New Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, who fought the U.S. takeover bid for home-improvement chain Rona Inc, said on Wednesday that the role of Quebec's pension fund should be strengthened to keep corporate headquarters in Quebec hands.The separatist leader made the comments as she named former academic Nicolas Marceau as finance minister in her new government, telling him that part of his mandate was "to restore order to our public finances."She said Marceau would also propose revisions to the mandate of the province's pension fund, the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, so that it would promote economic development and work to "keep the strategic decision-making centers here."Even before she took power, the Caisse had taken an increased stake in Rona, which is headquartered in Quebec, during the C$1.8 billion ($1.86 billion) bid by the U.S.-based Lowes Cos Inc, which has since been withdrawn.
RONA inc. (RONA) is a distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. Shares of RON fell by 0.44% or $-0.05/share to $11.19. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $8.64 and as high as $14.49. On average, 650324 shares of RON.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 153612.
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