The economic outlook of U.S. business economists has improved over the past three months, though their sunnier view may be jeopardized by the resurgence of the coronavirus. A survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics finds a “significant snap-back in expectations from the depths reached across nearly all categories in April,” according […]
British Columbia’s ministry of labour is introducing a new online portal to help the government process applications for temporary layoff extensions more quickly. In late June, the province extended the time period for temporary layoffs related to the coronavirus pandemic to a maximum of 24 weeks — up from 16 previously — expiring Aug. 30, following calls from opposition parties […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans recovered some of their losses from the start of 2020 in the second quarter off the back of strong public equity gains, according to the Northern Trust Canada universe. With stimulus spending to tackle the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic taking effect in many countries, stock markets rebounded with double-digit […]
Among Canadian expatriates who said their future plans have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, 53 per cent said their health and well-being is now a greater priority, while 48 per cent cited family as the biggest priority, according to a new survey by Allianz Care. The survey, which polled expats living in Canada, France, […]
Quebec has published new draft regulations aimed at helping the administrators of supplemental pension plans to navigate the coronavirus pandemic. The proposed regulations would allow plan members to maintain their active membership in a supplemental plan even if they’re experiencing a temporary suspension in accruing benefits, as long as that suspension began in 2020 and doesn’t last longer than […]
The purchase offer for Cirque du Soleil from its secured creditors risks eliminating Quebec’s longstanding presence as a shareholder and causing losses of tens of millions of dollars to two of the province’s largest institutional investors. A US$1.2-billion takeover proposal by a group of debt holders, which was approved on Friday as the benchmark bid […]
With a rough 2020 year-to-date, value investing’s recent poor performance follows over a decade of underperformance, leaving many to ask if it’s still relevant, according to a new white paper by Mercer. Between 1927 and 2008, the average annual value premium was 5.5 per cent, but since then results have been lacklustre. In the 2010s, […]
As lockdown restrictions begin to lift and companies co-ordinate their return-to-work processes, more than half (55 per cent) of Canadian employees said they’d prefer to work from home more frequently, while 41 per cent agreed the era of the 9-to-5 workday is now over, according to a new survey by multinational software company Citrix Systems […]
Over the past few months, we’ve all had to deal with the challenges of social distancing and self-isolation. Some people have faced the extra pressure of continuing to work without interruption to earn a living, while also providing daily childcare. Others have dealt with the challenges of social isolation and living alone. For those of […]
Institutional investors are grappling with the long-term implications of how the coronavirus pandemic will affect demand for various real estate sectors. Many real estate assets will remain under pressure even as establishments across sectors are once again able to welcome customers, says Jeff Olin, president and chief executive officer at Vision Capital Corp., noting that […]