manitoba Economy mining booming while farm Outlook has 2 growth forecast for Manitoba More people investing As inflation bulwark by Noelle Boughton although interest rates Are High and people i Uit Uhi business in the invest Iii ent in Winnipeg is slowly u Row i investment attribute their ii wih to and More people Illey have to invest in return Anas in order to beat Infra Arthur president of investors Iii Uip Ami inv stirs says most people run no longer afford to invest in or real Are junking at things like Stoi is securities and and tie ample Xiv of these areas Means Niobe and More Are turning to financial expanding business i lie is that Many of these i Aii expanding Mauiro says the National investors i Wal eng its distribution net the life Assurance Civ Puiu is and splitting its Winnipeg operations into Ai Buruan and corporate divisions it has just v nipple Ted a million am ii t an Headquarters in director 01 corporate Communia Dean and is planning to 4i senior managers there by the summer of la Murdoch Winnipeg of t is 230v employees will Start moving into the Canadian and International and six years All phases of the million project should be Complete me Itil cd Royal be i mined expanded operations last Decem Oei when u moved into new u division of sons i is million Dollar or Meir n liiithw1 in Manitoba i de vue predent of corporate planning for James Richardson and says Pioneer Grain has Al most completed a elevator and expanded farm Supply facility in construction is also Well underway on another such elevator at bringing the company Manitoba elevators up to while 1ulclier says such upgrading will he notes that another million elevator at Swan River is still being he says today High interest rates have made companies extra cautious on investment and projects which might have been easily approved at another time Are now being carefully business is generally in Murdoch says greatest lifes sales Are ahead of last Gary Branch manager for the Winnipeg Branch of Merrill Lynch Royal securities says business activity is steadily growing Overall but Market activity has slowed since last Hugh partner in charge of research for Richardson securities of says people Are investing in the but Dollar volumes on the Exchange in the first Quarter of this year decreased about 50 per cent Over last year while 1981 activity is still ahead of Benham says growth is because High interest rates have encouraged people to put then Money Mio areas other than the Mai Ket but Benham confident bus mess will Comite to increase picking up As interest rates decline and the Federal and Alberta governments Settle their Energy de Bale investors group which controls the per cent of greatest i 50 per cent of Montreal and All of investors Syndicate had a relatively Good Tiri Quarter in 1981 with business above last Mauro in recent there a been a dramatic increase in sales of equity based Mutual Mauro figures this is bet use people Are realizing these funds bring a Reti in rate higher than for from april 197 to april the consumer Price Index Rose per cent and investors funds increased from 26 to 36 per sales of guaranteed certificates Are increasing though at a slower Rale than last year but not As dramatically As equity based Mutual Mauro Points people Are also buying five year rather than Lon term certificates because of uncertainty about future interest i think theres a crisis of Confidence in Canada says adding that companies need More Lon term Money for businesses which want to make Lon term plans such As building but this will probably not he until interest rates Start to decrease Little apprehensive what Hen does 19bl hold for Manito Bas investment Community no one but most predict lion and a slow increase Fulcher com ments All of Are a Little apprehensive about How the year will come out because of the uncertainties on the other we Art no pushing the Button or stopping the Tiam but All Are confident about Manitoba s reiterates his com pants it in bullish in u and Murd Tyrh and Micro Praise Mam Tobas stable adds Mauro this country has great human and natural and if people a Given a 1 think have a Bright future by Chris Smith Manitoba Economy is not booming like its resource Rich neighbors to the but analysts Are predicting a two percent real growth this compared to last years figure of minus per caused mainly by drought staggering the farm that two percent growth figure is a significant a provincial economist said i guess youd consider it moderate growth with Manitoba two percent slightly below the National figure of per conference Board in Canada figures show billion in total investment in the province for up from billion last but total investment is increasing Here by per cent compared to the Canadian average of 17 per private investment for 1981 should be up compared to billion last but the provincial increase at per cent is far below the National average of per Public investment at million is up per cent Over last years figure of compared to a National figure of per last year was the lowest year for Public investment since and pub Lic investment was More than million prior to but a provincial economist said the main reason for the decrease was a Stop to Hydro develop ment because of excess manufacturing up manufacturing investment is predicted to b up per cent this compared to a per cent increase last year and a National average this year of per 1979 figure for Manitoba was 31 per the estimated value of shipments for tie first Quarter this year is statistics Canada figures that is an increase of More than 12 per cent Over the same period last a provincial economist last years total was Manitoba finance minister Brian Ransom said the two per cent real growth forecast a Fibula be higher and we will More than recover from where the conference Board figures show that is not the Ransom said its Likely the Manitoba Economy would grow at least As much As the Canadian average if you took Alberta out because that province tends to skew the National that would show Manitoba with a growth rate of about three per and Ransom said a Good year for the Agri culture Industry could raise the Confer ence Board prediction by a full percent age Point in any Manitoba tends to be closer to the National average per cent forecast for 1981 according to conference Board figures than Ransom said the Western provinces Are higher and the Eastern provinces Are generally the conference Board forecasts de creases in real Domestic product Fig ures for several Industry sectors for Estry Down 10 per fishing Down per mining Down per manufacturing Down per cent and construction Down per while admitting the predictions of decreases in several sectors concern Ransom said i dont see where those decreases Are to come he added that sometimes a negative prophecy seems to be he said the conference Board does not really explain the reasoning behind its and instead of building to a National figure with provincial the Board takes a National projection and apportions it to the the finance minister said he cant argue specifically with the conference Board figures because the province does not do its own extensive project but we know mining expansion and exploration is with More people hired in flin flon than Ever before for and that Doest Square with a decrease in that sector As forecast by the conference Board and a decrease in the mining sector Doest mean much in one year in any Case because of the stockpiling that goes anyone employed in the Industry would not Likely notice a Dif Ransom slackening demand a provincial economist said the base metals Market this year is dampened by High interest rates and a slackening world it appears the mining sector will be Hurt by the world slow Down and High interest he will be some slowdown in employment and he but the Lon term Outlook is Hudson Bay mining and smelting and inc Are investing millions of Dol Lars expansion and exploration this year and the tantalum mining is expand1 no As he retail sales fur the january to april period were up 12 per cent in 1981 rial domut1c product Newfoundland Mil increase Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia new Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba 319 2933 Mil 2186 27679 45808 4416 Saskatchewan 4509 Mil Alberta 13900 Mil British Columbia 14231 Canada 118091 i compared to 15 per cent but with inflation of about 10 per that translates into a real increase of Boiu two per Manitoba was eighth lowest of All with Only Prince Edward Island and new Bruns Wick doing the labor Force is expected 10 in crease to from about act compared to a National average and per cent for Sas Katche per cent for British Columbia and per cent for that per cent increase is close to the per cent Long Range said Russell Manitoba Man Ager of economic services for the Feder Al employment and immigration de anywhere in the to two percent Range is usually in our Ball he agriculture at in up but the construction Industry registered a per cent decrease in employment in the past its labor was about in May compared to in the service Industry at of the labor Force is up persons since january and manufacturing sits at about the conference Board forecasts in creases in real Domestic product in the following sectors per per goods producing per transportation and per wholesale and retail pet insurance and real is per business and personal per Public per and ser vice producing per revised upward Ransom and the provincial Enn Mist made the Point that the Confer onre Board figures were issued in april before the provinces Farmers received needed rainfall and the agriculture sector prediction will Likely be revised upward when the second Quarter fore cast is the better agriculture Outlook will improve retail he a really Good agriculture year this year could add a full percentage Point to the conference boards projection Over the provincial economist said manufacturing has been the leading sector for the last three years with a per cent annual employment growth com pared to per cent for Canada according to 1979 1980 Statis the level of manufacturing employ Merit As of May was he and was the sixth consecutive monthly in that figure was in no he anticipates that manufacturing will be one of the leading sectors in terms of employment Ransom added that the conference Board figures do not include any Money that May be spent this year on planned Potash development or the projected Alcan aluminium he agrees not much spending on those two projects is Likely to occur in but added that the Bank of Mon Treal has started to calculate it into their economic projection for Manito a projection which is substantially More the province has signed a memorandum of agreement with International minerals and chemicals Canada for a 25 per cent share in the company proposed billion Potash mine and refinery near Core drilling is expected to begin this fall and the mine and Mill will mean 500 full time jobs when commercial production begins in late or Early diverse Economy mean is now conducting a million feasibility study into a proposed million aluminium smelter within 25 of the company is expected to decide by next july whether it will build in and and it announced its site criteria yes the smelter is expected to provide 700 direct jobs if it is As Well As spinoff the significant aspect of 1980 was not that the Economy was Down by per our or per cent a o the conference said the finance but that it want one of the important features of the Manitoba Economy is its Ransom and it was that diversification that prevented last year from being on the other a Boom in one sector wont make a great Impact in the final but it will help to strengthen the the minister Manitoban can expect a basically sustainable Ransom said a steady growth that wont be subject to the minister said there is no better place than Manitoba for a company with Abou 500 employees to locate because of the provinces health facile stable workforce and reasonable housing Manitoba 1981 unemployment rate is forecast at per compared to per cent last year and per cent in the National unemployment rate is predicted to remain steady at per the place it has held for the past two the Manitoba rate will be right in there at the per cent Crockett i dont think it will get below that because there is a bit of Slack in the labor when the unemployment rate is run Ning in that the main age Range of those 25 years and is near full he the is taken up by the youngest age j those less than labor Market pressure the 5 4 per cent rate is probably still the third Crockett with Saskatchewan at per cent and Al Berta at per cent both doing but he added there is quite a bit of pressure on those labor Crockett said there is quite a bit of difference am orig the provinces in predicted labor Force growth rates Canada As a whole is at per cent per cent per cent 16 per cent Nova so per cent Prince Edward no Newfoundland per cent Saskatchewan per cent per cent and British he added that the newfound land rate is offset by a High unemployment Manitoba population was almost 103 million As of april Crockett for a net gain of people Over the year despite an Intel provincial manufacturing is rated a Strong part of provincial ;