Author Archives: Leo Kolivakis

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. David Leonhardt and Geraldine Fabrikant of the NYT report that the Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall: The rich, as a group, are no longer getting richer. Over the last two years, they have become poorer. And many may not return to their old levels […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Bloomberg reports pension plans’ private equity cash depleted as profits shrink: U.S. pension funds contributed to the record $1.2 trillion that private-equity firms raised this decade. Three of the biggest investors, state pensions in California, Oregon and Washington, plunked down at least $53.8 billion. So far, they […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. A week ago, MacLean’s magazine published an article, Pressure rises to protect our pensions: At long last, there is a ray of hope for workers whose employers have filed for bankruptcy. Currently pensioners, the disabled, and employees owed severance pay are treated the same way as banks […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The FT reports that the decline of final salary pension scheme set to accelerate: Half of UK companies whose defined benefit pension schemes are still open to existing members expect to have closed them to all employees by 2012, according to a survey by pension consultants Watson […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Stocks tumbled on Monday and lots of people are worried that they will retest their March lows. Stop worrying so much! Let me quote the bonddad blog today: “While I am sure there are people in a panic about this, I’m not. The market needs a sell-off […]

I was recently contacted by Steve Patterson, host of a podcast titled ‘Two Beers With Steve‘, which I added to my blog roll. Steve informed me of a recent podcast featuring Dr. Chris Martenson discussing inflation vs. deflation. This is an excellent interview and Mr. Martenson is very knowledgeable on the subject. He has his […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. On Wednesday, The Sceptical Market Observer, Luc Vallée, posted a piece on his blog, a simple bailout plan for housing and US economy. Luc cites Martin Feldstein’s article, “How to Save an ‘Underwater’ Mortgage“, published in the Wall Street Journal last Friday: “Here is an alternative: Make […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The Globe and Mail reports that CPPIB rides market rebound: The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bounced back in the first quarter, posting a 7.1-per-cent rate of return thanks to soaring global markets. The rebound, combined with steady inflows from contributions, boosted assets as of the June […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Last October, I wrote an article asking, Is Commercial Real Estate Ready To Tank? Of course, I knew the answer to that question and saw the writing on the wall a long time ago. Today, the Boston Globe published an article stating commercial real estate woes weigh […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Tara Perkins of the Globe and Mail reports that the life insurance industry pushes pension fix: Canada’s life insurers are proposing sweeping changes they say would allow the industry to help fix troubles in the pension system, lobbying against a push by some provinces for a new […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Bloomberg reports that U.S. stocks rose for a fourth week, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index above 1,000 for the first time since November, as better-than-estimated employment, manufacturing and home sales data boosted confidence that the worst slump since the Great Depression is ending: Bank of […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The Financial Posts reports that the Supreme Court rules on treating pension surpluses: A Supreme Court of Canada ruling on how employers deal with surpluses in a defined-benefit pension plan has company lawyers cheering and employee lawyers jeering. In a 5-2 ruling, Canada’s top court held that […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Canada’s premiers met in Regina on Thursday, talking tough about the “Buy American” policy in the United States, pledging to equip Prime Minister Stephen Harper with provincial backing for his meeting with President Barack Obama next week. But the premiers also discussed another important issue, the pension […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. On Monday I reported that some UK pension schemes are shifting assets into bonds. On Tuesday Reuters carried an article, Dow rally for real? “Big Money” thinks so: Pension managers and mutual fund houses have been among the biggest buyers of the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Reuters reports that British pension funds have begun exerting pressure to change proposed European Union rules that would impose new regulations on the hedge fund and alternative investment sector: The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and a director at Hermes, manager of Britain’s largest corporate scheme, […]