Most investors think October is the worst month for stocks. Not so! In reality, September inflicts the most pain on portfolios, although this year… not so much! Even lagging Canadian stocks posted a 0.98% gain in September, although that was but a third of the September return south of the border. So far traders have been...
There is little doubt that Blackberry (TMX: BB, Friday’s Close $11.29) is in palliative care. Management has set up a committee and hired two advisory firms to seek “strategic alternatives,” including the possible sale of the company. There is also a sense of urgency as all signs point to a November time line for an end...
Last week the six major Canadian banks all reported better than expected quarterly earnings. The numbers were as follows; Earnings Per Share l Underlying Banks Estimate Actual Price P/E Dividend Yield Bank of Montreal $ 1.68 $ 1.53 $ 66.11 10.61 $ 2.96 4.48% ScotiaBank $ 1.31 $ 1.39 $ 58.50 11.54 $ 2.68 4.58% CIBC $ 2.13 $ 2.29...
Over the past couple of weeks, North American retailers have been reporting second quarter earnings. The numbers were not pretty! There was a marked slowdown in retail spending on both sides of the border, particularly in the numbers that came out of giant discount retailers like Wal-Mart and Macys, which reported their numbers...
Before getting started with this weeks’ blog I need to correct something reported last week. In discussions about US interest rates I talked about the US 10 year Treasury yield and mentioned resistance at 2.5%. That was a misprint, it should have read 2.7%. My apologies. The reason I wanted to raise this – besides wanting...
As earnings season winds down, focus will shift away from company specifics onto Fed nuances, tapering timelines and interest rate fears; noise that typically triggers sentiment shifts with an attendant spike in volatility. Not surprisingly, we are seeing signs that the US economy is not as robust as some might have thought....
Canadian stocks share much with the Toronto Blue Jays in that they pale in comparison to their US counterparts, proving once again just how much our economy relies on commodities, precious metals and energy. Friday was yet another disappointing day weighed down by retreating gold stocks, fallout from Potash’s sub-par earnings...
Portfolio management is not investment management. That may seem contradictory, but the distinction is important in terms of one’s financial health, And particularly relevant for investors who rely on their portfolio for income. A portfolio is the end result of a disciplined process that allocates an assortment of financial...
Just when we thought we were out, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) pulls us back in! The markets were already turning the corner, as traders were starting to focus on real economic fundamentals rather than liquidity enhancements; what I have referred to in past blogs as visibility. Then, just as the markets were adapting to this...
Canada’s May trade deficit was 70% of the deficit recorded in April. In what seems like a good news story, in reality it was the result of imports contracting at twice the rate of exports. The way to think about this data point is to envision a two edged sword slicing its way through the Canadian economy. Keeping in mind the...