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  #941  
Old Posted Mar 23, 2010, 1:38 PM
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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Bright future here: BMO CEO

By: Martin Cash
23/03/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0


[IMG]http://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/240*180/1989631.jpg[/IMG] Enlarge Image
BMO CEO Bill Downe believes the bank can grow its market share by being more attentive to its customers' needs. (PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA )


THE current rebalancing of the global economy is an opportunity for Canadian businesses to take a larger share of North American and world markets.
And Bill Downe, CEO of the Bank of Montreal, said that in this post-recession era, Canadian banks are well positioned to make positive moves -- for themselves and their customers.
Downe, along with the bank's board of directors and senior management team, is in Winnipeg this week for BMO's annual general meeting Tuesday at the Fairmont Winnipeg.
With Canadian banks emerging from the economic crisis in better shape than many other global financial institutions -- BMO recently posted first-quarter earnings that were almost triple last year's results -- Downe said he believes the current dynamic allows BMO to grow its market share.
He said the global credit crisis arose because consumption was overly dependent on debt and the world "got a little bit in front of its skies." What that is going to require is a "fundamental change" in the way time and energy are spent growing Canadian businesses and BMO's own business.
"(In Canada) we need to reinvest in our business systems and our factories, in our sales and distribution models and use the capital strengths we have in the country to gain a bigger share of the North American market," he said. "The next couple of decades presents a terrific opportunity for us to grow (as a country) and for us to grow as a bank."
BMO, the fourth-largest -- and the oldest -- bank in the country, is in the midst of its own rejuvenation after some failed merger attempts early this decade and its share of debt-related writedowns.
Downe has put his stamp on BMO's current institutional theme -- "making money makes sense."
Downe said he and the bank's senior management believe the way BMO can grow its market share is by being more attentive to its customers' needs. But there are no stated competitive goals or benchmarks to achieve with that kind of marketing emphasis -- and for good reasons.
He said he recently read about some Toyota officials reflecting on their current setback and some related it back to a period between 2002 and 2004 when the emphasis at the company went from making better cars and serving their customers better to passing General Motors to become the world's largest car manufacturer.
"One had intrinsic value," he said. "The other had ego value."
That attitude may explain why Downe seemed more keen to talk about a new five-year mortgage offering at a fixed rate of 3.75 per cent than to crow about the bank's recent earnings results.
In 2009, BMO made about $2.7-billion worth of capital available to about 5,000 business customers in Manitoba.
"When I think about our aspirations, our growth will break down to our ability to serve 5,000, then 6,000 businesses in Manitoba," he said. "I can trace our growth in net earnings back to the focus on serving our customers."
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

BMO and Manitoba
-- The Bank of Montreal set up its first branch in Manitoba in 1877. It now has 22 branches and 400 employees. Its most recent Special Report on Manitoba says it's bullish about the provincial economy:
-- Non-residential construction -- With the floodway and some other construction projects winding down, the double-digit growth of the last four years is expected to become a 1.5 per cent decline in 2010.
-- Agriculture -- Excellent long-term growth potential.
-- Mining -- Not that large relative to the country as a whole, but has strong long-term growth prospects.
-- Population growth -- Running ahead of the national rate for the first time since the early '80s.
-- Bottom line -- Manitoba may not have attracted the attention of the other western provinces, but its well-diversified economy and solid growth prospects deserve attention in a challenging environment.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 23, 2010 B5
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  #942  
Old Posted Mar 23, 2010, 3:08 PM
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-- Non-residential construction -- With the floodway and some other construction projects winding down, the double-digit growth of the last four years is expected to become a 1.5 per cent decline in 2010.
So, is the floodway expansion anticipated to be completed this year? The Floodway Authority construction status on their site appears to be from last fall.
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  #943  
Old Posted Mar 27, 2010, 5:39 PM
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Does anyone have a list of the biggest corporate headquarters in Winnipeg?
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  #944  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2010, 5:24 PM
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Winnipeg comes out on top
Lowest cost of 22 centres in region: study
By: Martin Cash

31/03/2010



Winnipeg gets bragging rights for another two years as the lowest-cost place to do business in Western Canada and all of the midwestern United States.

The 2010 version of KPMG's study on global competitiveness, called Competitive Alternatives, ranks Winnipeg No. 1 among 22 cities in this region when it comes to business costs.

The study, released Tuesday, ranks 112 cities in 10 countries. It puts Canada second of the 10 countries studied, (Mexico, the only developing country in the study, was No. 1), five per cent less expensive than the United States.

When the study was last produced two years ago, Canada and the United States were virtually tied.

KPMG analysts said more favourable exchange rates (when the study was done at the beginning of the year) and increasingly lower corporate tax rates across Canada over the last two years were among the reasons Canada comes out more cost competitive now.

Winnipeg's ranking has not changed dramatically. In 2008 it was slightly more expensive than Saskatoon. This year Winnipeg edged out Saskatoon.

The study measured 26 significant cost components that are most likely to vary by location, including labour, taxes, real estate and utilities as they apply to 17 business operations over a 10-year planning horizon as well as a range of non-cost competitive factors.

Greg Dandewich, vice-president of Destination Winnipeg, the agency responsible for the city's economic development, said KPMG's report is eagerly anticipated and is useful in the city's efforts to attract business to the city.

"We come out extremely well," Dandewich said. "It's very helpful. One of the things we need to do is to give companies a snapshot of where we fit in. When you are dealing with opportunities to attract investment, you use it as a door opener."

Dandewich said the study does not include all of the intangibles that businesses would look at, but it is valuable in that it compares the same metrics in every city across the board.

And in that context, Dandewich said Winnipeg looks great, scoring between 4.2 and 5.7 percentage points ahead of every one of the midwestern U.S. cities.

As a regular subscriber to the study (cities have to pay to be included), Dandewich noted that Winnipeg's cost ranking in the region has gone from fifth to first in aerospace manufacturing and third to first in electronic assembly.

Considering that the largest cities in the countries surveyed are the most expensive ones in their respective countries, cost competitiveness is clearly not always the most important consideration for companies.

But Simon Harding, project leader on the KPMG report, said, "Given that the global economy has been through a recession, I would argue that it is now more important than ever for companies to look at costs when thinking about having international locations or moving into a new market."

The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is spearheading an initiative called Selling Winnipeg to the World, where it is using community contacts to approach businesses that might establish a presence in the city.

Bill Morrissey, the chamber vice-president in charge of the efforts, said the results of the KPMG study will be a great marketing tool.

"Companies are looking at taking action on both the revenue and cost sides of the ledger," he said. "For us to have the distinction of having very competitive overall costs of running a business, it definitely bodes well for us."




1. Winnipeg

2. Saskatoon, Sask.

3. McAllen, Texas

4. Cheyenne, Wyo.

5. Sioux Falls, S.D.

6. Oklahoma City, Okla.

7. Edmonton, Alta.

8. Billings, Mont.

9. Fargo, N.D.

10. Omaha, Neb.

11. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

12. Wichita, Kan.

13. Salt Lake City, Utah

14. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

15. St. Louis, Mo.

16. Milwaukee, Wis.

17. Houston, Texas

18. Phoenix, Ariz.

19. Albuquerque, N.M.

20. Chicago, Ill.

21. Minneapolis, Minn.

22. Denver, Colo.


http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus...-89582562.html
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  #945  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2010, 8:03 PM
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Well that's good to know...
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  #946  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2010, 8:05 PM
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-- Mining -- Not that large relative to the country as a whole, but has strong long-term growth prospects.
The Mining sector should be increasing with prospects so I wonder what the deal is with that. I think is quite large.
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  #947  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2010, 8:21 AM
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theres a reason the golden boy faces north lol
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  #948  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2010, 4:24 PM
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theres a reason the golden boy faces north lol
The reason being that the north is the the primary focus of manitoba being a success in the future.
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  #949  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2010, 3:41 AM
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The Detroit of the Prairies?
MLA makes pitch for Tata auto assembly plant in city
By: Larry Kusch

Winnipeg Free Press

8/04/2010



If Alabama can build automobiles, why not Manitoba?

That's the attitude of NDP backbench MLA Bidhu Jha, who is leading a push to persuade Indian automotive giant Tata Motors to build a North American version of its cute Nano car -- or any other model -- in Winnipeg.

The mechanical engineer, who has owned his own business and worked as an international trade and business development consultant, may have an in with the company. He once worked as an engineer for Tata in Jamshedpur, India, before emigrating to Canada 35 years ago.

Jha, the province's special envoy for international trade, said that before 1997, when Mercedes-Benz began producing cars in Alabama, there was not a single automobile manufacturing job in that state.

Now, according to the Alabama Development Office in Montgomery, Ala., there are 35,000 people employed in the sector. Hyundai, Honda and Toyota have joined Mercedes in setting up shop there, as have a host of auto manufacturing suppliers.

Alabama's success shows that God didn't preordain that all North American automobile manufacturing would be located in Detroit or Windsor, the MLA for Radisson said. "Somebody started with a vision."

Manitoba shouldn't feel inferior to anyone, Jha argues. It already successfully manufacturers buses, is home to a thriving aerospace industry, has a highly skilled labour force and plenty of land and cheap electricity. He said Red River College has already assured him that it could quickly offer special courses in automobile manufacturing.

The Nano, which looks like a Smart Car but costs only $2,500, is inexpensive because it contains absolutely no frills. It's just basic transportation -- and very easy on gas. Tata is said to be interested, at some point, in locating a manufacturing plant in North America.

Jha was part of small Manitoba trade delegation that went to India last summer and met with senior members of Tata, as well as with other companies. The delegation also included representatives from the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association and the provincial government.

Diane Gray, now president of CentrePort Canada, Winnipeg's inland port initiative, participated in her then-role as Manitoba's deputy minister of trade. She cautioned Wednesday that the delegation's discussions with Tata -- India's largest corporation -- were more of a get-acquainted session. She said forging business partnerships often takes years.

"It would be very premature to say that Tata is considering any investment in Manitoba at this time. That would not be true. We do not know that. And we have not made a formal pitch to them to assemble or build anything here," she said.

But Jha and others in Manitoba have continued to court Tata, inviting the company's top Canadian official to Manitoba last fall and meeting informally with senior officials from India in Toronto in February. Last week, Jha travelled to Virginia to meet with the head of Tata's North American operations, who had previously visited Winnipeg.

Dave Angus, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said he was pleased with the results of the trade mission in India last summer. He said the Manitoba group met with "very senior" officials with Tata Motors and presented the case for Winnipeg and Manitoba as a manufacturing hub.
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  #950  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2010, 10:35 AM
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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Prairie credit union giant near

Deal currently being finalized that will see unity by next year

By: Geoff Kirbyson
9/04/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0


The credit union centrals of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are finalizing a deal that would see the trio merge by early next year.
Those close to the negotiations say the move is being driven by the changing landscape of financial co-operatives, which have been consolidating and growing at increasing rates in recent years.
Garth Manness, CEO of the Credit Union Central of Manitoba, said with fewer but larger credit unions in each of the three provinces than ever before, it's becoming more difficult for them to perform their roles. (Credit union centrals are the trade associations and service providers to individual credit unions within their provinces.)
"The gap in size between the smaller and larger credit unions is growing and the gaps in their needs are growing, too. We're finding it more difficult to meet the needs of small, medium and large credit unions together. We believe we'd have greater capacity (for servicing them) if we came together as a Prairie entity," he said.
Large credit unions, for example, may want more sophisticated services or need more liquidity to take advantage of lending opportunities that are above their deposit levels. Smaller institutions are more likely to need things like human resources consulting services.
All three centrals have received overwhelming preliminary support on the merger strategy and all will vote on the final plan at some point later this year. If it passes in all three provinces, the decision will then be made where the Prairie Central -- that's the working name -- will be located and who will run it.
As with all mergers, there will be some job losses. Manness said he expects about 10 per cent of the CUCM's 100 jobs and 350 across the three provinces, to be eliminated.
The three Prairie centrals have gone to school on the experience of their counterparts in B.C. and Ontario, which merged in the summer of 2008 to form Central 1 Credit Union, said Graham Wetter, president and CEO of the Alberta Central. The centrals in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have previously announced their merger plans, which should close before the end of the year.
He said just because one of Winnipeg, Regina and Calgary will be chosen for the head office doesn't mean there won't be a significant on-the-ground presence in the two other cities.
"That's very important. Legally, we'll have to have a head office designated but it's certainly not an indication that a whole bunch of jobs are going to move (to one city)," he said.
Keith Nixon, Regina-based project office chairman of the Prairie Central Initiative, said the proposed merger has been in the works since the summer of 2008. He said by becoming a better service provider to its members, credit unions in the three Prairie provinces will be better positioned to grow their market share at the expense of the Big Six banks.
"The three centrals have been working for quite a number of years on various partnerships. This was seen as a natural way to come together for future positioning," he said.
The CEO of the largest financial co-operative in Manitoba, the Steinbach Credit Union, said he's in favour of Prairie Central.
"We think it's a good thing. I think there are a lot of services that are duplicated in other provinces and if we can take the duplication out and cut expenses, we can pass the savings on to our members in the form of better rates," said Glenn Friesen.
He said the centrals are looking to follow the consolidation lead set by their credit unions.
"There is a lot of merger and acquisition activity in the industry. The credit union system is doing quite well and growing. We have come a long way in the last number of years. We're nowhere near as big as the banks but we can do virtually anything the banks can do," he said.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Give them credit
If credit unions across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta approve the merger of their respective centrals, the resulting body will represent a powerhouse group of co-operative financial institutions. Here's how the credit union systems across the three provinces stack up:
Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Total
Members 640,625 497,701 566,001 1.7 million
Assets $17.49B $13.48B $15.85B $46.8B
Credit Unions 46 65 44 155
Branches 215 310 184 709
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 9, 2010 B4
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  #951  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2010, 2:05 PM
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The Nano could not be sold here, it does not conform to North American standards for crash safety or emissions, nor could it be retrofitted. Certification for our markets would mean a complete redesign of the car and a large difference in the price. Probably not worth it.
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  #952  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2010, 2:42 PM
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Tata is said to be interested, at some point, in locating a manufacturing plant in North America.
Isn't that something that Tata should be concerned about? If they wanted to move to North America and jump through the hoops of regulation (to conform to standards), then why not Manitoba?
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  #953  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 5:44 PM
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here goes another winnipeg HQ... no wonder the canwest sign hasn't been lit at night for the past month or so..

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus...-92745864.html
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  #954  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 6:42 PM
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here goes another winnipeg HQ... no wonder the canwest sign hasn't been lit at night for the past month or so..

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus...-92745864.html
Screw Shaw. I'm going to switch over to another cable/internet provider.

I'm sick and tired of cities like Calgary and Toronto sucking the life out of this city

Just as this city takes some pretty big steps towards improvement, we get shoved back a full kilometer with shit like this.
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  #955  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 6:44 PM
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^ that HQ was here on paper only really.

I am not sure there is anyone to blame for this but the Aspers.

You knew as soon as they bet the farm on CSI about 10 years too late, it was over...
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  #956  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 8:05 PM
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canwest was driven into the ground not muh we can do about that
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  #957  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 8:49 PM
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my shaw cable and internet have been down for two days now....bastards...spent the evening surfing the net on my iphone....almost considered reading a book.

this is why i hate calgary.
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  #958  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 8:58 PM
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Switch back to MTS. MTS TV is far better than shaw now anyway. The new menu system on the digital TV is fantastic.

The MTS internet is OK as long as you don't need to download huge files quickly.
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  #959  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 9:00 PM
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all shaws problems started when they started to get this voip phone crap
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  #960  
Old Posted May 4, 2010, 9:28 PM
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Screw Shaw. I'm going to switch over to another cable/internet provider.

I'm sick and tired of cities like Calgary and Toronto sucking the life out of this city

Just as this city takes some pretty big steps towards improvement, we get shoved back a full kilometer with shit like this.
I wouldn't put any blame on any municipal jurisdiction. Business by and large is conducted without the interference of civic politicians (construction etc. not withstanding). Any uber-large (by Canadian standards) company in this country is going to more than likely be located in Toronto or to a lesser extent Calgary. This is unavoidable, due in large part to proximity to capital markets and the movers and shakers in those markets. Hence why many businesses gravitate to financial centres - Chicago, New York, London (UK), Frankfurt, Shanghai. It's certainly not because they like paying the absurdly high cost of real-estate in those centres.

I do agree that CanWest gave Winnipeg some clout that it no longer has, and CanWest (the Aspers) did force feed the Winnipeg market with some operations that benefitted the city. As it stands, it looks like many of the rank and file operations will remain in town, at least for the time being (we only stand to lose those if our business climate is considerably more expensive then say, Alberta, because there aren't many synergies to be had between the head office and the more mundane operational employees - hence why Toronto is the home to the people who run CanWest, but having some lower level positions in Winnipeg didn't negatively affect the firm). CanWest's top jobs as said were in Toronto, and have been for some time. We stand to lose the most in terms of the contributions CanWest made to the community. With that said, CanWest didn't sink because of Winnipeg, Calgary or Toronto. It sunk because Izzy and greater extent Leonard had a thirst for debt at any cost so that they could hang with the big boys, and were lured to the red-ink at a time when many (though not all) economists worth their salt would have strongly suggested to tread lightly. The Asper's lost CanWest and the Shaw's gained CanWest. $0.06 per share pretty much says it all.

It is also arguable as to whether a vertically integrated Shaw is even beneficial. Though that's an argument for a different post.

As for Winnipeg, entrepreneurship is something that needs to be taught in schools in my opinion. My highschool experience in a nutshell, could be defined as "learning how to be a good little employee". Though there is nothing wrong with being an employee, financial literacy and the spirit of risk by way of entrepreneurial endeavors was a foreign concept. Home grown business owners are the only way Winnipeg will be able to grow it's inventory of private enterprise and at that, paid private enterprise positions and the associated tax base that comes with it. (caveat: CentrePort could be very lucrative, but it's difficult to speculate on something that doesn't really exist right now in any operational capacity. The road will be a good start. I'm very hopeful.)
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