Industry News

Canadian GDP growth continues to surprise

(October 29, 2004) Canadian economic growth continues to surprise analysts, with StatsCan reporting overall growth of 0.5% in August, and the manufacturing and services sectors experiencing strong growth. “Overall, August’s GDP report was about as good as you could have asked for,” wrote CIBC World Markets economist Warren Lovely in a research note this morning. […]

By Steven Lamb |October 29, 2004

2 min read

Advocates seek public access to OSC conference

(October 29, 2004) Investor advocates are demanding free public access to the Ontario Securities Commission’s annual one-day industry conference, Dialogue with the OSC. The conference, scheduled for Monday, is traditionally industry-only, but that’s something advocate Robert Kyle would like to change. “It is disingenuous for the OSC to state that they wish to address the […]

By Doug Watt |October 29, 2004

2 min read

Insurance probe expands

(October 29, 2004) Regulatory and public scrutiny continues to intensify in the insurance industry, forcing firms to respond to criticism of common business practices and broker compensation. On Thursday, the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) announced it was launching a joint investigation with the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) into relationships between insurers […]

By Steven Lamb |October 29, 2004

3 min read

Fixed-rate mortgages losing market share

(October 28, 2004) Canadians still prefer the safety and security of a fixed-rate mortgage, but variable-rate mortgages are gaining in popularity, a new survey released today by BMO Financial Group suggests. The study found that 68% of homeowners held a fixed interest-rate mortgage, while 22% favoured a variable, or floating-rate, mortgage. BMO vice-president Maria Racanelli […]

By Doug Watt |October 28, 2004

3 min read