O ne of Canada’s largest unions is calling on federal and provincial governments to create a new National Pension and Investment Fund to take control of pension plan assets of bankrupt companies to help retirees who are facing deep cuts to their incomes. The scheme is the latest in a string of proposals being pitched this week to federal and provincial finance ministers, who are gathering Thursday in Whitehorse for a meeting to discuss pension reforms and consider proposals for a new supplemental pension plan for Canadians without a workplace plan.

T he famed fighting monks of China’s Shaolin Temple plan a foray into modern finance. The local government entity in charge of managing the 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple’s tourism-related assets plans to join with China Travel Service in a venture that will seek to raise up to 1 billion yuan ($146.4 million U.S.) in a share listing on either a mainland market or in Hong Kong, reports said Thursday.

About Us | Contact Us | Search | Editorial Calendar | Advertise Subscriber Services:� Subscribe | Renew | Subscription Status | Pay an Invoice | Change Mail Address Reprints | List Rental | Issue Index | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Crain Financial Group:� Pensions & Investments | FinancialWeek | Workforce Management Copyright � 2009 Crain Communications Inc. Use of editorial content without permission is strictly prohibited.

Federal prosecutors have charged a former Plymouth financial adviser with fraud and tax charges stemming from allegations that he stole $4.3 million from clients. Prosecutors on Wednesday claimed that Stephen Clifford used money from his clients to pay personal expenses, including mortgage, alimony, credit card bills and his daughter’s college tuition. The 58-year-old Clifford allegedly used some of the money to fund a personal trading account which he used to speculate in oil futures

About Us | Contact Us | Search | Editorial Calendar | Advertise Subscriber Services:� Subscribe | Renew | Subscription Status | Pay an Invoice | Change Mail Address Reprints | List Rental | Issue Index | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Crain Financial Group:� Pensions & Investments | FinancialWeek | Workforce Management Copyright � 2009 Crain Communications Inc. Use of editorial content without permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved

Stocks are opening lower after an unexpected rise in new jobless claims suggested continued labor market weakness. The Labor Department says that the number of new jobless claims rose to 480,000 last week, up 7,000 from the previous week.

T ransat A.T. Inc.