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(April 5, 2007) It’s been 31 years since Canada saw a March with better job growth. Fifty-five thousand new jobs were created during the month, capping off a very strong first quarter, StatsCan reports. About 158,000 jobs were generated in the first three months of the year, making it the strongest first quarter job growth since 2002.

For certain groups and regions, it was a record-breaking month. Women in the Canadian workforce reached a record level of 59% employment. StatsCan says that since last year, women have been the main beneficiary of increased job growth, almost doubling the employment growth of men for the same period.

B.C. also had a record month, adding nearly 13,000 jobs to its economy and reaching an all-time low unemployment rate of 3.9%.

StatsCan highlights, though, that despite this growth in employment, the national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1% as more people entered the labour market.

Gains in March were predominantly in the service sector, which supplied 66,000 new jobs. This figure was offset by the continuing weakness and loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector, StatsCan says.

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Sprott launches global equity fund

(April 5, 2007) Sprott Asset Management is adding a new product, the Global Equity Fund, to its lineup. As the name implies, the fund will be directed at Canadian investors looking to increase their exposure to global markets and will invest primarily in geographically diversified global companies with a minimum market capitalization at the time of investment of approximately $1 billion US.

Sprott stated that the fund may also choose other permitted investments, such as cash, when considered appropriate and, subject to regulatory approval, may short-sell up to a maximum of 20% of the portfolio.

The fund will launch at $10 per unit with a minimum initial investment requirement of $5,000. Sprott expects it to be eligible for registered tax plans.

Sprott also announced that it’s adding a new investment strategist to its in-house investment team, which will manage the fund. Sylvain Ratelle, a 20-year veteran in the industry will use a proprietary quantitative model he created to assist the investment team with the new fund.

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GGOF launches new series of principal protected notes

(April 5, 2007) Guardian Group of Funds is launching the Bank of Montreal GGOF C.O.R.E. Protected Deposit Notes High Yield Bond R.O.C. Class, Series 3 and 4, which are based on the performance of the GGOF High Yield Bond Fund.

If held to maturity, 100% of the principal is protected, with BMO providing the guarantee. Investors will obtain 100% exposure to the potential distributions and capital appreciation of the GGOF High Yield Bond Fund, managed by Steve Kearns of Guardian Capital LP.

The notes make potential monthly distributions in the form of return of capital. Seventy-five per cent of the distribution rate of the GGOF High Yield Bond Fund will take this form, the company said, with the remaining 25% of the distributions notionally re-invested in the fund for growth.

GGOF said that series 3 of the deposit notes will be available until May 11, 2007, and series 4 will be available until June 29, 2007.

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Claymore to launch preferred share ETF

(April 5, 2007) Claymore Investments is looking to capitalize on the recently introduced Standard & Poor’s CDN Preferred Share Index by launching an exchange traded fund that is designed to replicate the CDN Share Index, which has a total market capitalization of $14.1 billion.

The S&P CDN Preferred Share Index, introduced earlier in the week, is composed of 52 different issues that have a total market capitalization of $14.1 billion.

This will be the first ETF based on the Canadian preferred share market, Claymore said, and will provide a way for investors to access a diversified portfolio of preferred shares across companies, industries and credits. Claymore believes this will benefit both small and large investors because it provides an ideal portfolio tool for small clients needing access to the preferred share market, and a preferred share benchmark for larger institutions and investors.

The ETF is slated to be launched on April 10, 2007.

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(04/05/07)