Canada

CANADA - Canadian communications company BCE has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), in an attempt to rescue its takeover by an investor group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).

CANADA - The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has launched OMERS Strategic Investments, a new entity which will invest in a portfolio of global private companies.

CANADA - The government has proposed to allow federally regulated pension plans to double the length of time required for solvency payments from five to ten years.

CANADA - The leveraged buyout of Bell Canada Inc. by an investor group led the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) has hit a snag with a report on the firm's financial health from accountancy firm KPMG.

CANADA - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) may bid for private equity assets including those owned by UK's Wellcome Trust Ltd. to take advantage of depressed prices, chief executive officer David Denison says.

CANADA - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has announced a CAN$5.3bn (US$4.3bn) decline in asset values over the first half of the fiscal year, resulting in the fund's value falling to $117.4bn.

CANADA - Part of the government's CAN$52bn (US$43.7bn) Employment Insurance (EI) surplus should be used to safeguard pensions, the UFCW union has said.

CANADA - The CAN$52bn Ontario Municipal Employees' Retirement System (OMERS) has confirmed it has taken a stake in Texan electricity company Oncor.

CANADA - The C$155bn (US$129bn) Caisse pension fund has sufficient liquidity to meet all its commitments to members in spite of the financial turmoil, its president says.

CANADA - Nova Scotia's finance minister Michael Baker said pension benefits for plan members eligible to retire in the next five years would not change.