no-cover
April 15, 2013
Other

Perspective

Listen to the US media and you might think your portfolio has underperformed, with US stocks making record highs with a 12.14% year to date return for the iShares S&P 500 index ETF (TMX: XSP). Note this ETF is hedged to the Canadian dollar, which added about 3 percentage points to the year-to-date return. Unfortunately,...

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11 years ago
no-cover
April 08, 2013
Other

Option Writing Strategies Are Not Sure Bets

Is there a particular option strategy that works all the time? The answer of course is no just as it is with stock picking or asset allocation metrics. Despite that many investors focus entirely on option writing strategies. The logic seems sound given the potential cash flow and the fact that most options expire worthless....

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11 years ago
no-cover
April 01, 2013
Other

The Power of Propaganda

It must have been a slow week, or perhaps the news media was providing us with some much needed comic relief. When the long lines of depositors making a run on Cypriot banks never materialized, we were treated to pictures of Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader for life and close friend of Dennis Rodman, signing an order to put...

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11 years ago
no-cover
March 25, 2013
Other

Makes you Wonder What’s Next?

The title reflects the elephant in the room that overhangs the silent majority; is anything safe from the long arm of distressed governments? It sheds light on the veiled risks associated with unchecked governments searching for new sources of revenue! This week we witnessed the “what next” which is the Cyprus Solution....

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11 years ago
no-cover
March 10, 2013
Other

Straddle Follow Up

Last week I talked about using XIU straddles and short-term bonds as an alternative approach to medium and long-term fixed income securities. I was speaking about the use of straddles as a hedging mechanism that might provide the same level of protection normally associated with fixed income assets. And I posited that the...

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11 years ago
no-cover
March 04, 2013
Other

A New Approach to Crisis Insurance

Invest ‘til May then go away ‘til labor day! That’s a seasonal strategy that has a large following among professional investors. It may be nothing more than advisors taking a break over the summer months making it more difficult for the market to move higher without enthusiastic buyers. Or if may simply be an old wives...

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11 years ago
no-cover
February 25, 2013
Other

Will Canadian Banks Strengthen? Depends!

Equity markets experienced more of the same last week. Treading water in a relatively narrow trading range punctuated by periods of sharp sell-offs driven by heated political rhetoric or Central Bank pronouncements that catch the market by surprise. Last weeks’ hiccup came when minutes from the US Federal Reserve Open Market...

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11 years ago
no-cover
February 19, 2013
Other

The Bull Bear Debate Rages!

Lloyd Blankfein CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs believes we are on the cusp of a major bull market. Citing in a CNBC interview low interest rates, a “terrific” energy situation which can drive manufacturing and create jobs, and an ongoing turnaround in housing as reasons to be bullish! Pervasive negative sentiment among...

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11 years ago
no-cover
February 11, 2013
Other

Option Strategy Bands

This Saturday is the first Option Education Day (OED) of 2013. The OED offers attendees an opportunity to learn basic and advanced strategies from option experts. Not to mention a great lunch, morning and afternoon snacks and an opportunity to meet with sponsors and test drive some excellent options trading platforms. I have...

1837
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11 years ago
no-cover
February 04, 2013
Other

Are the Markets up for a Dose of Reality?

As we close in on historic highs in the US financial markets one has to wonder how much of this rally is predicated on robust economic prospects and how much is the result of FED funding? As usual there is an abundance of views ranging from very bullish to outright bearishness. Depends on what you want to focus on! Unemployment...

1462
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11 years ago
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