The good news? Salary budgets are increasing. The bad news? Employees won’t be pocketing as much as they thought. Employers project base salary budgets will increase by 3.1% for next year, according to Mercer’s 2012 Compensation Planning Survey. This is a slight improvement over 2011’s projected increases (2.9%), but well below increases planned before the […]
Watch this video The past decade has brought enormous changes in the global investment landscape, says Scott Berg, portfolio manager, global large-cap strategy with T. Rowe Price. He cites the tech bubble, Sept.11, housing booms, the global financial crisis and Japan’s earthquake as just a few of the events that have impacted the investment environment. […]
Data from Morningstar Canada indicate that equity funds suffered the worst of their now four-month-long slump in August, as weak economic data and an historic debt downgrade in the U.S. pushed world markets downward. All but one of the 23 Morningstar Canada Fund Indexes that track equity categories posted losses for the month, with 12 […]
Alberta had the best-performing labour market in Canada between 2006 and 2010, followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. The report, Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States: 2011 Edition, places Alberta’s labour market not just at the top of Canada but also at the top […]
Reader Alert: Read Part One of this series. Gold will hit $2,500 within six months and its detractors risk getting wiped out, according to fans of the precious metal. The bullion bugs making these predictions see no ready solution to the economic ills plaguing the world, and there is little standing between gold and a […]
As global economic uncertainty has increased, investor satisfaction with full service investment firms has decreased, says a recent study by J.D. Power and Associates. According to the 2011 Canadian Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study, overall satisfaction with full service investment firms is currently at 733 on a 1,000-point scale—a decline of two points from 2010. […]
Canadian consumers were a little less confident in August, particularly regarding job creation and their household finances, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Index of Consumer Confidence. The index fell 6.6 points, to a reading of 74.7. This marks the fourth consecutive month of decline and the lowest level of confidence since July 2009. “This […]
The Conference Board of Canada’s Leading Indicator of Industry Profitability declined in July for the first time in almost a year, suggesting a weakening in Canadian corporate profitability over the next six months. The July result is based on average data obtained before the global financial turbulence earlier this month. “The dismal economic recovery south of […]
A “Yes” win in the B.C. referendum on the HST may not mean a return to the previous provincial sales tax regime in British Columbia. Instead, B.C.’s return to a provincial sales tax could be modeled on the Quebec Sales Tax (QST). The QST is a provincial sales tax, but it is harmonized with the […]
Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. Ongoing market volatility and global unrest continue to leave Canadians feeling unsettled about retirement, according to the most recent results of the Russell Financial Health Index. The second quarter reading of the online tool shows financial health has declined to the lowest level since inception in late 2008. The […]