Purdy Crawford’s quest to unfreeze the third-party asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) market appeared to come one step closer to realization Monday during a conference call with noteholders where it was revealed that Credential Securities is likely to embark on a relief plan similar to that of Canaccord Capital. “Let me say at the outset that […]
Hydro One’s appeal to the Ontario Divisional court regarding pensions was dismissed recently, marking a second legal defeat for the utility company in a year. The case involves pension payouts to 73 former middle managers who were fired in 2002 as part of a cost-reduction program without adequate adjustments being made to their pensions. While […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust (OPTrust) reported an investment return of 5.6% in 2007, outperforming its weighted benchmark return of 4.2%. This marks the eighth consecutive year in which OPTrust has topped its benchmark. OPTrust now expects an elimination of the plan’s current funding deficit and introduction of a surplus, based on double-digit returns from 2003 […]
With experts predicting an impending labour shortage due to the mass retirement of baby boomers, Quebec’s provincial government has introduced a bill aimed at smoothing the way for phased retirement. Bill 68 is an amendment to Quebec’s Supplemental Pension Plans Act (SPPA), allowing employees to receive a retirement pension (from a defined benefits pension plan) […]
Private employers in the United States are spending up to US$45 billion a year on medical expenditures and work loss due to obesity, according to a report by The Conference Board. Obesity rates in the U.S. have doubled over the last 30 years, with a third of American adults now fitting the definition of “obese.” […]
Canaccord Capital has announced a relief program designed to fully reimburse their retail clients who hold asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP). The so-called Canaccord Relief Program was outlined by CEO Paul Reynolds and combines an unidentified third-party market bid with a Canaccord funded top-up to achieve par value. Clients holding $1 million or less of ABCP […]
The Quebec Court of Appeal has struck down a lower court’s decision on multi-employer pension plans that denied plan sponsors a provision which linked funding to a plan to the delivery of agreed benefits. The April 2 decision overturned previous rulings by the Quebec Superior Court, the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec and the Review Board […]
Expensive gasoline may be causing headaches for commuters, but high oil prices have resulted in a more bullish outlook for portfolio managers on the Canadian equity market. According to the latest Russell Investment Manager Outlook, 43% of Canadian investment managers surveyed are bullish towards domestic equities, up 15 percentage points since the fourth quarter of […]
J. Zechner Associates Inc. has chosen CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Company to provide asset servicing support for its family of pooled funds, including global custody, fund accounting, unitholder recordkeeping, foreign exchange and securities lending services. “We have experience working with CIBC Mellon through our relationships with common institutional clients,” says John Zechner, chairman and […]
The number of employers planning to get more directly involved in the individual health of their employees jumped 25 percentage points from last year, reflecting a trend to find more ways to cut costs, but employees are skeptical, according to a survey. Conducted by Hewitt Associates, the survey polled more than 500 U.S. companies and […]