TORONTO - OMERS Capital Partners ("OCP"), the entity responsible for the private equity investments of OMERS Administration Corporation ("OMERS"), announced that it has completed the acquisition of the operating business of Golf Town Income Fund (TSX:GLF.UN) for a cost, including the assumption of debt, of approximately $240 million.

"We are pleased to have completed this acquisition. We look forward to working with the management team to continue the growth and financial success of the business," said Paul Renaud, President & CEO at OCP.

Golf Town, headquartered in Markham, Ontario, is Canada's leading retailer of golf merchandise. Founded in 1998, it now operates 32 stores across Canada employing over 1,200 people.

OCP manages the private equity investment portfolio for OMERS, employing a team of experienced investment professionals. OCP has been investing in private companies for over 20 years and has helped businesses succeed across a wide range of industries. Visit the OCP website at www.omerscapital.com.

OMERS is one of Canada's largest pension plans, with more than $48 billion in assets invested around the globe in publicly-traded investments, real estate, infrastructure and private equity. It provides pension services to approximately 372,000 active and retired members on behalf of over 900 employers across Ontario. Learn more about OMERS at www.omers.com.

OTTAWA - The Competition Bureau announced that it has informed the parties that it is not challenging the acquisition of Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. (BCE) by the bidding group composed of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC and Providence Equity Partners Inc.

The Bureau's review focussed particularly on Teachers' shareholding in Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS), a competitor to BCE. The conclusion that the proposed transaction was unlikely to lead to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition was based, in part, on the fact that Teachers' has no right to appoint directors to the Board of MTS.

As mandated by the Act, the Bureau has the authority to review mergers in Canada to determine whether they are likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition. In all its work, the Bureau strives to promote and safeguard competition, which drives an efficient and productive economy.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - On top of the shaky economic climate and the oscillating credit markets, the US housing market foreclosure forecasted for 2007 is expected to be more than double the amount in 2006.

The US housing foreclosure epidemic is not isolated just to the USA, but threatens the health of the global economy, as sub-prime mortgages were lumped together in packages and sold as asset backed securities worldwide.

Investors in Canada are directly impacted by the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, as financial institutions own $35 billion in asset backed securities and it is estimated that these assets are only worth 50 cents on the dollar.

So far this year nearly $200 billion in mortgages have been refinanced or reset mostly at higher rates. The dramatic increase in monthly mortgage payments will make it difficult for many borrowers to qualify for financing.

From January to June 2008, another $521 billion in mortgages is coming up for reset - double the amount of mortgages reset last year. It is nearly certain that foreclosures are going to sharply increase in the months ahead, continuing the real estate crisis. In July alone, over 40,000 homes nationwide were foreclosed upon.

Evidence the crisis is spreading into the overall economy was confirmed in the lower earnings reported by Walmart and Home Depot. Due to the housing slump, consumers are spending less money and there is a growing concern that we may be heading into a recession.

"In this time of growing concern and under these volatile market conditions, investors must continue to be alert," cautions Mr. Mike Lathigee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Investment Club (FIC). "If the sub-prime mortgage crisis is eased with lower interest rates, then global growth will probably come out as the winner and over time the markets will rebound, avoiding a recession."

Amidst these growing concerns of a catastrophic recession, the Federal Reserve intervened by lowering its discount rate at which it loans money to banks by 1/2 percent. The dramatic move marked the first interest rate drop in six years.

The negative side effect of the Federal Reserve efforts to maintain low interest rates, increase the money supply and maintain a stable GDP growth in the long term will be inflation.

Mr. Lathigee has spent over five years, since the inception of FIC in 2002, analyzing the global economy and forecasting market trends for the benefit of FIC members. After first alluding to the current sub-prime mortgage fiasco three years ago, alerting FIC club members to the pending crisis at Club meetings and FIC's Monthly Economy Call, Mr. Lathigee focused the club's investments in hard assets such as precious metals and commodities.

The news of the Federal Reserves move to lower interest rates comes as good news for Freedom Investment Club and its members. With Freedom Investment Club's move into the commodity market at an early stage, members who took action stand to benefit. Mr. Lathigee expects the upward trend for the commodity Bull Market to continue at least for another 15 years.

The SaMarc Dream and Achievement Foundation offers a basketball camp that exposes children to things they have never seen, to do things they have never done and to go places they have never gone, stimulating them to dream.

The organization encourages youth to first secure an education, have a dream and then foster that dream to achieve the best life they possibly can no matter what their environment. At the camp, basketball is used as a metaphor for the game of life, of dreaming, achieving, and giving.

The CP24 guest business correspondent Steven Conville’s work as an associate portfolio manager has carried over into his volunteer work. As a member of the Urban Financial Services Coalition he provides financial education, mentoring, advice and access to under-privileged children. Conville is also in demand as a guest speaker for numerous colleges and universities, as well as corporations where he addresses executive employees.

His breadth of knowledge has even garnered the attention of media. In addition to his BNN appearances, Conville was featured as an expert in a Globe and Mail article entitled How visible minorities can close the gap, which ran in November 2005. In the article, Conville address other visible minority workers, and divulges helpful tips for fitting in with upper management, and ultimately working your way to the top.

Prior to working with Blackmont Capital, Conville was Vice President and Branch Manager with a major Canadian investment firm where he oversaw assets in excess of $750 million. June 2007 will complete his fifteenth year in the financial services industry, of which he has spent the last eight years managing assets for clients. Conville is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI), and has his Canadian Investment Manager designation (CIM).

Conville holds an MBA in Finance from Sir Wilfrid Laurier University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Investment Management from Concordia University. Conville also sits on the Investment Advisory Committee for the Office of the Guardian of the Public Trustee for the Minister of the Attorney General of the Province of Ontario.

As a result, net external liabilities (the difference between Canada's external assets and foreign liabilities) increased $32.0 billion to $124.4 billion.

The value of international assets fell to $1,193.1 billion, a drop of $44.0 billion from the previous quarter.

The dollar, which gained in value compared with major foreign currencies from March 31 to June 30, removed $76.8 billion from the value of these assets. This more than offset gains resulting from financial transactions, especially from investment in foreign bonds and stocks.

At the same time, the nation's international liabilities declined $12.0 billion to $1,317.6 billion. The impact of the strengthening Canadian dollar was partly offset by increased activity in international acquisitions of Canadian firms.

Currency valuation

The value of assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency are converted to Canadian dollars at the end of each period for which a balance sheet is calculated. Most of Canada's foreign assets are denominated in foreign currencies while less than half of our international liabilities are in foreign currencies.

When the Canadian dollar is appreciating in value, the restatement of the value of these assets and liabilities in Canadian dollars lowers the recorded value. The opposite is true when the dollar is depreciating.

Net external liabilities at the end of June represented 8.1% of Canada's gross domestic product, up from 6.2% the previous quarter, which was a record low.

The Canadian dollar made appreciable gains against major foreign currencies in the second quarter. It gained 8.4% against the US dollar, 6.2% against the pound sterling, 7.0% against the Euro and 13.2% against the Japanese yen.

Assets: Substantial decline in the value of direct investment abroad

The stronger Canadian dollar in the second quarter had a large impact on the value of Canadian direct investment abroad, which fell by $28.0 billion to $508.2 billion at the end of June.

The injection of capital into existing affiliates was completely offset by the currency movements. The stronger dollar removed $37.2 billion from the value of Canadian direct investment abroad.

Canadian direct investment in the United States fell by $13.8 billion to $220.7 billion while Canadian direct investment in all other countries decreased by $14.2 billion to $287.5 billion.

Despite the negative impact of the stronger Canadian dollar, Canadian holdings of foreign bonds increased by $6.8 billion to $151.1 billion as Canadians made large purchases during the quarter, especially of maple bonds.

Holdings of foreign stocks decreased to $205.1 billion, down $13.5 billion from the end of March. At the same time, Canadian holdings of foreign money market paper decreased slightly to $19.8 billion.

Liabilities: Increase in foreign direct investment in Canada

Foreign investors added $10.0 billion to their direct investment position in Canada. Foreign direct investment in Canada reached $473.2 billion at the end of June.

Foreign direct investors were active in acquisitions of Canadian firms and this contributed to the increase.

Canada's net asset position on direct investment—the difference between Canadian direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in Canada—decreased to $35.0 billion at the end of June, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2003.

Transactions in Canadian bonds reduced foreign holdings by $4.9 billion in the second quarter.

Combined with the currency effect (more than one-half of the outstanding Canadian bonds held by foreign investors are issued in foreign currencies), the total holdings of Canadian bonds fell by $25.0 billion to $385.1 billion.

Foreign holdings of Canadian stocks decreased slightly to $111.1 billion at the end of the quarter while foreign holdings of Canadian money market paper were up by less than $1 billion to $24.1 billion.

Global Conference to Discuss Convergence of Business Information, Accounting and Technology to Create Global Standard to Better Communicate Information Used by Investors, Management, Analysts and Regulators Worldwide

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - The Internet has changed the way we live. Now companies and organizations are harnessing the power of the Internet to transform the way we access and understand financial data. With millions of investors worldwide depending on their investments to provide for their retirement and a strong future for their children, the importance of making appropriate investment choices has never been more important. XBRL or interactive data makes it easier for individual investors, analysts, media, companies, regulators and stock exchanges to access and analyze the information they are considering for investment.

The 16th International XBRL Conference in Vancouver is the forum where:

- Investors and lenders network with their peers to discuss and develop new ideas on how to increase transparency by leveraging interactive data.

- Regulators come together to share how they are improving efficiency & accuracy by using interactive data within their jurisdictions.

- Management can hear about their peers' successes and learn how they, too,can leverage interactive data in their own organization.

- Accounting professionals learn how to improve client relations by integrating XBRL into their organizations and those of their clients.

- Technology providers showcase their latest interactive data solutions.

At the 16(th) XBRL International Conference in Vancouver leading regulators, financial service companies, software vendors, auditors and financial analysts will be meeting to discuss global adoption & implementation of XBRL for business reporting. Tools and resources will be featured to participants to better manage mandates and improve investor transparency of financial information.

Keynote speakers at the conference include:

- US Securities and Exchange Commission - Chairman - Christopher Cox

- US Financial Accounting Standards Board - Chairman - Robert H. Herz

- Wikinomics - Author - Don Tapscott

- Sun Microsystems - Director of Web Technologies - Tim Bray

- United Technologies Corporation - Director of Financial Reporting - John Stantial

- Gartner Research - Research Director, Investment Services - Mary Knox

- Kroll, Inc. - Managing Director, Forensic Accounting & Litigation Consulting - Christian Tregillis

Attendees include:

- CFOs & Controllers to educate their Investor Relations & Corporate Communications teams on leveraging interactive data as a means to enhance communications with analysts, investors and regulators.

- Investors & Analysts to learn more about interactive data tools and how they can benefit from them.

- Government agencies to learn how they will save time and money by utilizing interactive data for internal and external reporting.

- Software vendors that are considering providing tools or want to learn more about the opportunities with XBRL.

Topics of discussion include:

- How interactive data improves the overall quality, timeliness and accessibility of business information.

- Why interactive data improves the flow of business information between the publishers of data (e.g., management of public and private companies, government agencies) and those who rely on and consume this data (e.g., analysts, investors, lenders, other government agencies and/or regulators).

- What sophisticated, user friendly, interactive data tools exist today and are currently being built by technology vendors to help management, investors, analysts and regulators to more accurately analyze business information.

When: Monday, December 3, to Wednesday, December 6, 2007

Where: Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
1088 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z2R9
(604) 331-1000

For XBRL International Conference Information and Registration & Hotel Registration please go to: http://conference.xbrl.org/

TORONTO - Perimeter Financial Corp., MarLar Group and Swift Trade Inc. are pleased to announce the launch of an alternative trading system, OMEGA ATS, in the fourth quarter of 2007. OMEGA ATS will serve the members of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, providing the Canadian marketplace with a fast, anonymous, strict price/time priority trading platform.

Participants in OMEGA ATS will have access to live executable prices at, or better than, the CBBO (Canadian best bid and offer) for TSX-listed securities. Additionally, OMEGA ATS will offer competitive commission rates and leading-edge technology.

OMEGA ATS is delivered through the contributions of its three partners, all of whom bring a significant depth of experience in trading systems, liquidity provision, creating and managing marketplaces and a passion for best execution. They have combined their unique strengths to deliver Canada's most robust and competitive ATS.

To ensure its success, OMEGA ATS has secured commitments from a consortium of recognized global liquidity partners to provide continuous liquidity with the tightest spreads. The OMEGA ATS team is confident that the combination of its unique structure and market-leading partners will mark the start of an evolution of marketplace liquidity in Canada.

For organizations wishing to connect to OMEGA ATS, the connectivity specifications document can be found at www.omegaats.com. Details on the industry-wide test date will be available shortly.

VANCOUVER - Cautioning that history has taught cruel lessons to those who believe the good times will last forever, a growing number of fund managers are warning investors to move their money outside Canadian borders.

The five-year bull run in the Canadian market, which in the past half-decade has doubled global growth averages, has made domestic stocks pricier compared with their foreign equivalents, they say, and Canada's 75% weighting in energy, materials and financials makes it a far more volatile place to leave investments.

In fact, a Horizons BetaPro Funds quarterly survey found that the Canadian bears are waking from hibernation. Among fund managers surveyed in the first quarter, 33% said they were bearish on Canadian equities for the following three months. That number jumped to 50% in the second quarter.
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"Did they turn more bearish on the TSX? Absolutely, they did," said Horizons BetaPro president Howard Atkinson. "So you could surmise they're saying, 'Let's move some of the money elsewhere.' Doubtfully the U.S., because they're equally as bearish there. So perhaps overseas."

Safer harbour can be found in global food, machinery, shipping and cellphone component manufacturers, said Fidelity Investments fund manager H. B. King. Emerging markets also look like a better bet: Growth in developed markets is expected to slow from 3% in 2006 to 2.5% in 2008, a 17% drop, while emerging markets are expected to see a much slower fall-off, with growth easing from 7% down to 6.5%.

"So the story here is that although emerging markets only represent 20% of global GDP growth, they're growing at basically three times as fast as the rest of the world," Mr. King said.

Add to that an average forward price-to-earnings ratio in emerging markets at under 14 - well below Canada's 16 - and a loonie hovering around 30-year highs, which adds some significant muscle to Canadians' foreign buying power, and the rest of the world starts to look a lot more attractive. Even other developed markets present good opportunities.

"The Canadian market is more cyclical, and we're looking at what might be a cyclical peak in earnings. The cycle is pretty long in the tooth," said Mark Schmeer, senior vice-president of North American equities for MFC Global Investment Management.

Indications are that oil prices could flatten out or even decline over the balance of this year, and narrowing spreads in metal prices and interest rates indicates "there's vulnerability" in those areas, too, he said.
"I think that's a pretty good reason to look at both the U.S. or Europe as an attractive alternative."

In fact, some are suggesting that Canadians, no longer hamstrung by the 30% restriction on foreign investment of registered savings, should fully shuffle 70% of their portfolio overseas.

"What you're doing is you're selling something not because you don't like it. You're selling something because fundamentally it's gotten expensive," said Don Reed, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., who suggested that Canadians ensure no more than 30% of their equities are domestic.

It seems Canadians have already begun taking the advice. The Investment Funds Institute of Canada tracks the mutual fund-buying behaviour of both retail and institutional investors. Its numbers show that between 2003 and 2005, Canadians engaged in a net sell-off of foreign funds. By 2006, fund purchases split almost evenly between domestic and foreign. So far this year, 80% of fund purchases have been foreign.
The Institute does

not track straight equity -- stock -- purchases, and Horizon's Mr. Atkinson suggested that, with world markets increasingly operating in lockstep, the best way to shield against a market downturn is not geographic diversification.

"In the short term, history suggests that markets tend to go down -- especially in panic selling -- in tandem," he said. "So you don't get that diversification benefit."

Instead, he said, "I think you want to look at other asset classes besides equities if you're looking for protection -- obviously bonds, cash, some sort of market-neutral strategy."

Mr. Reed agreed, counselling the age-old 60-40 mix of equities and bonds. But, he said, "usually over the long-term there's more risk in being out of the market than in the market, so it's a question of diversifying."

His firm has found the best deals lie in foreign consumer discretionary and telecom stocks such as China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp. Ltd., Spain's Telefonica SA and Norway's Telenor ASA.

Mr. King's top picks among the sectors he is currently favouring include, in food, China's largest vegetable grower, Chaoda Modern Agriculture HL, Australia's Goodman Fielder Ltd. and Nestle SA, which pulls in nearly 40% of its earnings from emerging markets. In machinery, he likes Komatsu Ltd. and Kubota Corp. while in shipping he prefers Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.

And with cellphone use growing at triple the pace of personal computers, he sees good value in the manufacturers of some key components, including Asia Optical Co. Inc., a Taiwanese maker of digital mobile phone still cameras and Merry Electronics Co. Ltd., which specializes in Bluetooth wireless earsets.
All of those represent a significant shielding from the potentially volatile Canadian market, he said.

"When I think of Canada, it's like thinking about putting all my money into BHP and Rio Tinto and Anglo and I don't think that would be prudent as an investor," he said. "Even if you find someone who is bullish on Canada and says, 'Why would you get out when it's been so good to you?' it's all about where do you find the next wave?"

Meanwhile, non-residents invested $1.5 billion in Canadian securities. April's investment was all in Canadian shares as non-residents reduced their holdings of Canadian debt instruments.

Near-record investment in foreign bonds

Canadian residents acquired a near-record $7.1 billion worth of foreign bonds in April, adding to a record $16.5 billion invested in the first quarter. Over half of April's acquisition ($3.8 billion) was in US government bonds. Another one-third ($2.3 billion) went to buy non-US bonds, half with a term-to-maturity of five years or less.

April saw Canadian residents buy $2.6 billion worth of maple bonds, with nearly 85% ($2.2 billion) issued by non-US entities. Maple bonds are Canadian dollar-denominated bonds issued by foreign entities.

Canadians sell US government treasury bills

Canadians sold $929 million worth of foreign money market paper in April. Residents had bought foreign money market instruments in 9 of the past 12 months, totalling $8.9 billion.

On a sector basis, over 80% of April's divestment ($758 million) was in US government treasury bills, adding to the $593-million divestment in March. In terms of currency, three quarters of April's disposition ($704 million) was in Canadian dollar-denominated foreign paper, mainly due to instruments maturing during the month. The Canadian dollar surpassed the US 90-cent mark in April and posted the third highest monthly appreciation relative to the US dollar on record.

Highest level of investment in foreign shares since January 2001

Following heavy investment totalling $9.2 billion during the first quarter, Canadians acquired another $7.0 billion worth of foreign shares in April, the highest level of investment since January 2001. Most of the investment ($6.1 billion) was in non-US shares.

Foreign investors withdraw Canadian bonds from their portfolios

After a near-record acquisition of $8.9 billion in March, non-residents removed $1.2 billion worth of Canadian bonds from their portfolios in April.

On a sector basis, April's divestment was concentrated in the federal government sector as non-residents sold $2.4 billion worth. Meanwhile, they continued to invest in federal government enterprise bonds, buying $1.6 billion worth, adding to the $1.1 billion invested in March.

On a currency basis, April's foreign divestment was concentrated in Canadian dollar-denominated bonds ($1.6 billion). Significantly subdued new bond issuance in the corporate sector, coupled with a sizable disposition of outstanding federal government bonds, contributed to April's decrease in foreign holdings of bonds denominated in Canadian dollars.

Regionally, American and European investors sold $1.8 billion and $697 million worth of Canadian bonds in April respectively, following respective acquisitions of $5.6 billion and $1.4 billion in March.

Investment in Canadian shares picks up speed

Non-residents replenished their holdings of Canadian shares, acquiring $3.5 billion worth in April. They invested $4.8 billion in outstanding shares, but this was partially offset by a $1.3-billion share divestment due to foreign takeover of Canadian firms. Non-residents invested in a fairly diversified portfolio of Canadian equities in April.

Divestment of federal treasury bills four months in a row

Non-residents disposed of Canadian money market paper for a second consecutive month, selling $725 million worth in April. The month's divestment was largely in federal government treasury bills ($758 million) as retirements exceeded investment in outstanding issues. Non-residents have reduced their holdings of federal t-bills for four months in a row, totalling $2.2 billion. Meanwhile, foreign investors added $230 million worth of provincial and corporate paper to their portfolios.

Related market information

In April, Canadian short-term interest rates remained unchanged at 4.16% while US rates dropped 7 basis points to 4.87%, narrowing the differential to 0.71%, in favour of investment in the United States.

Canadian long-term interest rates climbed 5 basis points to 4.15% while US rates increased 4 basis points to 4.66%. As a result, the differential between the two countries remained little changed at 0.51%.

Canadian stock prices increased for the seventh consecutive month with the Standard and Poor's/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index rising 1.9% and ending April at 13,416.7. Meanwhile, US stock prices rose substantially in April as the Standard and Poor's Composite Index rose 4.3% to 1,482.4, its largest increase since December 2003.

The Canadian dollar surged in April, rising 3.47 US cents by the month's end and closing at 90.08 US cents. It was the third largest monthly increase on record.

Definitions

The data series on international security transactions cover portfolio transactions in stocks, bonds and money market instruments for both Canadian and foreign issues.

Stocks include common and preferred equities, as well as warrants.

Debt securities include bonds and money market instruments.

Bonds have an original term to maturity of more than one year.

Money market instruments have an original term to maturity of one year or less.

Meanwhile, non-residents added $4.7 billion worth of Canadian securities to their holdings in March, following February's investment of $4.8 billion. Foreign investors adjusted their portfolios by investing in Canadian bonds while selling Canadian equities.

Investment in foreign bonds hit record high

Canadians bought a record $8.0 billion worth of foreign bonds in March, breaking the $6.2 billion record high of January 2007. These heavy acquisitions pushed the total investment during the first quarter to $16.6 billion, another record.

The acquisitions in March were mainly in non-US bonds (60%), amounting to a record $4.8 billion. Two-thirds of the non-US bonds acquired were maple bonds issued mainly by European institutions. Meanwhile, acquisitions of US corporate bonds remained strong at $3.6 billion, adding to the $3.9 billion invested the month before. Investment in maple bonds issued by US corporations accounted for roughly one-third ($1.2 billion).

In March, residents sold $488 million of US government bonds, following a heavy divestment of $3.4 billion in February.

Acquisitions of foreign equities for the sixth consecutive month

Canadians added $2.9 billion worth of foreign shares into their portfolios in March, the sixth consecutive month of robust purchases totalling $14.0 billion. Investment over the month was entirely in US shares. Over half of March's investment in US shares was due to foreign takeovers of Canadian firms and the resulting new issues of US equities to Canadian shareholders. On the other hand, Canadians sold $1.0 billion worth of non-US shares, after two consecutive months of buying totalling $3.8 billion.

Investment in foreign paper focuses on Canadian dollar denominated paper

Canadians invested $122 million in foreign money market paper in March. Currency-wise, they bought $1.8 billion of foreign paper denominated in Canadian dollars while selling $1.7 billion in foreign currency denominated paper.

Near-record investment in Canadian bonds

Following three consecutive months of sales totalling $5.4 billion, non-residents reversed the trend by acquiring a near-record $9.1 billion worth of Canadian bonds in March, equally split between new issues and outstanding issues.

On a sector basis, corporate and government bonds had an equal share of foreign acquisitions. In March, Canadian corporations raised $4.6 billion by issuing new bonds abroad, mainly to repay corporate indebtedness. Meanwhile, for the $4.5 billion foreign investment in Canadian government bonds, three-quarters went to buy outstanding federal government bonds and the remaining was invested in outstanding federal government enterprise bonds. The Canadian government has not issued new bonds abroad for over six years now.

Geographically, American investors led the way, buying $5.7 billion worth. On a currency basis, investment was roughly split between US and Canadian dollar issues as non-residents sold some of their holdings of bonds denominated in other foreign currencies.

Non-residents reduce their holdings of Canadian equities

Foreign investors sold $4.2 billion worth of Canadian shares in March, largely offsetting the $5.0 billion invested in February. March's disposition was divided into roughly equal amounts of outstanding shares and share redemptions due to foreign takeovers of Canadian firms. Agreeing with a general trend of Canadian corporations issuing debts while consolidating shares to increase financial leverage and share value, March saw adjustments to non-resident portfolios with the addition of debts and the reduction of equities.

Small divestment in Canadian money market instruments

March saw a $171 million divestment in Canadian money market paper. On a sector basis, the divestment was almost entirely in federal government treasury bills, as nominal purchases of provincial paper just offset the disposition of corporate paper.

Related market information

In March, the gap between Canadian and US short-term interest rates narrowed by 6 basis points to 0.78%. For the month, Canadian rates fell 3 basis points to 4.16% while American rates dropped 9 basis points to 4.94%. Canadian short-term rates have been stable, sitting at around 4.16% since July 2006.

Canadian long-term interest rates increased 7 basis points to 4.10% in March, while American long-term interest rates were up 6 basis points to 4.62%. This caused the interest rate differential, which favours investment in United States, to fall one basis point to 0.52%.

Canadian stock prices went up 0.9% in March with the Standard and Poor's/Toronto Stock Exchange composite index ending the month at 13,165.5. This was the sixth consecutive month of increase in stock prices. Prices were up 8.7% compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, American stock prices rebounded 1.0% in March with the Standard and Poor's Composite 500 Index standing at 1,420.9 at the end of March, up almost 10% from the same period last year.

The Canadian dollar continued to appreciate in value, up 1.13 US cents against the US dollar. The increase brought the Canadian dollar to a March close of 86.61 US cents.

Definitions

The data series on international security transactions cover portfolio transactions in stocks, bonds and money market instruments for both Canadian and foreign issues.

Stocks include common and preferred equities, as well as warrants.

Debt securities include bonds and money market instruments.

Bonds have an original term to maturity of more than one year.

Money market instruments have an original term to maturity of one year or less.