Pension Pulse

Rachel Fixsen of IPE reports Norway SWF loses 14% on assets in 2022, stages rebound in January: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF) released headline annual results this morning showing the previous year’s high profits to have been wiped out by 2022’s investment losses – but its manager also declared record profits had been generated from outperformance. The Government Pension Fund Global’s (GPFG) total assets actually increased to NOK12.4trn (€1.14trn) by the end of 2022 from NOK12.3trn a year before, despite a negative annual investment return of 14.1% or NOK1.64trn in 2022, according to the summary of annual figures published today. That 14.1% investment loss comes directly after a year when the GPFG made a NOK1.58tn or 14.5% gain. Losses for both fixed income and equities – the main components of the index-based GPFG – were both wide in 2022 at 12.1% and 15.3%, respectively, while unlisted real estate generated a slim 0.1% return, and unlisted renewable energy infrast...

Andrew Coyne wrote an op-ed for the Globe and Mail on how Ottawa can help fix health care: first, send less money: The early 2000s were a fertile period for health care reform. The deficit reduction battles of the previous decade had left their mark. Federal transfers to the provinces had fallen to just over 2 per cent of GDP, half what they were at their peak. Provinces had in turn been forced to curb spending across the board, even for health care: public spending on health care had fallen to 6 per cent of GDP by the end of the 1990s, from 7 per cent at the start. Wait times had lengthened accordingly, to a median of 18 weeks from referral to treatment, twice what they were a decade before. Yet even as spending on health care was restored to previous levels, wait times remained at record highs. Clearly, something had to give . A series of federal and provincial reports landed, each offering its own sweeping recommendations for change. The year 2002 alone saw the repo...

Samantha Subin and Carmen Reinicke of CNBC report stocks close higher Friday, Nasdaq posts fourth week of gains: Stocks rose Friday and capped off a winning week fueled by better-than-expected economic growth and a pop in Tesla shares. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.95% to settle at 11,621.71, while the S&P 500 gained 0.25% to close at 4,070.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 28.67 points, or 0.08%, to finish at 33,978.08. All the major averages posted a positive week and are on pace for a month of gains. The tech-heavy index rose 4.32% and closed out its fourth week of gains. It’s on pace for its best monthly performance since July. The S&P and Dow added 2.47% and 1.81%, respectively, this week. Earnings season pressed on, with strong guidance boosting American Express shares by 10.5% despite a top-and bottom-line miss . Some chip stocks rose even as Intel slumped more than 6% on a dismal earnings report that missed expectations. Tesla rose 11% Friday, and mo...