MARCH 22, 2023

Canada’s population grew 2.7 per cent in 2022, the fastest expansion among advanced economies and on par with many African nations.

The country added a record 1,050,110 people over a one-year period to Jan. 1, bringing the total population to 39,566,248, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa. International migration accounted for 95.9 per cent of the growth.

It marks the first time the immigrant-friendly northern nation grew by more than a million people in a year. If sustained, that growth rate would lead to Canada doubling in size in about 26 years, the statistics agency said.

The record-setting population growth is the result of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to add about half a million new permanent residents annually. The government has consistently raised its immigration target to expand the workforce and boost economic growth, but that also threatens to worsen shortages of housing and health-care workers.

Still, recent polling by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News shows 52 per cent of respondents say Trudeau’s plan will have a positive impact on Canada’s economy. That compares with 38 per cent who see the increase as a negative.

While there is broad public support for the open-door policy, rapid population growth in urban centers has sent rents soaring and forced many people to leave major cities to search for affordable housing elsewhere.

With assistance from Erik Hertzberg.

MARCH 23, 2023

Canada’s population grew 2.7 per cent in 2022, the fastest expansion among advanced economies and on par with many African nations.

The country added a record 1,050,110 people over a one-year period to Jan. 1, bringing the total population to 39,566,248, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa. International migration accounted for 95.9 per cent of the growth.

It marks the first time the immigrant-friendly northern nation grew by more than a million people in a year. If sustained, that growth rate would lead to Canada doubling in size in about 26 years, the statistics agency said.

The record-setting population growth is the result of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to add about half a million new permanent residents annually. The government has consistently raised its immigration target to expand the workforce and boost economic growth, but that also threatens to worsen shortages of housing and health-care workers.

Still, recent polling by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News shows 52 per cent of respondents say Trudeau’s plan will have a positive impact on Canada’s economy. That compares with 38 per cent who see the increase as a negative.

While there is broad public support for the open-door policy, rapid population growth in urban centers has sent rents soaring and forced many people to leave major cities to search for affordable housing elsewhere.

With assistance from Erik Hertzberg.

MARCH 23, 2023

The naira, on Wednesday, appreciated to N746 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market.

The figure represents an appreciation of N6 or 0.8 percent compared to the N752 it traded three weeks ago.

Currency traders known as Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), who spoke to TheCable in the Victoria Island area of Lagos said there was low demand for the greenback in the street market.

The traders put the buying price of the dollar at N740 and the selling price at N746, leaving a profit margin of N6.

“No demand. We have dollars to sell but people are not coming to buy,” a trader simply identified as Abdullahi told TheCable.

Meanwhile, the local currency appreciated by 0.11 percent at the official market to close at N461.50 on Wednesday, according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign exchange trading in Nigeria.

Data from the platform showed that while the market opened with an exchange rate of N461.56 to the dollar, the highest price recorded was N544.50/$ within the day’s trading before it settled at N461.50.

A total of $431.77 million was traded in foreign exchange at the official investors and exporters window (I & E) window.

On Tuesday, the CBN monetary policy committee (MPC) resolved to raise the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 18 percent.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the apex bank, who addressed journalists at the end of the MPC meeting, said the apex bank would sustain a tight monetary policy to rein in inflation.

MARCH 23, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. said it’s targeting “an incremental resumption of operations” after temporarily halting activities last week in the wake of a failed satellite launch a few months ago that threw the ambitious space program off course.

“Our first step will begin Thursday of this week, when we plan to return a subset of our team to focus on critical areas for our next mission,” Virgin Orbit said in a statement. “We are looking forward to getting back to our mission and returning to orbit.”

The company is continuing discussions with potential investors and exploring strategic opportunities, it said in a stock exchange filing Wednesday. It plans for a further resumption of operations on March 27, it said.

Virgin Orbit surged as much as 74%, its biggest intraday gain yet. Before today, the stock had lost 76% this year, closing at 44 cents on Tuesday.

The company said it’s preparing for its next launch, without specifying when that might occur. The update comes a week after the the Richard Branson-founded satellite launch firm said it would halt operations while attempting to secure more funding, throwing the future of the business in doubt. Almost all of Virgin Orbit’s staff were furloughed for a week.

Reuters reported that Virgin Orbit is working on a $200 million infusion from Texas-based venture capital investor Matthew Brown via a private share placement, citing a term sheet. Following a meeting by Virgin Orbit’s board on Tuesday, the two sides plan to close the deal on Friday, according to the non-binding term sheet, Reuters said.

Virgin Orbit is trying to emerge from a high-profile failure in January, when the attempted launch of nine small satellites out of Spaceport Cornwall suffered a mishap during flight. The rocket, which was released from underneath the wing of a Boeing 747, never reached its proposed altitude, leading to the loss of all satellites on board.

The company has since blamed the accident on a fuel filter that became dislodged during flight. Besides the operational and financial impact, the failure was also a blemish on the UK’s ambition to establish itself as a European force in space as the January expedition was heralded as the first orbital rocket launch from British soil.

(Updates with stock reaction in fourth paragraph.)

MARCH 23, 2023

TORONTO, March 21 (Reuters) - Canada's Quebec province on Tuesday forecast its budget deficit would narrow less than previously expected in the upcoming fiscal year as it cuts taxes and economic growth slows.

The mostly French-speaking province announced initiatives totaling C$24 billion ($17.5 billion) over the next five years, including a tax cut that will benefit 4.6 million people.

"We are introducing one of the largest tax cuts in Quebec’s history," Quebec Minister of Finance Eric Girard said in a statement. "This is a strong commitment from our government, which we are proud to honour."

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Quebec projected a C$4 billion budget deficit for 2023-24, compared to a C$2.3 billion deficit that was seen in a fiscal update in December. The fiscal year begins on April 1.

The projected deficit includes a C$1.5 billion provision for economic risks and a deposit of C$2.4 billion to the Generations Fund, which is a fund dedicated to repaying the province's debt.

Quebec's net debt-to-GDP ratio is forecast to tick up to 37.7% at the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year from 37.4% in 2022-23 but to then gradually decline to 35.8% in 2027-28 when the budget is expected to be in balance.

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The province, which is Canada's second-most populous province behind Ontario, expects economic growth to slow to 0.6% in the 2023 calendar year from 2.8% in 2022.

It sees a C$5 billion deficit in 2022-23, compared with the C$5.2 billion deficit projected in December.

($1 = 1.3710 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln Feast.

MARCH 23, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Garbage collectors in Paris will continue to strike through next Monday in protest of President Emmanuel Macron’s bill to raise the minimum retirement age.

The CGT union has taken measures to ensure that the strike will last through Monday, François Livartowski, federal secretary of the union’s public services branch, said in a text message.

For the past two weeks, streets in the French capital have been littered with overflowing trash containers. Some were even set on fire by protesters in one of the most visible signs of public frustration over pension reform.

According to city officials, around 9,500 tonnes of trash remained on the city’s sidewalks as of Wednesday, with only about a hundred garbage trucks in service, Le Parisien newspaper reported. Around 250 trucks circulate the city on normal days, Livartowski said.

READ: Paris Garbage Woes Demonstrate the Power of Sanitation Strikes

Half of the city’s arrondissements rely on municipal workers to collect trash. Since last week, authorities have requisitioned 674 workers and 11 contracting companies, Paris police said in a statement, responding to Bloomberg questions.

MARCH 23, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- UK house prices fell at the fastest pace in 12 years in January, barring the pandemic, as higher mortgage costs piled further pressure on the housing market, official figures showed.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, which smooths out short-term fluctuations, prices fell 0.6% from December, according to the Land Registry. That followed a 0.4% decline in December and was the steepest monthly drop, bar distortions during Covid, since 2011.

For the year to January, prices climbed 6.3%, slower than the 9.1% annual rise to December 2022. More up to date figures from mortgage lender Halifax suggest prices may have recovered a little.

Britain’s housing market took off during the pandemic after the Bank of England cut rates to 0.1% in early 2020 and the government gave households tax breaks on property purchases. At its peak last July, annual house-price inflation was running at 14.5%.

Since the BOE started raising rates in late 2021, however, mortgage costs have doubled to around 4% and the property market has slowed. Transactions are down and annual price-growth is cooling.

Private renters are also being hit with higher costs, with average rents rising at the fastest pace since records began in 2016 - up 4.7% in the 12 months to February, the Office for National Statistics said.

Landlord instructions are falling while tenant demand is rising, putting the market off balance, the Association of Residential Letting Agents said in February.

While conditions for renters are deteriorating, there was a recovery in housing affordability for homebuyers last year, the ONS said. The average home cost 8.3 times the average full-time salary in England, a decline from a record of 9.1 times in 2021.

That was the steepest annual fall since records began in 1997 but only returned ratios “to the long-term trend.” Affordability improved because average house prices fell by £9,000 in England Wales in the 12 months to September 2022 while average wages rose £1,800, the ONS said.

MARCH 24, 2023

The federal government says Nigeria Air, the country’s proposed national carrier, would begin operations before the end of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, spoke at the national aviation stakeholders forum 2023 in Abuja on Thursday.

In October 2022, Buhari had said the national carrier would commence flight services by December 2022, but that did not happen due to controversy surrounding the airline’s ownership structure, leading to a court order stopping the federal government from implementing the project.

Speaking at the stakeholder forum, Sirika said the latest deadline is another proposed date for the take-off of Nigeria Air.

He said the project is 98 percent completed.

“All of the roadmap items except, perhaps the airline which in my opinion is at 98 percent completion, and we will fly within these remaining two months by the grace of God,” the minister said.

“We will also finish the concessions. So, all those things we said we would do when we came in, we did them.

“Before the end of this administration, before May 29th, we will fly.”

Speaking on the bidding process of the Nigeria Air project, Sirika said he had hoped Emirate, Lufthansa, and Qatar airlines would emerge as the preferred bidders.

However, he said he was pleased that the Ethiopian Airlines (ET) consortium eventually emerged the winner. 

The minister explained that, except for Overland Airways, he approached international and domestic airlines about partnering with Nigeria Air.

“When we were setting up Nigeria Air limited, my gut feeling is to partner with airlines that I think will add value, with financial experience and high profile such as Emirate, Qatar, Lufthansa, and the rest of them,” he said.

“Those who worked closely with me know that this is my forecast and what I wanted because I believe if you partner with Lufthansa for example, automatically you will have license to fly.

“I thought we would do that, and I made attempts to reach them and invite them, as I did with all airline owners in Nigeria, except Overland.

“I reached out to them personally to come and partner to create a strong airline but fast forward, we had a bidder, Ethiopian airline.

“I was very happy that we got them (Ethiopian) to come. It was not my choice but I am happy now knowing what I know.

“They are a household name, strong, and they have been in business for 70 years unbroken and they have over 200 aircraft.

“So, I am very glad we are partnering with them and it is a reality.

“Some airlines are in court and their grouse is that it can be any airline in the world but not Ethiopian because, in their own way, they think Ethiopian is a competitor.”

MARCH 24, 2023

TSA head says US system opt-out is temporary

The federal Ministry of Finance of Nigeria has disclosed that talks are underway for the conclusion of agreements with Japan which will enable the deployment of facial recognition technology by NEC Corporation at some of the country’s airports, starting with a pilot at those of Abuja and Lagos.

At the end of talks which the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Clem Agba had with the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria Matsunaga Kazuyoshi and officials of NEC recently, the government official said deploying facial recognition in Nigeria’s airports will curb insecurity and other illegal activities, Punch reports.

The project is expected to be financed with grants secured through the planned cooperation agreement. NEC will first deploy the system at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Internal Airport in Abuja for a trial, before eventually expanding it to airports in the cities of Enugu, Kano and Port Harcourt.

Agba called on the support and collaboration of shareholders for the project which he said started with consultations back in January in the Japanese capital Tokyo.

He said he believes the system “would further strengthen the security of our people and the country as a whole” as “this project was conceived in view of several security concerns and the need to nip these growing concerns in the bud.”

Before the project implementation begins, Agba said a site visit would be conducted by a joint team.

The Japanese Ambassador is also quoted as hailing the project, saying it will go a long way in bolstering Nigeria’s airport architecture and encourage travel to and investment in the country.

“We want to holistically support the Nigerian Government to improve security, social cohesion and promote better migration management through the use of technology and installation of CCTV cameras at strategic places,” said Kazuyohsi as reported by Punch.

In the past, experts in the aviation industry in Nigeria have suggested the use of biometrics technology to improve security at the country’s airports.

Biometrics boost airport security, will become mandatory, says TSA

In an airports security related story, the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) David Pekoske has underscored the use of facial recognition technology as one of the best ways of enhancing airport security and accelerating passenger checks at airports across the United States.

Speaking at a panel which was themed on improving airport security, Pekoske said the federal agency’s advanced technology including biometrics enables the screening of around 2.4 million persons at airports in the U.S. daily, as reports The Dallas Morning News.

The tech deployment, according to the TSA chief, means lesser need for deployment of personnel.

For now, biometrics screening for passengers by the TSA is optional as they can out of any stage they are uncomfortable with. The official mentioned however that this will not be the case eventually.

He added that their technology is being improved upon for greater efficiency.

“We’re upgrading our camera systems all the time, upgrading our lighting systems, upgrading our algorithms, so that we are using the very most advanced algorithms and technology we possibly can. With the technology we’ve already deployed, we know we don’t have to increase the size of our workforce,” said Pekoske.

MARCH 24, 2023

By Prince Okafor

Amidst ongoing litigation concerning the new national carrier, Nigeria Air, the Federal Government has again insisted that operations will commence before May 29, 2023.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika made this disclosure at the 10th Aviation Stakeholders Forum yesterday, in Abuja.

Sirika, confirmed that the litigation was responsible for the delayed takeoff of the new airline initially proposed to commence operations December, 2022.

He also noted that domestic airlines were invited to invest in Nigeria Air but they declined because they did not believe in the project.

According to him, Ethiopian Airlines, ET, came up with a better proposal and were chosen as the preferred bidder because of the expertise it has shown and survived for a long time now.

“Negotiation meeting with the Ethiopian Airlines Group Consortium and the Federal Government of Nigeria is ongoing.

“Next step: Federal Executive Council approval of the Full Business Case.

“Operation of local and international flights will commence soon. Before the end of this administration, before May 29, we will fly,” he said.

Sirika also said the benefits Nigeria stands to derive from the establishment of the national carrier include a reduced capital flight from Nigeria, gaining the optimal benefit of BASA and SAATM and the development of an aviation hub.

He also said the national carrier would contribute to the nation’s GDP; facilitate hospitality and tourism; promote growth and development of the Nigerian Agricultural Sector and create jobs around the Agro-Cargo Terminals.