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US 1Q 2014 Homes Sales 43 Per Cent All-Cash
Read more: US 1Q 2014 Homes Sales 43 Per Cent All-CashAll-cash purchases accounted for almost 43 per cent of all sales of US residential property in 1Q 2014, up from almost 38 per cent in the previous quarter and 19 per cent in 1Q 2013, according to data released Thursday from real-estate data firm RealtyTrac. Institutional investors — people or companies that have purchased at…
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Interfor Announces . . .
Read more: Interfor Announces . . .Vancouver, BC’s, Interfor Corporation announced Thursday that shareholders have approved proposals to change the Company’s name to Interfor Corporation from International Forest Products Limited, and to simplify the Company’s share structure. The new name is a direct link to the Company’s traditional trade name, and is consistent with the formal names of its US subsidiaries,…
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BC Invests
Read more: BC InvestsThe Government of British Columbia’s has contributed $2.25 million to cellulose filaments (CF) research. The investment will be used as part of an existing R&D program focused on non-traditional applications of cellulose filament (CF) that are of interest to, and most beneficial to BC. FPInnovations’ cellulose filament research and innovation project is the subject of…
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US Pending Home Sales
Read more: US Pending Home SalesContracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose in March for the first time in nine months, a sign the housing market could be stabilizing after suffering a setback from a rise in interest rates and a severe winter. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts…
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Wildfire Season
Read more: Wildfire SeasonForecasters predicted earlier this year that, due to an extended period of very dry conditions, parts of the United States are under extreme forest fire danger this season. That warning seemed to be playing out this week when wildfires erupted in California. A thousand-acre wildfire in the foothills east of Los Angeles, CA, didn’t grow…
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Port Hawkesbury to Convert to Sugar
Read more: Port Hawkesbury to Convert to SugarNova Scotia’s Port Hawkesbury Paper hopes to move ahead with a demonstration sugar extracting operation within a year. The mill has commissioned an engineering study that is nearly complete for the plant, which would be located at the Point Tupper (Nova Scotia) mill site, according to Atlantic Farm Focus Thursday. They’ve been working on the…
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Plum Creek Develops
Read more: Plum Creek DevelopsPlum Creek Timber, out of Seattle, WA, and one of the largest private landowners in the nation, has begun developing a 2,000-acre “mega site” in south Georgia for future industrial use. Speaking to stock analysts on April 28, Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley said the property, which he called the “Heart of Georgia mega site,”…
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China, Wildfires
Read more: China, WildfiresFurther to this week’s feature story in your Madison’s Lumber Reporter, China has mobilized nearly 3,000 people to quench two raging forest fires in the country’s southwest and north, said Xinhua Friday. Authorities in the southwestern Yunnan Province have mobilized 1,720 people and two helicopters to put out a forest blaze in Dali City. The…
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Canfor Invests
Read more: Canfor InvestsCanfor will invest $30 million at its Polar facility in Bear Lake, north of Prince George, BC, to replace the existing sawmill and to produce higher-value products, company officials said Wednesday at the company’s annual general meeting in Prince George. Canfor will also pump $6 million into its Fort St. John sawmill’s log yard stabilization…
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Metro Vancouver trucking firms challenge federal right to set container rates
Read more: Metro Vancouver trucking firms challenge federal right to set container ratesREGARDING: ongoing transportation contract issues at Port Metro Vancouver Israel Chafetz, one of the lawyers on the case, which involves 33 trucking firms led by Pro West Transport and Trend Transport, said “It’s not an issue of how fair or unfair the rate is, the issue is the authority to set a rate.” Read more:…
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Export Development Canada Forestry Products Export Forecast : Spring 2014
Read more: Export Development Canada Forestry Products Export Forecast : Spring 2014A forecast by Export Development Canada (EDC), released Thursday, predicts that the global economy is on the verge of a rush of economic growth. While key risks still threaten the outlook, the forecast notes their declining severity thanks to increasing momentum and firmer growth fundamentals. The forecast noted that OECD nations, accounting for roughly half…
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US Transportation Improvement Bill
Read more: US Transportation Improvement BillUS Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx Tuesday announced that President Obama plans to provide lawmakers with a legislative proposal for renewing federal transportation spending. Obama called on lawmakers to pass a four-year, US$302 billion bill to revitalize the nation’s transportation infrastructure. The president was previously criticized for failing to provide a specific bill proposal during the…
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US Home Builder Financial Results
Read more: US Home Builder Financial ResultsD.R. Horton and PulteGroup, the two biggest US homebuilders, said Thursday a tight supply of homes is helping them to raise prices, suggesting that the market is regaining strength ahead of the crucial spring selling season, according to Reuters. A dwindling number of existing homes for resale and a scarcity of ready-to-build land is allowing…
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EACOM Reconstruction
Read more: EACOM ReconstructionThe reconstruction Eacom’s sawmill in Timmins, ON, is just a couple of months from being completed, according to Timmins Press Sunday. It will be take longer, however, before mill operators can settle back and declare the job done. “We expect the construction to be finalized within the next two months,” explained Guy Fleury, general manager…
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Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia
Read more: Council of Forest Industries of British ColumbiaAt the beginning of April was held the Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia convention in Kelowna, BC. Founded in 1960 by various logger and lumber manufacturer organizations, COFI is now a “CEO-lead organization”, as Ted Seraphim, CEO of West Fraser Timber, put it during his speech. The convention was attended by over 400…
