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iStock-MangoStarStudio It has been 126 years since Alphonse Desjardins founded Canada’s first credit union, or caisse populaire, in Lévis, Que. After studying financial co-operatives in Europe, he adapted their model for Canada. Desjardins promoted the movement by lobbying governments to recognize the cooperative model and helping communities establish their own credit unions. By his death in 1920, there were about 160 caisses populaires across Quebec, Ontario and the northeastern United States.

iStock-PeopleImages A better start to the youth summer jobs market helped the economy record steady employment gains in June, Statistics Canada said Friday. Employers added 18,000 jobs last month, the agency said, mostly in part-time and private sector work. That pushed the unemployment rate down a tenth of a point to 6.5%, back to where it stood in January. Employment gains narrowly topped economists’ expectations heading into the release but mark a slowdown from the 88,000 jobs added in May.

iStockphoto/Peshkova The operators of an unregistered, offshore firm that breached securities law in Alberta have been ordered to pay almost $2 million in sanctions by a regulatory hearing panel of the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC). Last year, an ASC panel ruled that Glenn Hunter and Kyle Watters, along with their firms, HW & Associates Inc. and HW TradeFX LLC, violated securities law when they admitted to engaging in trading on behalf of investors without being registered as dealers.

iStock/dima_sidelnikov Stocks in Canada and the U.S. rose on Thursday, as easing oil prices brought some calm to financial markets. A day earlier, stock markets fell and oil prices rose as comments from U.S. President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran. “Markets still believe that the U.S. is motivated to end the conflict in Iran.

AdobeStock-Day-Of-Victory-Stu Equity trading activity on the markets overseen by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) declined in the second quarter, but remained elevated compared with the same period a year ago. According to data from the industry self-regulatory organization, the total value of trading across the various exchanges and alternative trading systems it regulates declined by 3.5% in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter.

iStock-photoman Russell Investments has been sold to a consortium led by B Capital. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is among the investors. “[W]e firmly believe the future of asset management lies at the intersection of investment expertise, personalized client service and innovation,” said Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly, co-founders and co-CEOs of B Capital, in a media release.

AdobeStock / Aleks Taurus The government-owned lottery and casino operator, Atlantic Lottery Corporation Inc., is being sanctioned by federal anti-money laundering authorities, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), for a handful of alleged compliance violations.

iStockphoto/Evgeny Gromov The break even pace of overall job growth in Canada has fallen with the population and labour force growth, but a new report points out that there are sharp differences between the provinces. The report by TD Economics says the total number of jobs in Canada can now be close to flat without pushing the unemployment rate higher. However, it says that isn’t the case when you look at the data province by province.

iStock-FangXiaNu The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is proposing a new model for advisor incorporation that would enable all advisors to flow their revenues through a tax-saving corporate structure, regardless of their dealer’s registration status. However, there are still regulatory hoops to jump through before the industry’s long-held dream of adopting business structures that are common in other professions can finally be realized.

Charles Guay, the former president and CEO of both Standard Life Canada and Manulife Quebec, has been appointed to that role at UV Insurance. The industry veteran replaces Christian Mercier, who announced his departure earlier this year. The Drummondville-headquartered mutual insurance company is among Canada’s oldest carriers. Founded in 1889, it provides life and health insurance, wealth and group benefit products.