Industry

Banks purge scrap paper from funds

In an effort to instill confidence in some of their mutual funds, National Bank and Desjardins Group have purchased all of the asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) holdings from their subsidiary mutual funds. The move comes on the heels of an agreement struck last week between issuers of third-party ABCP debt and their lenders allowing the […]

By Mark Noble |August 20, 2007

3 min read

Briefly:

(August 17, 2007) On Friday, the Investment Industry Association of Canada tried to assuage investor fears by saying the current market volatility “reflects the normal functioning of healthy, expanding capital markets.” Ian Russell, the IIAC’s president and CEO points out that the S&P/TSX index has more than doubled since 2003 and has increased by 30% […]

By Staff |August 17, 2007

3 min read

Pension plans still healthy: Mercer

Over the past few months various reports have celebrated the strong health of pension plans, so it’s no surprise that Mercer Investment Consulting found similar results. In a report titled “Survey of Canadian Institutional Pooled Funds,” the firm states that pension plans increased from 84% in early 2007 to 89% in June. “The funding ratio […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |August 17, 2007

3 min read

Less cash for Canadian start-ups: CVCA

Venture capital investment dropped sharply in the second quarter of 2007 to $426 million, representing a decline of approximately 30% from the $606 million invested in the previous quarter and a 12% drop from Q2 2006, according to a report released by Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Thomson Financial. Rick Nathan, […]

By Mark Noble |August 17, 2007

3 min read