July 31 Newsletter to Clients

How Jimmy Hoffa is Helping Us Dig for Ideas

Nothing against unions, but our job is to make our clients money. It’s not exactly a characteristic we chase to find. The employment market is very strong. At home, our unemployment rate is 5.4%. South of the border, it’s only 3.6%. Because many employers recall the difficult time they had filling job vacancies coming out […]

Charles Schwab Got Thrown Out with the Bathwater

At the end of June, the Federal Reserve released the results of its annual stress test for the big U.S. banks. The exercise, which was introduced in 2011 following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, tests to see how the big banks’ balance sheets would fare in a hypothetical economic downturn. The results of the test dictate […]

June 30 Newsletter to Clients

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this publication are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to represent specific advice. The views reflected in this publication are subject to change at any time without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure that the material in this publication is accurate at the time of […]

If Your Bank Manages Your Investments, Hold Your Wallet

In 2016, the scandal over fake accounts created by Wells Fargo employees shocked anyone who reads the newspaper. For years, the bank had a pristine reputation due to a very sizable investment from Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and the fact they said it could survive without tapping into the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the […]

Driving Ahead with Copper

So far this year, capital markets activity has been abysmal. Corporate activity for deals over $25 million fell almost 50% compared to the year before in the first three months of this year. However, copper transaction volumes are up about 30%. Just last week, word that copper producer First Quantum was informally approached by Barrick […]

Lessons Learned from the “Nifty Fifty” of the 1960s

The “nifty fifty” was an informal group of stocks that traded at high valuations (over 50 times earnings in many cases, far above the historical market average of about 16 times) in the 1960s and early 1970s. The “nifty fifty” was responsible for strong market gains on the way up, only to provide disappointing underperformance […]

52% of Condo Investors Losing Cash and Renters Will Fill the Gap

Yesterday, the Bank of Canada surprisingly hiked the overnight rate by 25 basis points (one basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point) to 4.75%. Any time that happens, you can rest assured the Canadian banks will increase their prime rate for customers the same day. We expect renters living in condos (not subject to […]

Home Prices vs. Stock Values: Which has Done Better since 2007?

About 23% of Canadians who do not currently own an investment property say they plan to buy one in the next 5 years. That’s according to a new Royal LePage survey published this week. During a television interview on BNN Bloomberg, the Royal LePage CEO said “I did it when I was younger”, which was […]

May 31 Newsletter to Clients

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this publication are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to represent specific advice. The views reflected in this publication are subject to change at any time without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure that the material in this publication is accurate at the time of […]