The last couple of months have seen a significant amount of market volatility both in North America and abroad. Market fluctuations have been so sporadic and random, they have even the sharpest market experts confused; is a recession coming? What is the average investor supposed to do when the wall street geniuses are struggling? Current... Continue Reading →
A recent news article stated that 48% of Canadians are on the brink of insolvency. This article was based on a recent study conducted by MNP Ltd which defined "The brink of insolvency" as being $200 or less away from insolvency every month. This figure has increased by two per cent from last quarter when... Continue Reading →
Inflation is a key factor when evaluating an economy. If inflation is at abnormally high levels, there are many negative side effects. These side effects may include the BoC (Bank of Canada) raising interest rates, which as we know, decreases the purchasing power. Inflation can be defined as a 'sustained increase in the general level... Continue Reading →
Last week we talked about credit-card/consumer debt, and how those debt figures seem to be trending higher year after year (click here to read that post). This week, we want to look at another contributor to increasing debt figures. Since 2012, the number of outstanding auto-loans is up by 57%. GDP growth over that period... Continue Reading →
Most of you will have seen Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency headlines in the mainstream media popping up more frequently in the last few months. We have fielded several questions from clients asking if Bitcoin is a good investment. Personally, I have been following Bitcoin since 2010, and have been keeping a keen eye on how it... Continue Reading →
For those of us that tune into the financial news regularly, we know that our central banks - both in the US and in Canada - are a little more hawkish than they've been in the past few years. In simple terms, they're raising interest rates. Slowly. Generally, interest rates only increase when economic fundamentals... Continue Reading →
The 1920's were the wild west when it came to individuals investing in the stock market. Regulations were almost non-existent. Almost anything and everything could be said when promoting individual stocks. It was truly buyer beware. This supported a tremendous buying spree which came to a screeching halt in November of 1929. In the following... Continue Reading →
This week the mainstream press headlines were plastered with reports of an impending market correction. I saw this quotation a couple of weeks ago and thought it would be applicable to bring up here. Chief economist at First Trust Advisors, Brian Wesbury, has been referencing the present US recovery phase as a "plow horse economy"... Continue Reading →
