Food For Thought: A Weaker Canadian Dollar
The Canadian dollar’s (CAD) weakness has raised questions about its broader impact and the path forward: The CAD is trading below its historical average. To start 2025, it fell below 68 U.S. cents – a level not seen in two decades. The decline has been driven by factors such as diverging U.S. and Canadian monetary […]
A Credit Downgrade: What’s In A Rating
In May, Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating from the top Aaa to Aa1. This move by one of the major credit ratings agencies – S&P and Fitch are the other two – raised the question: Does a downgrade matter? First, what is a rating? A credit rating assesses a borrower’s ability and willingness to […]
Tariff Talk: Where Do We Stand?
In brief, here are four perspectives on Canada/U.S. trade: 1. The U.S. is Canada’s main export market. In 2023, Canadian total exports were valued at C$965 billion, with 77 percent going to the U.S. No other nation accounts for more than 5 percent of Canada’s exports.1 2. Canada is the U.S.’s largest export market. However, […]
Why Warren Buffett’s Cash Reserve is Growing
Warren Buffett’s increasing cash reserves at Berkshire Hathaway have drawn significant attention from market watchers. In his latest annual letter – eagerly awaited each year by many investors for its sage wisdom – Buffett addressed the topic directly: “Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of […]
The Illusion of Speed
It has been said that “there are decades where nothing seems to happen, and there are weeks where decades happen.” The sweeping global tariffs, announced by the U.S. on April’s “Liberation Day,” caught the world off guard – disrupting long-held norms in global trade and world order. This may signal the beginning of a new […]
The Merits of Hanging In (& Why April Felt So Bad)
It’s been a wild ride this year – and we’re only halfway through. If April’s market movements felt unsettling, you weren’t mistaken. While volatility is a natural part of equity markets, the magnitude of April’s decline was unusual. A two-day drop of more than 10 percent in the S&P 500, seen over April 3 and […]
A Cloud of Uncertainty
The rhetorical tautology, “Predictions are difficult, especially about the future” may feel particularly relevant today.1 The start of 2025 has been marked by low visibility, with two events casting a cloud of uncertainty over investor sentiment: the launch of DeepSeek’s AI platform – claiming to be a significantly lower-cost model – and U.S. President Trump […]
Uncertain Times: Defensive Strategies for Investors
“The desire to perform all the time is usually a barrier to doing well in the long run.”- Howard Marks With slower economic growth, an evolving tariff situation and rising geopolitical uncertainty, many investors may be looking at ways to take a more defensive stance in their portfolios. A Flight to Safety: The Increasing Attention […]
The Evolving Trade War: Is A Recession Looming
When the U.S. launched a trade war in January, many were quick to warn of a possible recession. With Canada’s economy already growing at a sluggish pace – GDP growth is projected at just 1.8 percent for 2025 – the Bank of Canada estimated that a blanket 25 percent tariff would reduce annual GDP growth […]
Even The Good Years Have Down Times
While many aspects of investing in the equity markets may seem unpredictable, one constant remains: volatility. Just how common are market fluctuations? Even in years when the S&P/TSX Composite Index has performed well, we should expect substantial volatility. Over the past 40 years, despite average annual performance of more than 6 percent, the average intra-year […]