The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Royal Bank of Canada has hired Manulife Investment Management's Frances Donald as its new chief economist after Craig Wright retired last month. The Globe's Stefanie Marotta writes that as one of Canada's most prominent economists, Ms. Donald spent five of her eight years at Manulife as the company's global chief economist and strategist. She will lead RBC's economics and "thought leadership" group, supporting the bank's efforts to use data, technology and artificial intelligence to identify long-term macro trends. The division publishes research and commentary for Canadian and U.S. clients with insights on the direction of the economy. During her tenure at Manulife, Ms. Donald oversaw macroeconomic strategy, economic forecasts and cross-asset investment ideas. She forecast global macroeconomic and financial trends, and identified opportunities and risks in the economy and capital markets. She also co-ordinated research, assisted with the group's return forecasts and contributed insights on portfolio positioning. Ms. Donald is a regular commentator on broadcast programs, including BNN, CBC, Bloomberg, CNBC and Fox Business. She joins RBC on Aug. 26.