WATERLOO REGION — At the start of 2020, back before most of us had even heard of COVID-19, Tony LaMantia had delivered a fairly standard economic forecast to his board of directors at the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
The Waterloo EDC is often the first point of contact for companies looking to locate, relocate or expand in Waterloo Region, and its president and chief executive had forecast they would help close about a dozen new investment deals and attract about $150 million worth of new investment to Waterloo Region in 2020.
The numbers were certainly attainable — after all, between 2016 when Waterloo EDC launched and the end of 2019, the group had helped deliver more than 40 deals and $800 million worth of investment. The forecast was also a little lower than 2019, which saw about $201 million and 15 deals.
Then COVID-19 hit, shocking the global economy. LaMantia was forced to revise and lower his projection to about five or six deals worth about $90 million, and there were several board meetings between March and May to discuss how the agency should respond.
“Unlike other organizations across the country, we didn’t retrench,” said LaMantia in an interview with The Record. “My board said … don’t worry about this year, just do what we need to do.”
When the dust settles on 2020, the Waterloo EDC will have fallen short of its early target for deals — it closed 11 by the end of October — but the agency blew past its initial investment goal of $150 million by helping to bring in more than $221 million, along with 416 new jobs to the region.
“We actually did better than 2019. That’s one hell of a story,” LaMantia said ahead of the annual Waterloo EDC public information meeting Thursday morning when the numbers were officially announced.
The final numbers for 2020 also don’t include the expansion of Amazon into Cambridge and Kitchener, and the announced expansion of Google in Kitchener — deals that were made without the direct aid of Waterloo EDC, LaMantia said, and should create hundreds of more jobs.
When the pandemic first struck, LaMantia — along with local political and business leaders — got right to work and developed a Business and Economic Support Team to help ensure two-way communication was strengthened between politicians at all levels and the business community to help both groups respond quickly to the ever-changing pandemic landscape.
One of the biggest success stories in this region in 2020 has been its ability to pivot and retool to meet the increased need for personal protective equipment (PPE). Waterloo Region went from almost no local suppliers at the start of the year to more than 90, bringing in approximately $80 million of new investment in just a few months.
LaMantia can remember calling PPE manufacturers around the world trying to secure more equipment for Waterloo Region in the earliest days of the pandemic.
“I never want to go through that again,” he said.
How did Waterloo Region respond so quickly to the need for PPE?
“The short answer is because we could,” said LaMantia. “We had the ingredients, we had the manufacturing base, we had the know-how, but more importantly there was the underlying attitude of ‘this is the need so let’s just do it.’”
In 2019, the non-profit Waterloo EDC received roughly $3 million in funding from federal, provincial and municipal governments, according to the group’s 2019 annual report. The bulk ($2 million) came from municipalities.
Including the recent 2020 numbers, the Waterloo EDC has helped close 56 deals that have brought in more than $1 billion in new investment to this community, and creating approximately 3,500 new jobs since 2016.
About 39 per cent of that investment has been in Kitchener, followed by Cambridge (37.5 per cent), Waterloo (11.9 per cent) and the Townships (11.5 per cent).
Looking ahead to 2021, it’s tough to say if Waterloo Region will continue to see strong investment as the pandemic continues. LaMantia couldn’t say for certain if there would be a lag on new investment that could spill over to next year as companies rein in spending while the pandemic drags on.
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LaMantia is hopeful that news of numerous promising vaccines are in development, along with a new administration in the White House, could go a long way in easing global uncertainty.
“Q1 will be really, really important,” for understanding how the rest of the year will go, he said.
Waterloo EDC has forecast about six deals and about $57.5 million worth of investment in this region should close in the first few months of 2021, and even more deals worth an estimated $108 million look very promising and could close by the end of the year.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
