Global government bond returns finished January on a positive note, buoyed by expectations of further quantitative easing, such as in Canada, the E.U. and the U.K., or rates staying the same, such as in the U.S., according to a new report by FTSE Russell. It found long Canadian real returns were up 2.6 per cent, […]
Yields for long-term Canadian government bonds rose in December on the heels of aggressive rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, according to a new report by FTSE Russell. It found a bear curve steepening resumed in December, following the Bank of Canada’s 50 basis-point rate cut, as long yields rose and two-year yields were […]
“I’m starting to become a glass half full person. . . . I think that at least one of the two anchors of the 60/40 [balanced portfolio] is going to start working. I wish I could tell you which one,” said Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, during a session at the […]
Fixed income investing isn’t known for its excitement, but in the volatile markets of the post-coronavirus pandemic period, bond specialists may be in for a wild ride. “There’s more yield in the marketplace, so bonds are becoming a better competitor to stocks. . . . You should be asking yourself, how do I get more […]
Efforts by central banks to reduce inflation could spark a global recession, according to a new report from the World Bank. “If the degree of global monetary policy tightening currently anticipated by markets is not enough to lower inflation to targets, experience from past global recessions suggests that the requisite additional tightening could give rise […]
However long the social, political and economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic may last, humanity and its economic systems have weathered the storm exceptionally well, said David Frum, a political commentator and senior editor at The Atlantic, during the keynote address at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2021 Investment Innovation Conference. “We just put the entire world […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw its funding position deteriorate slightly on both a solvency and accounting basis in November, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. According to the report, the index covering the estimated average DB plan saw its solvency ratio dip, from 111.5 per cent to 110.8 per cent. […]
The end of Canada’s quantitative easing strategy and higher than expected interest rates will be beneficial to Canadian defined benefit pension plans, according to Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of finance at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management. On Wednesday, Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada, announced plans to end its quantitative easing policy and […]
Mike Tyson’s one liner “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” comes to mind when I think of the predicament central banks must confront these days. The plan is, and has been, to keep interest rates low for an extended period. While the punch in the mouth is the building up […]
While inflation never materialized after the last financial crisis and the subsequent economic expansion, this time will be different, said Erik Weisman, portfolio manager and chief economist at MFS Investment Management, when speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s Investment Innovation Conference in November. After the global financial crisis, quantitative easing didn’t generate inflation because the […]
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