Pension Pulse

Sean Conlon, Joseph Wilkins, Justina Lee, Lee Ying Shan and Fred Imbert of CNBC report the S&P 500 closes little changed Friday as Iran fears and chip sell-off weigh down market:  The S&P 500 ended near flat on Friday, weighed down by chip stocks, as investors assessed the latest developments regarding the Middle East conflict. The broad market index added just 0.05% and closed at 7,411.98 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.64% to end at 24,975.82.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 235.60 points, or 0.46%, to settle at 51,947.25. A 3.5% jump in Apple boosted the blue-chip index. Stocks had moved higher earlier in the session, while oil prices pulled back, after Reuters, citing three Pakistani sources, reported that Pakistan is ​ considering a path toward establishing new peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, with the push being initiated by China. However, ​obstacles to discussions with the U.S. are still high, the sources said. Earlier this week...

S&P Capital IQ reports Iberdrola Energía Internacional, S.A.U. reached an agreement to acquire 80% stake in Caruna Networks Oy from KKR & Co.and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board for €2 billion: Iberdrola Energía Internacional, S.A.U. reached an agreement to acquire 80% stake in Caruna Networks Oy from KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board for €2 billion on July 21, 2026. The valuation attributed to 100 % of the Caruna Group, in enterprise value terms, including net financial debt, is approximately €5 billion , and will entail a total approximate outlay by Iberdrola Energía Internacional for 80 % of its share capital of  €2.014 billion as the purchase price, comprising a payment of approximately €1.014 billion on the closing date of the Transaction and a deferred payment of approximately €1,000 billion, payable within the 30 months following closing, subject to the customary adjustments in transactions of this ...

Barbara Shecter of the National Post reports  Brookfield and CPPIB team up to buy US$5.2 billion industrial REIT: Two of Canada’s largest institutional investors are paying US$5.2 billion to acquire LXP Industrial Trust, a New York-based company with expertise in buying and developing premium industrial real estate in key logistics markets in the United States.  Brookfield Asset Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are paying a 19.8 per cent premium to the 90-day volume-weighted average price for the publicly traded r eal estate investment trust, which focuses on Class A warehouse and distribution investments in 12 markets across the Sunbelt and U.S. Midwest. LXP went public in 1993 as Lexington Realty Trust and trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It began as a diversified net-lease real estate investment trust and transitioned into what is now primarily a single-tenant industrial REIT focused on high-quality warehouse and distribution assets ...

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports  CAAT governance review leads to changes at the pension plan: The CAAT Pension Plan is making changes to improve its governance over executive compensation, workplace relationships and succession planning after failures in the plan’s oversight spurred an abrupt overhaul of its senior leadership earlier this year. In a letter to members and employers published on Friday, the board of trustees for the $25.4-billion pension plan said it made “enhancements” to its governance procedures after a third-party review, which began last December and concluded earlier this year. CAAT did not release the full results of that review, which was led by Carol Hansell, the founder and senior partner of Hansell LLP. And the letter to members provides only a broad outline of the governance changes that have been implemented. CAAT hired Ms. Hansell after some of the plan’s most senior executives, in a letter sent to trustees in November, 2025, u...

Grace O'Donnell , Jake Conley and Ines Ferré of Yahoo Finance report the Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq post weekly losses as semiconductors get smoked: US stocks declined on Friday, with the major indexes posting weekly losses led by declines in the semiconductor sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 declined by 1%. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.4% following a downbeat day on Wall Street and the release of the world's most powerful open AI model . The S&P 500 dropped more than 1.5% for the week while the Nasdaq declined 2.9%. The Dow lost nearly 1% over the past five sessions.   A sell-off in chip stocks dampened sentiment on Friday as the PHLX Semiconductor Index ( ^SOX ) entered a bear market. However, the sector closed off its session lows as investors bought the dip. "Magnificent Seven" stocks closed out the Friday session and week mixed, with Apple ( AAPL ) gaining 6% for the week, while Alphabet ( GOOG ,...