Here we go again! The Dow has outperformed the TSX this year so far (as I predicted early in the year - puff, puff). Commodities and commodity based stocks have underperformed this year and so have Canadian banks; hence the TSX's poor performance. But the summer correction may be over and...

Oil is starting to play the role of interest rates when it comes to determining economic growth. A lot of things are 'chicken and egg' situations. For example, if inflation increases, then interest rates tend to increase, which would increase the financing costs of government debt (amongst...

I have not been a lot on the forum lately due to my 'un-retirement' and new full time employment. Let me see if I can stir the pot and give you my outlook for the near future. Any dissident opinions? I stole this outlook from my blog, so if there are any spelling or other errors, just blame...

Fairfax`s Prem Watsa sees commodity bubble brewing TIM KILADZE 18:31 EST Thursday, Dec 02, 2010 TORONTO — Never mind the current hype over commodities: Prem Watsa and his team at Fairfax aren’t convinced that resources and agricultural goods will continue to skyrocket. “Anything that...

Just bought `Decision Points` by George W. Bush one of the most controversial U.S. Presidents in recent U.S. history (other than Nixon?). Anyway, you may hate his policies, but the book is easy to read and quite enjoyable (up to now - page 85). I have read other autobiographies like the one of...

Over the last year, condomium prices, in particular apartments in Calgary have come down both in price and volume. In October barely 340 units sold citywide. So maybe we`re setting up for a major crash and maybe Calgary`s condo market is overbuild? Think again! After years of muddled city...

Really, how come that we have such diametrically opposed views about the risks of Canada`s residential market and consumer debt. This came from Canada`s private sector owned Residential Mortgage insurer`s latest quarterly report: TORONTO, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - Genworth MI Canada Inc. (the "Company")...

If you like technical investing, you must have noticed that over the last week or so, the TSX has broken out of its trading range and that the Dow is above 11,000. Considering the black mood prevailing just a few months ago - a mood that even affected me - this is just a miracle. This...

As part of risk management, the prudent investor looks at a number of possible investment scenarios or forecasts. These are `what if` cases and you don`t have to make them all yourself. You can use books or news paper articles as your scenario. For example, as your worst case scenario you could...

Ken Fisher is an avid investor but a tedious writer. When I slugged through is last book, I realized that contrarian investing maybe just as dumb as following the herd. What Ken stated is that in the investment world, the masses are often wrong, but so are the contrarions but markets seem always...

Here is a ‘what-if’ scenario that seems to become increasingly relevant. With spending by Baby-boomers on hold and increased savings levels, a world of excess cash, reduced corporate leverage and less consumer debt seems to become reality. Economic growth is often linked to increased...

Everything is relatively quiet at the investment front. The quarterly economic data are so-so, while the corporate earnings reports are better than expected. A lot of the summer economic `malaise` is due to the absence of many investors. Who wants to be driven nuts by the daily gyrations of the...

In the discussion on 'Cash Flow Return' where we digressed a lot, Thomas Beyer made some interesting observations about Multi-family and single family investments in Calgary and Edmonton. My question: Is Calgary now ripe for REIN investors? QUOTE (ThomasBeyer @ Jul 30 2010, 03:27 PM)...

Creating an investment portfolio is like gardening – it requires constant weeding. We have to set expectations for ROI and net cash flow; we have to manage volatility or what many people call risk. Risk translates into losses only on three occasions: 1. The investment is sold 2. The investment...

Becoming rich is about setting a goal, charting the route towards your goal and moving towards it. But at what rate? Any traveler can tell you that a speedometer is critical, not only to avoid get speeding tickets but also because it tells you how fast you are approaching your goal. If your rate...

You look at recent headlines and you may think that there is no end to our economic gloom. Greece, Spain, rising interest rates, minority government, big deficits and falling - no crashing or about to crash - stock markets, collapsing oil prices, etc. Wow life is terrible! Yet the stock market...

When investing in 1973 in non-leveraged real estate, a $1.00 investment would have appreciated to $17.23 in 2010 based on Calgary`s average single family house price. Was that same dollar invested in the stocks of the Dow Jones, it would have brought in $12.63. This does not include rental...

QUOTE (Rickson9 @ May 6 2010, 11:11 PM) It`s good to know that pissing contests will still exist when I get older. I happen to know that Thomas invests in stocks and options as well based on his past postings. So he diversifies from real estate into stocks, while I diversify from stocks into...

I just watched BNN at my daughter`s where a broker from Mortgage Intelligence was interviewed. When I came home I saw RBC hikes mortgage rates again What is going on? I think 2 things: 5 year bond yields are rising on expectation of an improving economy and large government debt. Canadian Banks...

How many times do I hear this question and throw up my hands in desperation. Market Timers! Speculators! Some make money, most lose it. To pick a market top or a bottom is nearly impossible and to do it consistently is even more difficult. It doesn’t matter whether you invest in the stock...