More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of Canadian employers said they don’t intend to make changes to their benefits plan during the coronavirus crisis, according to a new survey by the Conference Board of Canada. The survey, which polled 333 organizations, found just 32 per cent said they’ve made changes to their benefits offering or are in […]
The coronavirus crisis is putting new stresses on businesses as they grapple with cash flow and business continuity, but even amid such uncertainty, some employers are still looking to join defined benefit plans. The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan is continuing to see interest in its DBplus offering, with the coronavirus crisis […]
Last August, I wrote about whether central banks were creating a financial bubble with their coordinated easing programs intended to spur economic growth and/or lift inflation. In January 2020, I wrote about the end of the economic cycle, the potential for a recession and what that might mean for positioning an investment portfolio. Little did I […]
Blue Cross and SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc. are the latest insurers to join as sponsors of MindBeacon Group’s Stronger Minds, a free digital program available for all Canadians during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to guidance from Beacon’s team of clinical psychologists, the platform offers resources focused on resilience building, videos and quick reads […]
Recent reports of significant investment losses on the part of the Alberta Investment Management Corp. are overblown, according to chief executive officer Kevin Uebelein. In recent weeks, many Canadian publications have pointed to problems with a volatility strategy that performed poorly amid the massive spike in volatility that equity markets have experienced due to the coronavirus […]
The coronavirus pandemic could reduce employer health-care costs by as much as four per cent in 2020 as medical care for non-infected patients has declined, according to a new analysis by Willis Towers Watson. The analysis of large, self-funded U.S.-based employers is an update to a similar study conducted in March that projected employer costs […]
During the global financial crisis, certain real estate funds were suspended because of liquidity constraints, but during the coronavirus downturn, it’s valuation uncertainty that’s causing suspensions, says Steve Marino, senior vice-president of portfolio management at Great-West Life Realty Advisors Inc, a subsidiary of the Canada Life Assurance Co. On March 20, 2020, Canada Life announced […]
Tiff Macklem, a former second-in-command at the Bank of Canada, is returning to the central bank to take over the top job at a moment that he says cries out for bold, unprecedented responses to the economic crisis fuelled by the coronavirus. And he suggested that once the current crisis passes, a key focus for […]
Since the last financial crisis in 2008-09, the shadow banking sector in Canada has been growing at a rapid pace, which can pose challenges in the current coronavirus crisis, according to a report by DBRS Morningstar. Shadow banking refers to non-bank financial institutions that provide credit and related financial intermediation that aren’t prudentially regulated. A […]
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge employees who were on leave in the months leading up to the coronavirus shutdown appear to have fallen through a crack in the federal government’s wage subsidy program. The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has pointed out that the airline’s unilateral use of the […]