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Canadian snack maker Neal Brothers sees sales surge amid Loblaws fight with Frito-Lay – CBC News

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Canadian snack company Neal Brothers says orders have gone through the roof as a result of a fight over potato chip prices between Loblaws and Frito-Lay.

Frito-Lay, the maker of snack brands such as Cheetos, Doritos, Lays, Ruffles and Sunchips, set off an unexpected food fight last month when it abruptly cut off one of Canada’s biggest grocery chains because of their refusal to raise prices.

Frito-Lay, which is owned by PepsiCo., said it took the extraordinary step because it is facing “unprecedented pressures from rising costs of items, including ingredients, packaging and transportation.” It was pushing Loblaws to charge customers more for their products in order to recoup those higher costs, the company said.

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But Loblaws refused to pass on those costs, with the grocery chain saying it is “laser focused” on keeping prices as low as possible.

The result has been some empty shelves for snackers but also an opportunity for alternatives such as Richmond Hill, Ont.- based Neal Brothers, which makes premium, natural and organic snacks.

“Two weeks ago today, I got an urgent call from a great partner of ours at Fortinos,” company founder Peter Neal told CBC News in an interview.

Fortinos is a chain of 23 grocery stores in Ontario, owned by Loblaws, and the company was in desperate need of chips to replace the inventory lost to Frito-Lay’s sudden decision.

WATCH |The food fight between Frito-Lay and Loblaws, explained:

Pricing dispute could lead to chip shortage at Loblaws stores

9 days ago

Duration 2:08

A pricing dispute between Loblaws and Frito-Lay Canada could result in a chip shortage on supermarket shelves. 2:08

Sales rise not sustainable

Shortly after that call, Neal got a similar one from parent company Loblaws, asking for what he describes as a “huge” request compared to their normal order.

“We were able to fulfil part of it, and the rest of it we’ll hopefully be able to fulfil early next week,” Neal said.

“We just had another order come in yesterday, and that will put us up to, by the end of next week, a good 100 per cent or more.”

While Neal is enjoying the new business, he doubts the company can sustain at this level of production and hopes that once the current surge calms down, sales might level off at a plateau that’s maybe 20 per cent higher than the previous baseline.

“We’re hoping consumers will see our product for the first time, and once this is all over, and we’re not in those main aisles, they will seek us out in the natural food section.”

WATCH | Follow your food from farm to fork to see why prices are going up:

Following rising food costs from the farm to the store

10 days ago

Duration 2:37

Increasing expenses along the supply chain and even the weather are some factors behind rising food costs Canadians are seeing at the grocery store. 2:37

Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food analytics lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says the fight between Frito-Lay and Loblaws may have come as a surprise to shoppers, but it is far from the only such fight behind the scenes.

“Make no mistake: many other manufacturers and grocers are involved in similar tug-of-war disputes,” he said in an email. “It’s happening in dairy and bakery, so many food categories are impacted by this.”

Costs rising everywhere

Supply chain disruptions coupled with high inflation are pushing up the price of all sorts of food, and that trend is unlikely to dissipate any time soon

“For years, during supply-chain games, food manufacturers had to blink first,” he said. “[Frito-Lay’s] move signals that the sector is tired of and desperate to stop supply-chain bullying.”

While Neal’s pleased with the new business, the surge is hardly a windfall. Because the company that bears his name is facing the same supply chain problems and higher costs that everyone else is. Trucking costs alone have tripled, and sometimes even quadrupled, Neal said.

“People say, ‘You must have won the jackpot,’ but no … it’s good for visibility, but we are making less money on every bag now.”

“It’s really, really challenging right now,” he said. “This is worse than March and April of 2020 when the pandemic first started.”

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Calgary breaks all-time record in housing starts but increasing demand keeps inventory low – CBC.ca

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Soaring housing demands in Calgary led to an all-time record for new residential builds last year, but inventory levels of completed and unsold units remained low due to demand outpacing supply.

According to the latest report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), total housing starts increased by 13 per cent in Calgary, reaching a total of 19,579 units with growth across all dwelling types in the city.

That compares to a decline of 0.5 per cent overall for housing starts in the six major Canadian cities surveyed by CMHC.

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Calgary also had the highest housing starts by population.

“Part of the reason why we think that might have happened is that developers are responding to low vacancies in the rental market,” said Adebola Omosola, a housing economics specialist with CMHC.

“The population of Calgary is still growing, a record number of people moved here last year, and we still expect that to remain at least in the short term.”

Earlier this year, the Calgary Real Estate Board also predicted that demand, especially for rental apartments, wouldn’t let up any time soon. 

Industry can cope with demand, expert says

According to numbers from the report, average construction times were higher in 2023 for all dwelling types except for apartments.

The agency’s report suggests the increase in the number of under-construction residential projects might mean builders are operating at or near full capacity.

However, there’s optimism the construction industry can match the increasing need.

Brian Hahn, CEO of BILD Calgary Region, said despite concerns around about construction costs, project timelines and labour shortages, the industry has kept up with the demand for new builds.

Demand is expected to remain robust, but the construction industry can keep up, according to BILD Calgary region CEO Brian Hahn.
Demand is expected to remain robust, but the construction industry can keep up, according to BILD Calgary Region chief executive officer Brian Hahn. (Shaun Best/Reuters)

“I’ve heard that kind of conversation at the end of 2022 and I heard it in 2023,” Hahn said.

“Yet here we are early in 2024, and January and February were record numbers again.”

Hahn added he believes the current pace of construction will continue for at least the next six months and that the industry is looking at initiatives to attract more people to the trades.

Increase in row house and apartment construction

Construction growth was largely driven by new apartment projects, making up almost half of the housing starts in Calgary in 2023.

The federal housing agency says 9,034 apartment units were started that year, an increase of 17 per cent from the previous year. Of those, about 54 per cent were purpose-built rentals.

Apartments made up around two-thirds of all units under construction, CMHC said, with the total number of units under construction reaching 23,473.

Growth, however, was seen across all dwelling types. Row homes increased by 34 per cent from the previous year while groundbreaking on single-detached homes grew by two per cent.

“Notwithstanding challenges, our members and the industry counterparts that support them managed to produce a record amount of starts and completions,” Hahn said.

“I have little doubt that the industry will do their very best to keep pace at those levels.”

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Ottawa real estate: House starts down, apartments up in 2023 – CTV News Ottawa

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Rental housing dominated construction in Ottawa last year, according to a new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Residential construction declined significantly in 2023, with housing starts dropping to 9,245 units, a 19.5 per cent decline from the record high observed in 2022. But while single-detached and row housing starts fell compared to 2022, new construction for rental units and condominiums rose.

“There’s been a shift toward rental construction over the past two years. Rental housing starts made up nearly one third of total starts in 2023, close to double the average of the previous five years,” the report stated.

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Apartment starts reached their highest level since the 1970s.

“The trend toward rental and condominium apartment construction follows increased demand in these market segments due to population growth, households looking for affordable options, and some seniors downsizing to smaller units,” the CMHC said.

Demand from international migration and students, the high cost of home ownership, and people moving to Ottawa from other parts of Ontario were the main drivers for rental housing starts in 2023. The CMHC says rental and condominium apartment starts made up 63 per cent of total starts in 2023, compared to the average of 37 per cent for the period 2018-2022.

There was a modest increase in rental housing starts in 2023 over the record-high seen the year prior and a jump in new condominiums. The report shows 5,846 new apartments were built in Ottawa last year, up 2.1 per cent compared to 2022.

Housing starts in Ottawa by year. (CMHC)

Big demand for condos

The CMHC said condo starts reached a new high in 2023, increasing 3 per cent from 2022 numbers.

“As of the end of 2023, there were only 13 completed and unsold condominium units, highlighting continued demand for new units,” the CMHC said.

Condominum starts increased in areas such as Chinatown, Hintonburg, Vanier and Alta Vista, as well as some suburban areas like Kanata, Stittsville, and western Orléans. Condo apartment construction declined in denser parts of the city like downtown, Lowertown and Centretown, the report says.

Taller buildings are also becoming more common, as the cranes dotting the skyline can attest. The CMHC notes that buildings with more than 20 storeys accounted for nearly 10 per cent of apartment structure starts in 2022 and 2023, compared to an average of 2 per cent over the 2017-2021 period. The number of units per building also rose 7 per cent compared to 2022.

Apartment building heights in Ottawa by year. (CMHC)

Single-detached home construction down significantly

The number of new single-detached homes built in Ottawa last year was the lowest level seen in the city since the mid 1990s, CMHC said.

“The Ottawa area experienced a slowdown in residential construction in 2023, driven by a significant decline in single-detached and row housing starts,” the CMHC said.

Single-detached housing starts were down 45 per cent compared to 2022. Row house starts dropped by 38 per cent compared to 2022, marking a third year of declines in a row.

“Demand for single-detached and row houses also declined in 2023. Higher mortgage rates and home prices have led to a shift in demand toward more affordable rental and condominium units,” the report said.

There were 1,535 single-detached housing starts in Ottawa last year, 208 new semi-detached homes and 1,678 new row houses.

The majority of single-detached and row housing starts were built in suburban communities such as Barrhaven, Stittsville, Kanata, Orléans and rural parts of the city.

“Increased construction costs resulting from higher financing rates and inflation that occurred in 2022 and 2023 contributed to the decline in construction in the region,” the CMHC said. 

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Trump’s media company ticker leads to fleeting windfall for some investors

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A man looks at a screen that displays trading information about shares of Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group, outside the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, U.S., March 26.Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Possible confusion over the new stock symbol for former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social (DJT-Q) saw some investor brokerage balances briefly jump by hundreds of thousands of dollars on Tuesday, the first day Trump’s “DJT” ticker traded.

Several people complained on social media about briefly seeing the value of their DJT stock holdings on Charles Schwab platforms inflated to figures more in line with what they would be worth if the shares traded at the level of the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Some users said they faced a similar issue in pre-market hours on Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade trading platform.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group opened Tuesday at $70.90, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average started the session at 15,937.73 points.

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For one trader, the Schwab brokerage balance jumped by more than $1 million due to the error, according to a screen grab shared on social media platform X. Reuters was unable to contact the trader or independently verify the brokerage balance.

“It sure was nice seeing millions in the account, even if it wasn’t real,” another person, going by the username @DanielBenjamin8, who faced the issue in his E*Trade account, posted on X.

Two X users and one on Reddit surmised that the inflated balances were due to the ticker symbol for the company being nearly identical to the index.

A spokeswoman for Charles Schwab said that certain users on some of Schwab’s trading platforms saw their brokerage balances briefly inflated due to a technical issue.

The issue has been resolved and investors are able to trade equities and options on Schwab platforms, she said. Schwab declined to describe the exact cause of the issue.

E*Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

Trump Media & Technology Group and S&P Dow Jones Indices, which maintains the Dow Jones Transportation Average Index, did not immediately comment on the issue.

While social media users said the issue appeared to have been resolved, many rued not being able to cash out their supposed gains from the error.

“I better go tell my boss that I’m actually not retiring,” the trader whose account balance had briefly jump by more than $1 million, wrote on X.

Trump Media & Technology Group shares surged more than 36% on Tuesday in their debut on the Nasdaq that comes more than two years since its merger with a blank-check firm was announced.

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