The financing for the takeover of BCE is proceeding as disclosed in regulatory filings, said Jim Leech, president and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, on Wednesday. “I look forward to the time when Bell is out of the eye of the media and can concentrate its resources and time on improving products and […]
Some of Canada’s most influential pension plans shared their views on the issues they’ll face this year at CPBI Ontario’s Pension Investment Forecast 2008 at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto today. Rodger F. Smith, managing director of Greenwich Associates, discussed a few key trends in the Canadian market. These trends are a reflection of […]
Employees might be at work, but might only be there in body—not in mind. Presenteeism (in which an employee shows up for work but is not working at full capacity) is a growing problem, according to the latest surveys from Watson Wyatt. The results of its 2007 Staying@Work: Effective Presence at Work survey found […]
In 1996, the Canada Pension Plan(CPP)took in $11 billion and paid out $17 billion. But today, those numbers aren’t as bleak thanks to the creation of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Gail Cook-Bennett, the board’s chair, said in Toronto on Monday. In a speech at the C.D. Howe Institute’s policy conference, The Canada […]
Do you ever wonder why your employees change jobs? Sure you do, but it’s probably not for the reasons you think. According to Watson Wyatt’s Strategic Rewards report, employers’ perceptions of why employees leave are notably different from employees’ actual reasons for leaving. In the study, which gathered responses from 175 companies throughout Europe, employers […]
No employee likes a “hovering” boss. You know the kind—arriving at your cubicle every hour to ask, “How’s the project coming along?” But when it comes to mental illness in the workplace, the boss should be on the lookout for “at risk” employees. “Mental illness is one of the commonest forms of illness and hits […]
Effective communication programs are not only important in the day-to-day workings of a business but, as a new study indicates, they can also have a financial impact for shareholders. Based on responses from 264 companies, Watson Wyatt’s 2007/2008 Communication ROI study found that companies with the most effective programs had a 47% higher total return […]
If governments ever decide to implement legislation to restrict investments (for example, protectionist policies) of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs)—funds used for investment purposes to benefit a country’s economy and citizens—could the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) be restricted as well? Gail Cook-Bennett, chair of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), said the board is concerned […]
Refilling our prescriptions and taking our medications properly can be a challenge at the best of times. We all need a reminder now and then to follow what the doctor ordered. That “reminder” can come in the form of a drug adherence program. Rx Canada, a pharmacy-sponsored organization that devises such programs, highlighted its Health […]
The latest survey from Buck Consultants(Buck)forecasts that the most popular healthcare coverage plans in the U.S. will increase at double-digit levels through the rest of this year and into next. In its 18th National Health Care Trend Survey, Buck measured the projected average yearly increase in employer-sponsored healthcare benefits costs. The result was an increase […]