Map and directions to 33 Avenue Rosemount, Westmount, QC, Canada
Welcome to Wednesday Night #1315 May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 6:30 pm Atwater Library Climate Change Talk.pdf With Al Gore's Messenger, Désirée McGraw, on Climate Change and what WE can do about it
1315
Do see the account of the Wednesday Night #1314. It is a very good read and lead-in to this night
PLEASE LET DAVID KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING (davidnicholson@videotron.ca )
This week, in the absence of Diana, who will be in Washington with colleagues from the UN Convention on Migratory Species, the agenda is all David's and there will be no controlling influence from the left end of the table. Be warned!
Following last Wednesday's Wed1314page2 in-depth exploration of Nobody's Fuel, Douglas Lightfoot will return for further discussion of the attractiveness of the nuclear energy option, while adding his views on the little known private member's bill that could force the federal government to take action to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. Douglas contends that "Bill C-288, if it becomes law, is a formula for severely hurting all Canadians economically."
(See his letter to the Gazette )
No doubt there will be comments on the recent developments in the Conrad Black trial with the cross examination of David Radler by the defense attorneys.
What do the changes in leadership in France and Great Britain portend? We note that some French media is already on the attack concerning Sarkozy's links to businessman Vincent Bollore and the quashing of the story that Mme Sarkozy didn't vote in the election, saying that Sarkozy has far too much control over what is or is not published
On the other hand, he has chosen Bernard Kouchner, founder of Médecins sans frontières and a prominent Socialist, as Foreign Minister . This should be interesting, M. Kouchner has never met a media opportunity he didn't relish.
The World Bank board is due to give its decision Tuesday on Paul Wolfowitz's fate. Things look bleak for him now that even his African allies have turned against him , but he maintains that it was all the Ethics Committee's fault
The situation in Pakistan continues to worsen . Could this be the beginning of the end of military rule in that country and, if so, what next?
Surely, even without Diana, there will be mention of Gilles Duceppe's flip-flop over the leadership of the PQ and what that may mean for the Bloc in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, at a local level, we remind you of the Wednesday evening Public Consultation Meeting on Westmount's proposal to put Astro turf on the soccer field in Westmount Park. Patrick Barnard is leading the opposition citizens group and we commend to you the excellent Website at savewestmountpark.com/ as well as the WMA presentation at: .wma-amw.org/
No doubt there will be more on everyone's minds by Wednesday Night. Please bring your topics with you!
PS The total amount of energy in the universe is constant, although energy can be transformed from one form to another. The basic unit of energy is the joule. A watt is one joule per second. Thus a 100 watt electric bulb uses 100 joules per second of electric energy. That energy must come from somewhere and must be paid for. One pays for electric energy in kilowatt-hours which is 1,000 watts being delivered per hour. Thus a kilowatt-hour is 3,600,000 joules, since "kilo" means a thousand, and there are 3,600 seconds in an hour. At 10 cents per kilowatt hour, a joule is really cheap. 10 joules would lift a one kilogram weight one meter......
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY
This page discusses nuclear energy as a part of a more general discussion
of why human material progress is sustainable and should be sustained.
Energy is just one of the questions considered.
See also: Main page on why progress is sustainable by John McCarthy
We look forward to your company.
Diana & David Nicholson
dtnicholson@wednesdaynight.net
Tel: +1 (514) 934-0023
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2007
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A few more links to stimulate some thought and/or items you might have missed
Environment
We don't think it's any secret that we rely heavily on the BBC, frequently for the excellent coverage of Science & nature and Technology. (Superb coverage of climate change issues including Sir Nicolas Sterns' review) However, we also commend whoever is responsible for the collection of links that accompany any major news story.
latest show | some of tonight's players
click for more © Robert J Galbraith photos
Galbraith Wed1205 Album
for Wed1314 May 9, 2007 by Jacques Clément
U.S.
The Federal Reserve remained steady today at 5¼% Federal funds rate for the seventh consecutive meeting, reiterating the inflation risks, with core consumer prices at 2½%, but with first quarter G.D.P. of only 1.3%, the weakest pace in four years, employment of only 88,000 in April, the lowest in 2½ years, unemployment returning to 4½%, weak capital spending by business, weak consumer confidence, personal consumption weakest performance in five months, declining industrial production and capacity utilization, very weak housing data with prices expected to decline 10%, this year, an estimated 2.4 million people that may lose their homes, existing home sales declining 1.7% in the first quarter with a sluggish outlook for the second quarter, the lowest level in four years and the biggest decline in March (-8.4%) since January, 1989, new home sales declining by 18.5% at the lowest level in 13 years and at the slowest pace in nearly seven years and record housing foreclosures (+47% in March). The Dow Jones reached another record today at 13,363 and beat an eighty year old record, being up twenty-five of the last twenty-nine days. Since its major correction of February 27, the Dow Jones has gained over 1,100 points. A few economic numbers did improve, such as the manufacturing sector, with durable goods orders rebounding by 6% (February-March), the I.S.M. Manufacturing fastest rise in one year, factory orders rebounding over 4% (February-March), personal income remaining strong and first quarter earnings outlook being revised up to 8.2% growth. Mergers and acquisitions of $694 billion in the first quarter (+46%/year), record leverage buyouts of $181 billion and record private equity deals bolstered the stock market. The U.S. dollar continued to weaken, reaching $1.3659 U.S. for the Euro at the end of April.
CANADA
Bank of Canada, in its semiannual Monetary Policy Report, has revised to 2.2%, its G.D.P. outlook for Canada, the weakest in four years, core inflation at 2.3% in the first quarter, returning to 2% by the end of the year, with total inflation of 2.6% in the second half of the year, with $68.00 U.S. assumed for crude oil, currently reflected in the futures market. The Bank is looking for an average economic growth of 2.5% in the first half, with strong final domestic demand, strong gains in consumer spending, robust employment growth, gains in real personal disposable income, additional gains in household net worth and credit, strong capital spending by business and exports recovering (particularly machinery and equipment) despite weak U.S. demand for vehicles and building materials, the Bank estimates that the economy has been operating slightly above its production potential (2.8%) in recent months. Household credit has risen strongly (10% year) because of borrowing against home equity (tripled in volume sine 2001). Monetary aggregates have remained high (M1+10%), reflecting the stronger pace of the economy (M2+8%) being consistent with core inflation above 2%. Government spending has slowed as has spending on residential construction. Labour shortages remain acute in Western Canada but wage increases have been at a relatively modest pace. The Canadian dollar is assumed to remain in the range of 86.5¢ U.S. to 89.5¢ U.S. seen since April. The U.S., with a more prolonged slowdown in the housing sector and weak business investments, is assumed to grow by 2.1% from 3.3% last year. They are forecasting slightly stronger overseas economic growth but for the year, at 4.8%. from 5.3% last year. Canada’s commodity prices should remain high as should profits and balance sheets, with accommodative financial conditions. The Bank projects a12% decline in U.S. residential investments in 2007. Since my last report of April 25, building permits in March were up 27% (a record high) reversing the 22% decline in building permits in February (particularly in B.C., Alberta, Ontario) with residential at a five month high. Housing starts (April) weakened by 1% following a 7.6% rise in March. New vehicle sales fell 3.7%. Statistics Canada Business survey (3,000 manufacturing companies) was upbeat with strong hiring intentions. The T.S.X. has reached nearly a 14,000 record, gaining over 850 points since February 27. The Canadian dollar has reached 90¾¢ U.S., a ten month high with a bullish outlook, despite a $4.00 decline in crude oil prices since the end of March, offset by continuing strong commodity prices and record mergers and acquisitions ($458 billion in the first quarter) and gold getting closer to $700.00 U.S.
Near Term Trading Outlook: 1312
Videos Jacques Clement Wed1314 2:47
Peter Perkins Wed1314 1:40
Tuesday 15 May 2007 NBF ECONOMIC NEWS>
U.S CPI for April rose 0.4% after rising 0.6 percent in March. Economists forecast consumer prices would rise 0.5%. Core CPI rose 0.2%. Core prices were projected to rise 0.2 percent “It is now becoming more apparent that core inflation has peaked and is moving lower in response to anemic economic activity,'' Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., said before the report. The Empire State Manufacturing index rose to 8.0 in May versus the 3.8 in April. This is the highest level of the index since February, when the index dropped sharply from 24.4 to 1.9 in March. The increase was in line with expectations of Wall Street economists.
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Wednesday Night creates charts and follows stocks, including timely related financial news items, in which Wednesday Nighters are interested and in order to demonstrate a service that could eventually be developed and marketed. Wednesday Nighters are invited to participate and help to test the service.
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Notes by Herbert Bercovitz OWN and Edited by Diana Thébaud Nicholson OWN
2007 W-N Links
Monday 14 May 2007 PDF
The double-edged sword of primary care reform in Quebec by Dr. Mark Roper great photo and must read
goto pengrowth.com/ then Go to webcast multimedia under Index
Monday 04 December 2006 Pengrowth Energy Trust Announces Extension of Its Offer to Purchase Outstanding Convertible Debentures
Thursday 16 May 2007 To day NYT Podcast | Menu
Monday 14 May 2007 How Will This Bull Market End?
 Larry MacDonald submits: How will the bull market in stocks end? One scenario is an escalation in long-term interest rates relative to the market earnings yield (inverse of price-earning ratio) to a point where the incentive for takeovers and buybacks is eliminated.
Maybe the end will come as soon as the second half of this year, as veteran technical analyst Ron Meisels suggests in his latest Phases and Cycles newsletter. His bullish market calls have been on the mark throughout this extended phase, but now he is saying: “…by the end of the second quarter the bull’s fuel tanks will likely run close to empty. Therefore, the second half of the year may … bring an end to the 2002-07 bull/bear cycle.”
 Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary
China’s Trillion Dollar Nest Egg - April 4, 2007
China has now accumulated more than $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Crossing this symbolic threshold has led many to underscore the destabilization potential of the situation.
First, how did this come about? China’s trade has expanded enormously. Imports have risen from $160 billion in 1999 to about $800 billion in 2006, exports from $200 billion to $950 billion. China’s current account surplus rose dramatically during 2005, as the government deliberately tried to slow domestic investment spending. China’s surplus for 2006 is estimated at over $200 billion – a big number, but far lower than the corresponding deficit in the U.S., at $857 billion. Past issues | his WN page
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