Investors are starting to notice that their portfolios have been treading water for a couple of years. Over the last two years, a global balanced growth portfolio would essentially be flat. Of course, move out to 3 year, 5 year and 10 year time horizons and we have very solid to generous returns. At times […]
Rates are on hold as China sinks on the Sunday Reads.
Last week I reported on the negative quarter of GDP growth for Canada. I also suggested that the Bank of Canada would hold rates. That was an easy call you might say, and as expected the overnight rate was held at 5%. That’s a slight sigh of relief perhaps for mortgage holders. But the bond […]
The recession watch and more bank earnings on the Sunday Reads.
The past week offered more Canadian bank earnings. As expected we saw more softness, but the banks are hanging in there. I’ve updated last week’s Sunday Reads to include the recent earnings reports. And the big news of the week might have been the unexpected second quarter of negative growth for the Canadian economy. Is […]
RBC shows the way as Canadian banks report earnings on the Sunday Reads.
It’s what most Canadian investors were waiting for – Canadian banks earnings reports. The two biggest banks, RBC and TD were first out of the gate. The general consensus among bank analysts was that the banks would show softening earnings. While TD stuck to the script, RBC (once again) had other plans. RBC is not […]
Inflation is sticky, while oil and gas stocks pump the free cash flow on the Sunday Reads.
We had an inflation reading in Canada. It was a good news / bad news report. There are encouraging signs, inflation is moving in the right direction, but it is also sticky and still above target. I am of the opinion that there is no 2% inflation target in Canada and the U.S. That 2% […]
Why retirees own bonds, cash and GICs.
Imagine retiring, and then you have to head back to work, or you cancel your planned trips and greatly curtail your lifestyle. That’s what happened to too many who retired at or near the recesssions created by the dot com crash and the financial crisis. Risk in retirement is perhaps the flipside of risk in […]