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Julius Baer is replacing its chief financial officer, a step that rounds off a shake-up in the private bank's top management since it racked up heavy losses linked to risky lending. The bank confirmed the search in a statement after Reuters reported the news. CFO Evie Kostakis will be stepping down from her role to pursue another international leadership opportunity following an orderly transition, expected for the second half of the year, the bank said. Kostakis did not reply to a request for comment. Kostakis took on the job in 2022, making her the highest-ranking survivor of a management team that has undergone extensive change over the past two years since the Swiss bank began revealing a string of painful losses and writedowns. The CFO hunt has been in motion for several weeks, according to a source. In Julius Baer's 2022 and 2023 annual reports it said the CFO was in charge of overseeing credit risk - a period that ultimately proved a challenging one for the bank.
The spring session of the Nova Scotia legislature did not work out quite as Premier Tim Houston had hoped, according to opposition parties and a political scientist. The session was marked by weeks of protests over budget cuts, a remarkable reversal on some of those cuts, and new restrictions on access to the visitors galleries inside the legislature. Houston seemed to want to quickly pass his budget – which included a deficit of nearly $1.4-billion and hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to programs – but that did not go as planned, Tom Urbaniak, a political scientist with Cape Breton University, said in an interview Thursday.
Empire a annoncé jeudi avoir « conclu un accord portant sur l’acquisition » du détaillant québécois, qui s’était placé il y a quelques mois à l’abri de ses créanciers, tout en gardant ses magasins ouverts. En mettant la main sur Mayrand, Empire pourra faire son entrée sur le marché des épiceries au rabais actuellement dominé par Maxi (Loblaw) et Super C (Metro). La société, qui gère notamment au Québec, par sa filiale Sobeys, les enseignes IGA, Rachelle Béry et les Marchés Tradition, n’a pas de magasin à bas prix dans la Belle Province, contrairement à ailleurs au Canada où elle exploite l’enseigne FreshCo. « Cette acquisition permet à Empire de faire une entrée stratégique sur le marché québécois de l’alimentation de type entrepôt à prix compétitifs, un segment en pleine croissance qui dessert à la fois les ménages et le secteur de la restauration et des services alimentaires », peut-on lire dans le communiqué diffusé par l’entreprise jeudi en fin de journée, peu de temps après que les employés de Mayrand eurent appris la nouvelle.
CarMax will add two members to its board following discussions with activist investor Starboard Value, which agreed to withdraw its director nominations ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The new board members will be Jim Kessler and William Cobb, the latter of whom was one of Starboard’s two nominees to the board, CarMax said Thursday. The move comes after Starboard urged the used-car retailer’s new chief executive officer, Keith Barr, to revamp its pricing framework, streamline its digital processes, and cut costs. Starboard has a roughly $350 million stake in CarMax and nominated both Cobb and Starboard CEO and Chief Investment Officer Jeffrey Smith to the board.
La présence d’un seul enseignant ainsi que l’absence de directions d’école et de membres du personnel de soutien scolaire au sein du conseil d’administration de l’Institut national d’excellence en éducation (INEE) soulèvent des critiques au sein du réseau, a constaté Le Devoir. La semaine dernière, la ministre de l’Éducation, Sonia LeBel, a dévoilé l’ensemble des membres du conseil d’administration de l’INEE, dirigé depuis juillet dernier par l’ancien directeur général du Centre de services scolaire (CSS) des Chênes, à Drummondville, Lucien Maltais. La société d’État pourra ainsi procéder, « de façon prioritaire », à l’adoption d’un budget et d’un plan d’effectifs, indique au Devoir sa conseillère aux communications, Patricia Faucher. Ce n’est qu’alors que l’organisation pourra pleinement remplir le mandat que lui a donné Québec, qui est notamment de cibler les meilleures pratiques à mettre en place dans les écoles de la province afin d’améliorer la réussite scolaire des élèves et la formation des enseignants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-running corruption trial will resume on Sunday, the courts' spokesperson said on Thursday, hours after Israel lifted a state of emergency imposed over its war with Iran. Iran began targeting Israel with ballistic missiles and drones after Israel and U.S. President Donald Trump launched air strikes on Iran on February 28, citing the aims of preventing it projecting force abroad, ending its nuclear programme and encouraging the overthrow of its rulers.
Elections BC has fined the BC United party for fraudulent election activities during the precampaign period for the 2024 provincial vote. An investigation by the non-partisan election agency found that BC United, which at that time served as B.C.’s official opposition party, hired an agency to run a false campaign to undermine its rival: the BC Conservative party. “The distribution of false information during elections can undermine public confidence in our democratic institutions and the security of our elections,” wrote Kerry Pridmore, deputy chief electoral officer, in the report released Wednesday.
Alors qu’il avait dégringolé mercredi pour terminer la séance à 94,41 dollars, le baril de West Texas Intermediate (WTI), pour livraison en mai, rebondissait de 5,83 % à 99,91 dollars vers 9 h 05 (heure de l’Est) jeudi, après avoir dépassé brièvement la barre des 100 dollars. Le baril de Brent de la mer du Nord, pour livraison en juin, prenait 3,67 % à 98,23 dollars. Les frappes israéliennes sur le Liban mercredi, qui ont fait 203 morts et plus de 1000 blessés selon les autorités libanaises, font peser un « grave danger sur le cessez-le-feu et les efforts menés en faveur d’une paix durable et générale dans la région », a affirmé dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi le secrétaire général de l’ONU Antonio Guterres, via un communiqué de son porte-parole. L’optimisme initial lié au cessez-le-feu annoncé avait fait dégringoler les cours de l’or noir mercredi, mais « le marché s’est rapidement recentré sur la réalité sous-jacente : le détroit d’Ormuz reste de facto soumis à des restrictions, et le système pétrolier mondial est loin de fonctionner normalement », a souligné Ole Hansen, analyste chez Saxo Bank.
Liberal Party members are gathering in Montreal and, for the first time in more than a decade, Justin Trudeau and his personal brand of politics won’t tower over the party’s proceedings. Party faithful will gather as Mark Carney’s ever-expanding big tent of MPs stands on the cusp of achieving a majority government following a series of floor-crossings in Parliament. The convention, which runs Thursday through Saturday, starts just ahead of three by-elections set for Monday, and a day after a fifth opposition MP crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus. It comes at a high point for the Liberals, who, a little more than a year ago, felt like they were marching their way out of office. Polling aggregator 338 Canada has the Liberals at a staggering 45 per cent support nationally. “There’s strong support across the country right now for the Prime Minister and for the party,” said Jonathan Kalles, a consultant with McMillan Vantage, who formerly served as Quebec adviser to Trudeau.
La Financière Outremont, propriété de l’homme d’affaires Pierre Karl Péladeau, achète la quasi-totalité du distributeur alimentaire Colabor. L’entente survient au terme d’un processus de vente mené par Raymond Chabot (RCGT), sous la protection de la Cour supérieure, dans le cadre d’une procédure de restructuration engagée en janvier en vertu de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers (LACC). Lourdement endettée, aux prises avec des dettes de plus de 300 millions $, l’entreprise de distribution Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville et de la quasi-totalité de ses filiales, Transport Paul-Emile Dubé, Pêcheries Norref Québec, et Groupe Resto-Achats, sont directement visées par cette opération. Le montant d’acquisitions de chacune de ces entitées n’ont pas été divulguées. Elles doivent encore être approuvées par le tribunal le 13 avril prochain, avant qu’elles ne soient réalisées dans les semaines suivantes.
The governance clash over a shareholder proposal blocked by the board of BP has escalated after proxy advisers recommended voting against re-election of the oil giant’s chair, over concerns about sustainability reporting. Glass Lewis told investors that the refusal of BP to allow a resolution from Follow This, a campaign group, raised issues about transparency. The Financial Times cited Glass Lewis’ advice, saying action to keep the resolution from a shareholder vote had been unnecessary and raised “concerns about transparency, shareholder communication and responsiveness”. Legal & General, the fund managers, say it too will oppose re-election of Albert Manifold, BP’s chair. The latest conflict stems from a resolution submitted by Follow This in January, calling on BP to report on how it would “protect shareholder value” in a scenario where demand for oil and gas declines. Though it received support from some investors, the resolution was excluded from the AGM agenda. Follow This went on to threaten legal action if BP failed to revisit its decision. Follow This chief executive Mark van Baal said at the time: “This case is bigger than one resolution at one company. “Shareholder democracy in the UK is at stake. If BP can block a valid resolution without explanation, any company can. We will not let that stand.”
Eramet’s largest shareholder has hired bankers as it considers the sale of its stake in the troubled French mining group. The Duval family has appointed Lazard to explore options for its 37 per cent holding and to advise them ahead of the company’s looming capital raising, according to three people familiar with the matter. Eramet in February outlined plans to raise €500mn this year to stabilise a “deteriorated financial situation”. Its shares are down almost a fifth since the start of January, taking its market capitalisation to roughly €1.4bn.
British precision engineering firm Renishaw said on Wednesday that it has appointed John Shipsey as its new chief financial officer and David Grant as permanent chairman. Shipsey, who previously served as CFO of technology company Dyson and engineering firm Smiths Group, and held various senior finance and strategy roles at Diageo, will take up the role of Renishaw CFO from April 13.
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Stefano Gabbana has stepped down as chairman of the Italian fashion house that he co-founded with Domenico Dolce, but will continue in his creative role, the company said on Friday. Gabbana’s resignation from oversight roles was effective Jan. 1. Alfonso Dolce, Domenico Dolce’s brother, was named chairman later that month, according to the company’s filing with the Milan chamber of commerce. Dolce & Gabbana in a statement called the move “a natural evolution of its organizational structure and governance.” The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which cited sources saying that Gabbana, 63, was considering options to exit his 40 per cent stake in the 41-year-old fashion house.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for an emergency parliamentary committee to study all possible steps to protect private land ownership – known as fee simple title – in Canada. His is the latest in a long list of voices expressing concern about the Cowichan decision, a B.C. Supreme Court ruling from August, 2025, that declared Aboriginal title is a senior interest above fee simple. Mr. Poilievre spoke to reporters Thursday at a dusty crossroads between farmers’ fields in Richmond, B.C., the city where the courts have recognized that the Cowichan Tribes have Aboriginal title to about 300 hectares of developed land.
L'économie canadienne a créé 14 000 emplois en mars, selon Statistique Canada, tandis que le taux de chômage est resté stable à 6,7 %. Cette création d'emplois est en phase avec les attentes des économistes. Elle marque un léger rebond du marché du travail après les pertes importantes enregistrées en janvier et février. Au Québec, l'emploi est resté stable en mars, mais une baisse du nombre de personnes à la recherche d'un emploi a entraîné un recul de 0,5 point de pourcentage du taux de chômage, qui s'est établi à 5,4 %. L'économie québécoise avait perdu 57 000 emplois en février.
The former chief executive of failed Australian tech firm Big Un has pleaded guilty to sharing inside information, the country's corporate regulator said on Friday, in another conviction linked to one of Australia's most prominent technology sector failures. Richard Evans, formerly known as Richard Evertz, entered the guilty plea in Sydney's District Court over disclosures made to a shareholder in early 2017, when Big Un was one of the top-performing stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange. Big Un collapsed in 2018 after its shares were suspended from trading and the company later entered administration, in what Reuters has previously reported as a test case for Australia's enforcement of market misconduct laws.
The head of RBC says the bank plans to launch a growth fund to invest up to $1 billion in Canadian companies in the coming years. Speaking at the bank’s annual general meeting, chief executive Dave McKay said the fund will help companies build and scale in Canada. He says that too often Canadian entrepreneurs feel they need to leave the country to find enough capital to grow. McKay says the bank will also be hiring and expanding in key areas of national importance including its defence sector practice, infrastructure and project finance capabilities and helping more Canadian companies expand abroad.
Several big North American pension systems are standing by their private credit holdings even as the sector faces choppy waters, a sign of both the industry's potential resilience and its long reach into workers' retirement plans. For instance, the California State Teachers' Retirement System, or CalSTRS, has holdings in private credit funds including some run by Blue Owl Capital Inc, and it is the biggest investor in one of that firm's publicly traded business development companies (BDCs), Blue Owl Capital Corp, according to LSEG data. Blue Owl limited withdrawals in two of the non-traded versions of its BDCs last week after investors put in record redemption requests. The firm is the latest in a string of BDC managers facing redemption stresses as investors fret about competition, falling returns and the risk of artificial intelligence upending software businesses financed by private credit.
Viktor Orban, uniquely endorsed by both U.S. President Donald Trump and the Kremlin, could lose his 16-year iron grip on power on Sunday, opinion polls indicate, in an election many Hungarians believe will decide their country's fate in Europe. Orban, the European Union's longest-serving prime minister, has led Hungary since 2010, entrenching his power by curbing independent media and democratic rights and building an "illiberal democracy" that has earned him fans on Europe's far right and in Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. However, three years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs, along with the enrichment of oligarchs close to the government, have angered voters. Orban's campaign has also been ruffled by press reports that his government has colluded with Moscow. A former Orban loyalist, Peter Magyar, has successfully tapped into Hungarians' discontent and his centre-right Tisza party now comfortably leads most polls.
Alternative investment manager Ares Management has agreed to buy real-estate investment trust Whitestone REIT in an all-cash transaction valued at about $1.7 billion. The companies on Thursday said Ares will pay $19 a share for Whitestone, a 12% premium to Wednesday’s closing price of $16.94 for the Houston company. The takeover price is 26% above Ares’ closing price of $15.02 on March 5, before Reuters reported that the REIT was exploring a sale. The deal is slated to close in the third quarter. Shares of Whitestone were recently up 11% at $18.79 in premarket trading.
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) s’allie à la société américaine Prologis afin de créer une nouvelle entreprise spécialisée dans l’acquisition de propriétés logistiques en Europe. Cette coentreprise, Prologis Logistics Investment Venture Europe (PLIVE), disposera d’un portefeuille initial d’un milliard €, l’équivalent de 1, 62 G$, dans des actifs logistiques en France, en Allemagne, aux Pays-Bas, en Suède et au Royaume-Uni. Selon les premières informations communiquées, la Caisse détiendra une participation de 70 %, tandis que Prologis agira en tant que partenaire d’exploitation et apportera son expertise en gestion d’actifs et en développement.
Italy's government is leaning towards naming Lorenzo Mariani as the new chief executive of Leonardo, four sources said on Thursday, ousting Roberto Cingolani in what would be a major change at the helm of the country's leading defence group. Mariani is a former executive at the defence and aerospace conglomerate, now serving as managing director for Italy at missile maker MBDA, which is jointly owned by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo. "Almost," a senior government official told Reuters, when asked whether Mariani had been chosen to succeed Cingolani. The other sources confirmed the name of Mariani as the favourite for the job, with an announcement expected as soon as Thursday. Italy owns a little more than 30% of Leonardo through the economy ministry.
More BP shareholders are backing a move calling on the energy major to prove that increasing investment in oil-and-gas production will deliver value for investors. The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, a group representing U.K. pension funds, said Thursday that it was joining other investors in supporting a resolution to be voted on at this month’s shareholder meeting, in response to the London-listed group’s shift away from a renewables-focused strategy. The resolution calls on BP to demonstrate that higher spending on fossil-fuel production can deliver value for shareholders, and was filed earlier this year by U.K. and European pension funds along with activist investor Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, or ACCR.
Not long ago, the audit committee’s agenda was, by design, rigorous but relatively bounded: financial reporting integrity, internal controls, external auditor oversight and regulatory compliance. The work was exacting and consequential, but its perimeter was reasonably well-defined. AI is dissolving that perimeter. As a director of publicly traded companies and a partner at an AI governance firm, I have watched this transformation unfold in real time. AI is not approaching from some distant horizon. It is already reshaping how companies operate and how material risks and opportunities are surfaced and managed. For audit committees, this is not a future challenge to plan for. It is a present-tense governance obligation.
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