In line with recent trends Thursday’s economic news in Canada is positive while the news south of the border is mixed.

Statistics Canada is reporting that last year’s record activity in building permits has spilled over into 2003. Builders took out an $4.3 billion in building permits in January, eclipsing the previous monthly record of $4 billion set in October 2002. January’s level was 12.3% higher than in December 2002. Construction intentions for new housing, both single-family and multi-family dwellings, were responsible for this new peak.

The value of building permits in the residential sector hit a monthly record of $2.8 billion. This was up 14.4% from December, and 7.2% higher than the previous record set in April 2002.

In the U.S. poor retail sales for Feburary are being blamed on a snowstorm. American retailers are reporting that February sales were in line with reduced forecasts due to a Presidents Day snowstorm, which discouraged consumers from getting to the malls.

Wall Street index futures were narrowly mixed today, while European bourses showed slight gains. Meanwhile, U.S. initial jobless claims were up again last week, rising 12,000 to 430,000.

The only good news in the U.S. is that productivity increased by eight tenths of a percent.

Mixed economic signals in the U.S. accords with mixed geopolitical signals. United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix is indicating increased cooperation from Iraq.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is builiding its weapons stockpile. The BBC is reporting that a warehouse I the American midwest has over 5,000 bombs, each capable of destroying a10-storey building. If war occurs, the U.S. plans to drop 3,000 of these “smart bombs” on Iraq in the first 48 hours.

In Asia, on Wednesday, Tokyo’s Nikkei average dropped 103.47 points, or 1.2%, to 8,369.15. Shares in Hong Kong hit a seven-month low as investors kept selling Chinese telecommunications companies. The Hang Seng index fell 146.92 points, or 1.6% to 8,962.26, its first finish below 9,000 since October.

In Europe the big news Thursday is that the war worries has prompted the European Central Bank cut interest rates — the first time in three months – by a quarter-percentage-point. London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.6% at midday, gaining 20.6 to 3,584.1. The Frankfurt DAX is up 0.2%. The Paris CAC-40 has edged up 0.1%.

Assante is reporting net earnings for the quarter of $6.3 million or $0.07 per share, an increase of $6 million from the last quarter of 2001, when net earnings were $0.3 million. This result reflects the new accounting standard relating to goodwill, as
recommended by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, as well as strong Canadian net sales.

Canadian assets under management grew by $564 million or 10.1% during the fourth quarter on the strength of $356 million in net sales and market growth of $208 million net of management fees.

Hub International, which operates through 11 hub brokerages in the United States and Canada, recorded revenue of $220 million in 2002, up 43% from $154 million in 2001. U.S. revenue rose 78% to $134 million, while revenue of Canadian operations grew 9% to $86 million. U.S. subsidiaries represented 61% of consolidated revenue in 2002, up from 49% in 2001, while Canadian subsidiaries accounted for 39% of consolidated revenue, down from 51%.