Each week, our team publishes a blog and webcast.
Last week, Canada’s big banks reported their quarterly results for the period covering February, March, and April 2022. Overall, the results were good. Just about every bank exceeded Bay Street’s expectations and all but one increased the dividend. A few themes are worth highlighting. All the banks are very well capitalized. In other words, if […]
For younger investors presently saving for retirement, allocating a percentage of each paycheque to an investment account accompanies several benefits. First, buying stocks at regular intervals rather than at one point in time will reduce the volatility within your portfolio. Take Scotiabank, for example. As the chart below suggests, a lump-sum purchase at the end […]
2021 represented a record year for insider selling. A total of $170 billion of stock was sold by company executives. So far, 2022 has been a turbulent year for investors. The Russian invasion, escalating energy prices, and higher interest rates to tame inflation have caused many to reduce the valuation multiple they are willing to […]
Corrections: *We mistakenly said the TSX has held up relative to the S&P 500 this year because of gold. We meant to say energy. *We said there is strong downside support on the S&P 500 at 4,900 points. As the S&P 500 is currently trading at 3,991, we meant to say 3,900 points.
Companies on occasion become the target of an “activist investor”, someone that buys a chunk of stock and ruffles feathers publicly in its advocacy to realize change. For a frustrated shareholder holding a dog, one often hopes to see a takeover or, failing that, an activist step in to serve as a catalyst to drive […]
The old phrase to “sell in May and go away” implies that investors (or, in this case, speculators) are best to sell their stocks before the calendar turns over to May and then buy them back as November approaches. Data suggests, however, that this speculative trade is not one to execute. Since the financial crisis […]
Stock splits are akin to exchanging a dime for two nickels. It doesn’t change the economic value of the company. If a stock trades at $50/share and a shareholder owns 100 shares, the value of the investment equals $5,000. If a 2-for-1 stock split is announced, the same shareholder will be given an additional 100 […]
Author Rod McQueen wrote, “Business leaders may be divided into three groups: entrepreneurs who start their own companies; hired guns who manage corporations for others; and members of the lucky sperm club.” Any time we see a stock trading with a Class B set of shares, it usually means one thing: voting control is concentrated […]
Last week, fund rating agency Morningstar downgraded Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF. After posting exceptional returns in 2020, the fund has since fallen from grace as disruptive technology growth stocks have declined sharply in value. Morningstar attributed its downgrade to the fund’s elevated risk profile. Full disclosure: we’ve never bought or sold a unit of […]
Another indicator that normally signals economic trouble ahead caught our attention this last week when the U.S. yield curve inverted. This matters because the U.S. yield curve has inverted before each recession since 1955, offering only one false signal. Not to sound overly technical, but a yield curve in plain language is a line that […]
