Canada

The devastating wildfire that has already forced all 88,000 residents to flee Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, exploded tenfold in size on Thursday, cutting off evacuees in camps and shelters north of the city. Firefighters are trying to battle the out-of-control blaze, which has already destroyed homes and is threatening infrastructure. Wildfire Spreads in Fort McMurray https://t.co/WP4HnKjL7T#NASApic.twitter.com/7dUTDAmqRd — NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) May 5, 2016 Officials estimated that 1,600 structures had been damaged or destroyed by Wednesday night.

In a surprising development, the U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased substantially in March 2016 from $47.0 billion in February (revised) to $40.4 billion in March, below the $41.2 billion expected, as exports declined by a modest $1.5 billion, a 0.9% drop to $176.62BN from $178.16BN in Feb. At the same time imports outright plunged by $8.1 billion, down 3.6% in March to $217.06BN from $225.13BN in Feb. Curiously this happened just as Canada announced a trade deficit of C$3.4 billion, the widest on record.

Submitted by David Yager via OilPrice.com,

Never is a long time. The dictionary definition is, “at no time in the past or future; on no occasion; not ever.” In the volatile oil and gas industry, those who try to look that far into the future and predict anything with certainty are invariably wrong. Here’s hoping.

Canada has never been more divided. With Vancouver being taken over by the rich Chinese, and Calgary nearing depression, roles have been dramatically reversed across Canadian provinces as spending in non-energy-producing regions hits a record high relative spending in those dependent on oil...

Home prices show the divide between Canada's haves and the have-nots... (as wealthy Chinese money floods into certain regions)...

Less than two weeks ago we documented that Toronto based Urbancorp, one of Canada's largest residential developers, was having significant issues. Its attorney's had taken the highly unusual step of terminating their contract, it hadn't released 2015 financials due to the audit committee having "open issues and questions", and most intriguing, a board member quit just two weeks after being appointed specifically to provide expertise in accounting.