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It's time to let you in on a dirty little secret: You may not own the stock you own. That's right, if you invest with a brokerage firm, the shares you bought are almost certainly not held in your name. Technically, they're held in the name of the Wall Street firm you do business with, hence the term "street name."
No, you haven't been robbed. Ultimately, the decision to hold shares on the books under a different name doesn't affect the economic ramifications for you. You¿re listed as the "beneficial owner," even though the firm is the official owner of the shares. But, you are giving up some rights, and investors concerned about good corporate governance might want to get that stock back in their own names.
Here's the problem: If your stock is technically owned by, say, Merrill Lynch, then Merrill Lynch gets to do things with it that might work against your wishes. Take short selling. Investors who want to sell shares short need to first borrow those shares. The lenders are often the big Wall Street firms that are handing out Street-name shares. So, if you feel that a company you own is a victim of aggressive short selling, chances are your own shares are being used to fuel the shorting.
Also, your brokerage firm can cast ballots on some corporate matters affecting a company without getting your input. Technically, this can only happen in votes considered ¿routine¿ by securities regulators. But, there's a big catch: some big events, like board elections, are considered "routine" under law.
The good news is that you can easily fix the Street name problem: Just request that your brokerage firm makes you the listed owner of the shares. If they refuse, find a new firm.
Home / Markets / Industries / Finance
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Ontario's economy continues to struggle but some relief in sight, says RBC
Comtex
TORONTO, Jul 3, 2008 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) ----According to the latest provincial forecast released today by RBC, a downbeat scenario continues to unfold in Ontario, with economic growth expected to hover around 0.7 per cent for 2008, the weakest pace of expansion for the province since the last recession in the early 1990s.
"The unexpected decline in the national economy in the first quarter of this year was most likely the result of a notable contraction in activity within Ontario's trade sector," said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist, RBC. "The province's exports were pounded by the high Canadian dollar and downturn in the U.S. economy, as well as poor weather conditions and a strike at a major U.S. motor vehicle parts manufacturer that disrupted auto production here."
Ontario's manufacturing sector will continue to see international sales hindered in 2008 as a result of the high dollar and sluggish U.S. economy. Little improvement is foreseen for the province's important auto sector amid plummeting motor vehicle sales in the U.S. and ongoing restructuring of the "Big 3" North American producers. However a projected weakening in the Canadian dollar and reacceleration of growth in the U.S. economy should bring Ontario's exporters some relief by the end of this year and in 2009.
The rest of the province's domestic economy is far more encouraging, the report noted. Residential construction is holding up better than expected and growth in consumer spending continues to be supported by a robust labour market. Despite heavy losses of manufacturing jobs, Ontario continues to see steady employment growth overall, thus keeping the unemployment rate near a seven-year low. "The domestic economy remains in relatively good shape and should allow Ontario's economic growth to stay in positive territory," noted Wright.
The main theme of the Provincial Outlook continues to be the different paths the Eastern and Western parts of the country are taking. Record-high commodity prices and strong global demand for resources sustain unprecedented prosperity in the Western provinces, while the strong Canadian dollar, downturn in the U.S. economy and high energy prices continue to cause hardship in key sectors in provinces east of Manitoba. Saskatchewan is projected to lead all of the provinces in economic growth for both 2008 and 2009, followed by Alberta, while Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario are expected to lag the group this year, but should show some improvement next year.
The RBC Economics Provincial Outlook assesses the provinces according to economic growth, employment growth, unemployment rates, personal income growth, retail sales, housing starts, and the Consumer Price Index.
According to the report (available online as of 8 a.m. E.D.T., at www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/provfcst.pdf), provincial forecast details are as follows:
<< Real GDP Housing starts Retail sales Thousands 07 08 09 07 08 09 07 08 09 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NFLD. 9.1 0.2 1.3 2.6 2.6 2.0 8.9 6.0 2.0 P.E.I. 2.0 1.2 1.6 0.8 0.7 0.6 7.7 4.5 3.7 N.S. 1.6 2.0 2.4 4.8 4.7 4.0 4.2 5.5 4.5 N.B. 1.6 2.0 2.5 4.2 4.2 3.4 5.7 4.6 4.0 QUE. 2.4 1.0 2.3 48.6 47.1 40.0 4.6 4.3 4.4 ONT. 2.1 0.7 2.2 68.1 68.7 59.3 3.9 4.4 4.5 MAN. 3.3 2.7 2.7 5.7 5.9 4.5 8.8 8.5 7.0 SASK. 2.8 3.7 3.8 6.0 6.6 4.5 13.0 12.0 11.0 ALTA. 3.3 3.1 3.0 48.3 38.3 35.1 9.3 4.5 7.0 B.C. 3.1 2.2 2.9 39.2 37.2 30.5 6.7 4.5 7.5 CANADA 2.7 1.4 2.5 228 216 184 5.8 5.2 5.6 Employment CPI 07 08 09 07 08 09 -- -- -- -- -- -- NFLD. 0.6 2.0 0.5 1.5 2.5 1.4 P.E.I. 1.0 1.3 0.3 1.8 3.2 1.5 N.S. 1.3 1.0 1.9 1.9 3.0 1.6 N.B. 2.1 1.6 1.0 1.9 1.8 1.5 QUE. 2.3 1.4 1.3 1.6 2.2 1.4 ONT. 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.8 2.0 1.5 MAN. 1.6 2.1 1.7 2.0 2.0 1.5 SASK. 2.1 2.4 2.3 2.8 3.4 2.6 ALTA. 4.7 3.0 2.1 5.0 3.3 2.5 B.C. 3.2 2.6 2.5 1.8 2.0 1.5 CANADA 2.3 1.9 1.6 2.1 2.3 1.6 >>
SOURCE: RBC
Craig Wright, RBC Economics, (416) 974-7457; Robert Hogue, RBC Economics, (416) 974-6192; Jackie Braden, RBC Media Relations, (416) 974-2124
Copyright (C) 2008 CNW Group. All rights reserved. ********************************************************************** As of Sunday, 06-29-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend� Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated a DOWNTREND on 06-12-2008 for RY @ $47.54. For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc. Copyright � 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
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