Inaugural Infrastructure Bank chair Fukakusa outlines key mandates + MORE Nov 7th

TORONTO _ A surging health-care sector helped Toronto’s main stock index move higher into record territory today as the loonie and the price of oil slipped in trading.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 39.59 points to 16,131.79, with shares of Quebec-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (TSX:VRX) up more than 17 per cent on the day.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 8.81 points to 23,557.23. The S&P 500 index was down 0.49 of a point to 2,590.64 and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 18.66 points to 6,767.78.
The Canadian dollar was trading at an average price of 78.22 cents US, down 0.24 of a U.S. cent.
In commodities, the December crude contract fell 15 cents to US$57.20 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was up two cents at US$3.15 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down $5.80 to US$1,275.80 an ounce and the December copper contract gave back seven cents to US$3.09 a pound.
 
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Q: My husband worked for a municipality and when he left we transferred the money into a LIRA. I’ve realized that the MER (2.9%) and DSC (5.5%) are high and we are upset and want to consider moving the funds.
My husband is currently employed in another public sector that has a great pension plan (DB) and we are wondering if we can/should move the funds to that or perhaps move it elsewhere if it’s even possible?!
—Jen
A: When you leave an employer and decide to transfer your pension into a locked-in retirement account (LIRA), you’re taking a risk. The idea is to invest the money to provide a higher retirement income with the eventual withdrawals than the pension payments may have otherwise been.
In order for the strategy to pay off, you need decent investment returns. As you have noted, Jen, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to earn decent returns paying a 3% management expense ratio (MER) on a retail mutual fund. This is particularly true in this low return, low-interest rate environment…

VANCOUVER — A real estate association watching Metro Vancouver’s tight and costly housing market predicts conditions should begin to ease by the third quarter of 2018.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association says home builders are responding to a lack of available homes across the region by dramatically increasing multi-family housing starts.
MORE: Top 25 Central Vancouver neighbourhoods to buy in
Starts across Metro Vancouver surged 40 per cent to 22,700 units in 2016, while the report says an estimated 19,700 multi-family homes were started so far this year, and a further 19,000 units are forecast in 2018.
The association’s report says data on estimated completion times of the developments suggests available suites in new apartment projects should rise from fewer than 4,000 units per quarter in 2016 to about 6,000 by late next year.
READ: Why Vancouver’s real estate prices are so crazy
Most of the units are pre-sold, but the report says renters who are buying homes will free up needed rental suites, while owners moving to new units will bolster a scarce supply of housing as their former properties go on sale…

VANCOUVER _ A real estate association watching Metro Vancouver’s tight and costly housing market predicts conditions should begin to ease by the third quarter of 2018.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association says home builders are responding to a lack of available homes across the region by dramatically increasing multi-family housing starts.
Starts across Metro Vancouver surged 40 per cent to 22,700 units in 2016, while the report says an estimated 19,700 multi-family homes were started so far this year, and a further 19,000 units are forecast in 2018.
The association’s report says data on estimated completion times of the developments suggests available suites in new apartment projects should rise from fewer than 4,000 units per quarter in 2016 to about 6,000 by late next year.
Most of the units are pre-sold, but the report says renters who are buying homes will free up needed rental suites, while owners moving to new units will bolster a scarce supply of housing as their former properties go on sale…

CIB will focus its attention on recruiting investment and expertise toward completing projects that might not otherwise occur through the private sector