Industry

Covered calls help get clients back in equities

Advisors with access to option trading capabilities are finding it easier to get clients invested in equities through the use of covered calls, which mitigate the downside risk on individual stock prices. Psychologically, clients are much more predisposed to fear of loss than they are to maximizing the potential returns on their investments. This frame […]

By Mark Noble |August 7, 2009

6 min read

Briefly:

According to Statistics Canada, employment declined by 45,000 in July for both full-time and part-time workers. The unemployment rate remained constant at 8.6%. July figures indicate that employment fell, most notably, among young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and among women between the ages of 25 and 54. Since October 2008, employment […]

By Staff |August 7, 2009

4 min read

As insurers report profits, Manulife cuts dividend

Canada’s top insurers reported their earnings for the second quarter of the year, but news that Manulife Financial has chopped its dividend in half is casting a pall over the sector. The dividend cut, the first such drastic move among the major financials, was announced as an effort to shore up “fortress levels” of capital. […]

By Steven Lamb |August 6, 2009

4 min read

Opportunity fades in financials rally

One of the largest and most vigourous rallies in equities — financial services stocks — appears to have largely run its course. Financial services was the hardest hit sector of the downturn; in a number of cases, investor sentiment seemingly left the sector for dead. As economic prospects and earnings expectations have bounced back slightly, […]

By Mark Noble |August 6, 2009

6 min read