S&P 500 – Benefits Canada.com

North American companies continue to link executive pay programs to ESG measures: report

Sadie Janes — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 20:00:30 +0000

The adoption of environmental, social and governance measures in executive incentive plans continues to increase across markets, especially in North America, according to a new report by WTW. The report, which reviewed public disclosures from more than 1,100 global companies, found metrics related to human capital remained the most popular across all ESG categories, used […]

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North American markets tumble as Russian forces move on Ukraine

Gideon Scanlon — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 18:00:04 +0000

North American stock markets plunged after opening to news that Russian forces have launched a new military offensive in Ukraine. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 624.50 points at 32,507.26. The S&P 500 index was down 49.24 points at 4,176.26 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 70.20 points at 12,967.28. […]

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Wall Street stocks rise after three days of losses

Gideon Scanlon — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 14:00:11 +0000

Wall Street stocks are rising after three days of losses brought on by worries over the spread of the omicron variant and lingering concerns about rising inflation. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index rose 1.5 per cent as of 1:10 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq rose 1.7 per cent. Both indexes were boosted by solid gains […]

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Does time of day impact financial market returns?

mschmit — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 08:25:48 +0000

While many drivers can influence stock market returns, it turns out the time of the day may play an important role. In particular, the four hours around the time Asian markets close and European markets open account for the entire market returns when looking at E-mini S&P 500 futures, according to the paper by Dmitriy […]

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Where did institutional equity investors turn in coronavirus crash?

mschmit — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 04:40:21 +0000

During the coronavirus market crash, U.S. stocks with higher institutional ownership experienced worse performance, especially those held by active, short-term and domestic institutions, according to a recent paper. Institutional ownership of U.S. stocks has risen to massive levels, comprising 75 per cent of stock ownership overall, noted the paper by researchers at the University of […]

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How will China play into Canadian pension portfolios as exposure inches higher?

mschmit — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 04:55:07 +0000

The rallying cry that China is simply too significant a part of the world’s economy to leave out of a well-diversified portfolio is about to be last year’s cliché. For the moment, the country remains the second largest economic engine in the world, but its stunning growth in just the past few years has investors […]

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Looking beyond the U.S. for quality fundamentals at the right price

mschmit — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 03:52:04 +0000

US equities have dominated their global peers over the past decade. As of 30 June, the S&P 500 had returned 14.5 per cent per annum since hitting bottom during the global financial crisis in March 2009 compared to only 7.6 per cent for the MSCI All-Country World ex-USA Index. The outperformance of US shares isn’t […]

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Higher tax rates expected in Biden administration

mschmit — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 04:00:03 +0000

Former vice-president Joseph Biden will inherit an economy beleaguered by the battle against the coronavirus if he wins the election in November. The recession will influence his legislative priorities in both the short and long term; however, Biden has indicated that he would raise an array of corporate and personal taxes to finance domestic programs, […]

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A coronavirus game plan for defined benefit pension plans

mschmit — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 09:23:49 +0000

The novel coronavirus has introduced unprecedented volatility to financial markets and is taking its toll on pension plans. We’ve seen sharp corrections in most equity markets. At its lowest point in the correction to date, the S&P 500 lost 34 per cent of its value, from its peak in February. The TSX, which has also […]

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Fed takes emergency steps to slash rates and ease bank rules

mschmit — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 04:12:46 +0000

The Federal Reserve took massive emergency action Sunday to try to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. The Fed’s surprise announcement signalled its rising concern that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in […]

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