Call the papers! A cabinet minister said something intelligent:
Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney says he wants to exploit a “dysfunctional” American immigration system to lure high-tech workers to Canada when they can’t get permanent residency in the United States.
The minister said Wednesday the U.S. failure to reform its immigration system is keeping an opportunity open for Canada and there are plans to make it easier for prospects to come to Canada with program changes this January. Mr. Kenney did not provide details of the specific changes.
…
“If you’ve got a degree in something like computer science from Stanford or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Americans won’t give you a green card, you’re welcome to Canada. We have a functioning immigration system that will become even faster-moving under express entry in January of next year.”
Fortunately for our prejudices, however, they had to admit:
Mr. Kenney noted that Canada previously posted a billboard in Silicon Valley, promoting low taxes and visas for those having trouble with their U.S. visas.
Mr. Kenney’s office was asked about numbers on the program, but a spokesperson said they were not available.
It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualDiscounts off 8bp, FixedResets up 14bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 3bp. Volatility was minimal. Volume was extremely low.
| HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices Values are provisional and are finalized monthly |
|||||||
| Index | Mean Current Yield (at bid) |
Median YTW |
Median Average Trading Value |
Median Mod Dur (YTW) |
Issues | Day’s Perf. | Index Value |
| Ratchet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0416 % | 2,636.7 |
| FixedFloater | 4.16 % | 3.40 % | 26,564 | 18.61 | 1 | 0.0439 % | 4,165.7 |
| Floater | 2.91 % | 3.04 % | 45,462 | 19.61 | 4 | 0.0416 % | 2,726.5 |
| OpRet | 4.02 % | -0.40 % | 76,011 | 0.08 | 1 | -0.0392 % | 2,717.9 |
| SplitShare | 4.24 % | 3.94 % | 58,673 | 3.97 | 6 | 0.0508 % | 3,125.1 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0392 % | 2,485.2 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.49 % | -3.87 % | 85,475 | 0.09 | 19 | -0.0145 % | 2,435.2 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.25 % | 5.20 % | 115,886 | 15.15 | 17 | -0.0818 % | 2,583.5 |
| FixedReset | 4.29 % | 3.58 % | 194,584 | 6.73 | 75 | 0.1424 % | 2,561.6 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 5.00 % | 1.44 % | 113,140 | 0.23 | 42 | 0.0304 % | 2,549.7 |
| FloatingReset | 2.68 % | 2.10 % | 81,133 | 3.78 | 6 | 0.1447 % | 2,520.9 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| CIU.PR.C | FixedReset | 1.00 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2044-08-07 Maturity Price : 21.35 Evaluated at bid price : 21.65 Bid-YTW : 3.33 % |
| PWF.PR.P | FixedReset | 1.60 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2044-08-07 Maturity Price : 23.13 Evaluated at bid price : 23.56 Bid-YTW : 3.33 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| TD.PF.B | FixedReset | 165,375 | Recent new issue. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2044-08-07 Maturity Price : 23.18 Evaluated at bid price : 25.04 Bid-YTW : 3.63 % |
| POW.PR.G | Perpetual-Premium | 145,673 | TD crossed 140,000 at 25.75. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2021-04-15 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.75 Bid-YTW : 5.16 % |
| TRP.PR.D | FixedReset | 64,868 | Scotia crossed 50,000 at 25.31. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2019-04-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.39 Bid-YTW : 3.67 % |
| BMO.PR.W | FixedReset | 58,550 | Recent new issue. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2044-08-07 Maturity Price : 23.13 Evaluated at bid price : 24.96 Bid-YTW : 3.61 % |
| PVS.PR.D | SplitShare | 29,125 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2021-10-08 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.50 Bid-YTW : 4.92 % |
| SLF.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | 22,683 | Scotia crossed 20,000 at 23.74. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.66 Bid-YTW : 5.52 % |
| There were 13 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| W.PR.H | Perpetual-Premium | Quote: 25.20 – 26.20 Spot Rate : 1.0000 Average : 0.5943 YTW SCENARIO |
| FTS.PR.J | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 24.01 – 24.58 Spot Rate : 0.5700 Average : 0.3990 YTW SCENARIO |
| ELF.PR.F | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 24.10 – 24.38 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.1857 YTW SCENARIO |
| BNS.PR.B | FloatingReset | Quote: 25.26 – 25.53 Spot Rate : 0.2700 Average : 0.1827 YTW SCENARIO |
| CIU.PR.C | FixedReset | Quote: 21.65 – 22.20 Spot Rate : 0.5500 Average : 0.4657 YTW SCENARIO |
| IAG.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 23.10 – 23.65 Spot Rate : 0.5500 Average : 0.4664 YTW SCENARIO |