Canada's Manulife hits C$4 billion profit milestone

By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's biggest insurer Manulife Financial Corp met a long-held target to achieve an annual profit of C$4 billion in 2016 while exceeding analyst expectations, helped by a strong performance in Asia. The performance represents a landmark for Manulife, which initially set a goal in 2012 to achieve annual earnings of C$4 billion ($3.1 billion) by 2015 but later pushed back its expectation to 2016, citing tougher economic conditions. The company's core earnings