OTTAWA, December 6, 2004 -- On Thursday, 9 December 2004, from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. (EST), a briefing on the contents of the December issue of the Financial System Review (FSR) will be held at the Bank's head office in Ottawa, with videoconferencing links to its offices in Montréal and Toronto. The December issue of the FSR features the following articles: A Taxonomy of Market Efficiency Portrait of the Canadian Hedge Fund Industry Bank of Canada Lender-of-Last-Resort Policies Basel II and Required Bank Capital - Pre-Bid Run-ups Ahead of Canadian Takeovers: How Big Is the Problem? Monetary Policy, Private Information, and International Stock Markets On Wednesday, 8 December, the FSR will be available to the media under embargo. Representatives of the media are invited to pick up their copies of the FSR at the Bank's East Tower entrance between 9 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. (EST). The embargo will be lifted on Thursday, 9 December, at 9:45 a.m. At the Thursday briefing session, a panel of senior Bank officers will provide information, answer questions, and exchange views on the contents of this issue. Information gathered at the session may be used freely in news reports and commentaries, provided it is not attributed to the Bank or its officers. Electronic recording is not permitted. Individual news organizations may send more than one representative. To facilitate security procedures, however, those wishing to attend must confirm their attendance by calling Sandra Séguin at (613) 782-7595 before noon on Wednesday, 8 December. - 30 - For further information: Annie Portelance Tel.: (613) 782-8782, E-mail: aportelance@bankofcanada.ca
