Briefly:

Previous Brieflies this week: | MON | TUE | WED | THU |

There’s an old newsroom maxim: If it bleeds, it leads. Apparently, Americans feel the press has been overzealous in its portrayal of the economic slowdown as being just short of the Apocalypse.

In a new poll, Opinion Research Corporation found that 77% of Americans feel the media are making the economic situation worse by feeding consumers a constant diet of bad news.

Survey respondents said the negative news reports are eroding consumer confidence and deterring investment. One lawyer has suggested that the media may even be exposed to legal action for its alleged role in further depressing the economy.

“The survey results demonstrate that the public believes that the press bears some responsibility for the lack of confidence in the economy,” said Richard L. Scheff, vice-chairman and partner with Philadelphia-based law firm Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads. “One would hope that the media would act less out of self-interest in these times of national crisis.”

• • •

Canadian consumer confidence slips

American consumer pessimism appears to be spilling over the border into Canada, according to the Harris/Decima Investors Group Consumer Confidence Index.

A survey by Harris/Decima found that 64% of Canadians expect 2009 to be a bad year for the overall economy, compared to 32% when the survey was conducted in August 2008.

But on a personal level, Canadians appear to be fairly optimistic. Only 18% said they expected their own financial situation to deteriorate in 2009, but 28% said they were already worse off than they were a year earlier.

“There really are two very different streams of opinion informing consumer confidence right now, one being a very widely held concern about the near term and the longer-term health of the economy; the other being relatively positive sentiment about personal economic circumstances,” said Jeff Walker, senior vice-president, Harris/Decima.

“Whether this is a case of cognitive dissonance or a true reflection of sentiment will bear itself out in the first couple of months of 2009, likely influenced by the extent to which unemployment rates rise nationally in the new year.”

• • •

IA closes DundeeWealth deal

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services has completed its acquisition of DundeeWealth’s Quebec-based mutual fund and insurance advisors.

The transaction brings about 410 advisors into the Industrial Alliance fold, under the firm’s dealership division, Investia Financial Services.

The deal, announced on November 3, 2008, officially closed on December 31.

• • •

CI completes restructuring

CI Financial Income Fund is now in the history books, as the company completed its transformation back into a corporate structure, effective January 1.

Investors who held income trust units and exchangeable Class B limited partnership units of Canadian International LP have been issued shares in the corporation on a one-for-one basis.

CI Financial announced its intention to convert to a corporate structure on October 15, 2008, citing the uncertainties around the trust structure as an impediment to making acquisitions.

“The unprecedented situation in today’s markets has created attractive opportunities for acquisitions in the asset management business,” CEO Bill Holland said at that time. “A corporate structure will allow us to take full advantage of these unique circumstances and put us at the forefront of industry consolidation.”

• • •

BoA completes Merrill buy

Bank of America has closed its deal to acquire Merrill Lynch, giving BoA new strength in investment and international banking, as well as in wealth management.

“We created this new organization because we believe that wealth management and corporate and investment banking represent significant growth opportunities, especially when combined with our leading capabilities in consumer and commercial banking,” said Bank of America chairman and CEO Ken Lewis. “We are now uniquely positioned to win market share and expand our leadership position in markets around the world.”

BoA now has the largest wealth management business in the world, with 20,000 financial advisors and more than $2 trillion in client assets. The deal also gives BoA roughly 50% ownership in BlackRock Inc., which managed $1.25 trillion as of September 30. At that time BoA’s AUM was just $564 billion.

(01/05/09)