There are signs that the liquidity crunch for third-party asset-backed commercial paper(ABCP)may be easing, as the company behind the securitized debt has managed to find buyers for its latest issuance. Coventree Inc., the structured finance firm at the centre of the Canadian liquidity crunch in asset-backed commercial paper, has announced that it has managed to […]
Recent market gyrations have captured the attention of investors who may question whether the end is nigh for the four-year bull-run on global equity markets. Even their trusted investment advisors may not have all the answers, so it is often helpful to examine where the “smart money” is heading. Institutional investors have largely stuck with […]
Canada’s remaining defined benefit pension plans are fundamentally flawed and require a drastic overhaul if they are to survive, according to a report out of the C.D. Howe Institute. The report, penned by David Laidler, C.D. Howe fellow-in-residence and professor emeritus at the University of Western Ontario, and William B. P. Robson, president and CEO […]
Among many corporate governance concerns, the one that resonates best with the average Canadian is probably excessive executive pay and perks. Actual illegal activity—be it backdating of options or outright fraud on the balance sheet—somehow pales in comparison to what executives can earn through legal means. A study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy […]
Canadians are starting to take retirement planning seriously, according to fresh research from Desjardins Financial Security, but there’s a downside: they typically put off saving until their mid-thirties, at best. In a survey of 1,666 adults, Desjardins found that on average, the “ideal age” to start retirement was 60. But 35% of workers and partial-retirees […]