A newspaper report says Neenah Paper and Kimberly-Clark retirees are suing the companies for $5 million in punitive damages. They allege that their former employers will charge premiums of as much as $300 a month for benefits coverage, up from the $40 a month they currently pay. The retirees filed the lawsuit on behalf of […]
Strong equity returns last year helped Canadian pension plans, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The Mercer Pension Health Index shows that plan funded ratios increased by about 7%. “The increase was driven mainly by double-digit equity returns,” says Mercer’s retirement professional leader, Paul Forestell. The position at the end of 2006 didn’t quite match […]
The Bank of Canada(BoC)is lowering its economic growth forecast for 2007 mostly due to reduced demand for Canadian exports. “With the slower growth in the U.S. economy, output growth in Canada has also decelerated,” the bank said in its Monetary Policy Report Update. The BoC now projects the economy to grow by 2.3% in 2007 […]
The increase of foreign equity investments by Canadian pension funds is continuing, according to Lea Hansen, principal with Greenwich Associates. “That trend started many, many years ago and it’s now exaggerated with the elimination of foreign investing constraints,” she said at yesterday’s CPBI pension investment forecast 2007 seminar in Toronto. There’s expected growth on behalf […]
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System(CalPERS)is asking Shaw Group’s shareholders to support a proposal requiring approval of excessive severance compensation for departing executives. The proposal would require shareowner ratification of any severance packages worth more than 2.99 times an officer’s salary and target bonus. “We are not seeking to limit severance payouts,” says Christianna Wood, […]
Henri-Paul Rousseau, president and CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said there are several threats to robust global economic growth. He told the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de la Rive-Sud in Longeuil, Quebec, that some of those threats are “related to short- and medium-term risks, such as instability in the […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec plans to sell its interest in DWM to Dundee Wealth Management. It currently owns 16% of DWM, a private company that holds all of the assets of Dundee Wealth, while Dundee owns the rest. Dundee says it hasn’t been able to achieve an equitable settlement so that […]
State Street, Mellon Financial and Northern Trust all say their assets under custody rose last year. State Street’s custody assets jumped 17% to US$11.85 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2006. That’s up from the $10.12 trillion it reported at the end of 2005. Assets under custody or administration at Mellon Financial also hit a record, […]
Russell Investment Group is launching a family of global stock indexes that cover small-cap and large-cap companies in developed and emerging markets. The company says its methodology is designed to benefit large plan sponsors as well as investment consultants, money managers and investment consultants. “Our global index is designed to capture all sufficiently liquid stocks […]
Quebec plans to allow prescription drug prices to rise for the first time since 1994. Health Minister Philippe Couillard says the change could happen as early as spring. The province is the only jurisdiction in North America where prices have been frozen. He denied a report in La Presse that Quebeckers taking part in the […]