Industry News

Bad gas: BMO gamble blows up

One of Canada’s big banks has egg on its face today, admitting that it will have to write-down trading losses of $350 million to $450 million, after its Houston-based proprietary trading desk grossly miscalculated the natural gas commodity market. BMO Financial Group estimates that the losses work out to around 45 to 55 cents a […]

By Mark Noble |April 27, 2007

2 min read

Briefly:

(April 26, 2007) David Dodge will not seek a second term as governor of the Bank of Canada. Dodge, who has headed up the bank since February 2001, will continue in the role until January 31, 2008. Before his term as the head of the BoC, Dodge held roles as the deputy minister of finance […]

By Staff |April 26, 2007

4 min read

Inflation potential wrench in BoC plans

The Canadian economy surprised Bank of Canada officials this month. Although the economy remains in line with most of the Bank’s January predictions, the April Monetary Policy Report says inflation — which is slightly outpacing the Bank’s target of 2% — is the one glaring exception. The unexpected increase is largely due to an unforeseen […]

By Mark Noble |April 26, 2007

2 min read

Prospectuses made simple

Say goodbye to the 80-plus page “simplified” prospectus for investment products, It’s about to get a lot shorter. In keeping with the Ontario Securities Commission push for plain-speak, the commission is working with security and insurance regulators to examine ways of simplifying the disclosure documents given to investors. In a speech to the Economic Club […]

By Mark Brown |April 26, 2007

2 min read