Industry

Decorative pattern

Premiums poised to increase with harmonization tax

Financial services — ranging from advice and mutual funds, to life, health and P&C insurance — will be the biggest losers in the push for tax harmonization within Canada. This was the message Danny Cisterna, partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP, offered delegates at the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Financial Affairs Symposium in Toronto on […]

By Romana King |April 24, 2009

2 min read

Decorative pattern

Briefly:

The common understanding of hedge funds as highly leveraged, risky investment vehicles is false, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). The hedge fund industry association points to data from the European Central Bank and Britain’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) indicating that hedge fund leverage is only at about one-times the net assets. That’s […]

By Staff |April 24, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Morningstar buys equity analyst firm

Morningstar Research has entered into a deal to acquire the research and data business of Toronto-based Computerized Portfolio Management Services Inc. (C.P.M.S.). “Most investment managers in Canada use C.P.M.S.’ equity research and data, and Morningstar is a leading provider of fund research and data in the United States and Canada,” said Scott Mackenzie, president and […]

By Steven Lamb |April 24, 2009

2 min read

Decorative pattern

Active ETFs represent huge growth market: Study

Only a handful of actively managed exchange traded funds (ETF) exist today, but a new study from the Boston-based Financial Research Corporation (FRC) suggests active ETFs are a credible threat to overtake traditional mutual funds. ETFs are synonymous with index-linked performance, which is passive investment management by definition. But they don’t have to be passive […]

By Mark Noble |April 24, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Briefly:

Canadians’ perceptions of the state of the economy appear to be improving, according to the results from the latest TNS Canadian Facts Consumer Confidence Index. Not only is the overall Consumer Confidence Index up — 90.5 for April compared with 83.7 in March, an 8% rise — but all other indices are up too. “Clearly, […]

By Staff |April 23, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Banks

Since the start of the credit crisis, there have been repeated pronouncements that Canada’s banks are sounder, better regulated than their global rivals and bound to pull through the recession relatively unscathed. To shore up their capital reserves, most of the Big Five have turned to preferred share offerings, and have had little trouble finding […]

By Steven Lamb |April 23, 2009

2 min read

Decorative pattern

Out of options, Bank considers printing money

Stunned by how badly the Canadian economy is performing, the Bank of Canada stated in its latest monetary policy report that is looking at fresh options to stimulate the economy, including quantitative easing — essentially plain old money printing. Canada has suffered a 7.3% contraction — the single largest quarterly decline in GDP since 1961 […]

By Mark Noble |April 23, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Briefly:

In a typical recession, the average Canadian usually trims as much as they can from their cash out-flows: consumers consume less and investors pretty much stop investing. But so far, the latter has yet to happen, according to a survey by global market research firm Synovate. “Some Canadians think that now is actually a good […]

By Staff |April 22, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Pension losses mount in Q1: RBC Dexia

Retail money managers tend to keep a close eye on what “the smart money” is doing. With pension funds holding billions of dollars, the advice they can afford typically qualifies. Pension fund managers extended their losing streak in the first quarter of 2009, after getting beaten up like the rest of the market in late […]

By Steven Lamb |April 22, 2009

2 min read

Decorative pattern

Refinancing is attractive, penalties aren’t

After the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate dropped to just 25 basis points, most of the country’s major lenders responded by reducing their prime lending rates. And with current rates at uncharted lows, it may be worth taking a penalty to refinance at a lower rate. With rates having fallen so far, so fast, the […]

By Mark Noble |April 22, 2009

4 min read

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