A simple explanation of the credit crisis that is roiling the markets and tipping the U.S. economy (and perhaps ours) into a recession.
Jeremy Siegel holds forth on the Fed rate cut, the Bear Stearns implosion and his concern about inflation pressures building in the economy.
An interesting column in The Globe & Mail on valuing REITs.
The [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Miscellaneous'
This and That
March 20th, 2008 · 10 Comments
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
March 14th, 2008 · 10 Comments
As gold hit $1,000 an ounce this week, it is entirely predictable that the crowd is chasing gold writes Jason Zweig in Money magazine.
Mark Hulbert reports in The New York Times on a research that found that American investors spent $100 billion on the quest to beat the markets.
In the brouhaha over Eliot Spitzer’s downfall, [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
March 6th, 2008 · 11 Comments
You’ll be paying less interest on variable-rate mortgages and personal loans after the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by fifty basis points (0.5%). The Bank also sent a clear signal that further rate cuts should be expected by noting, “further monetary stimulus is likely to be required in the near term”. The major banks [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
February 22nd, 2008 · 11 Comments
David Swensen urges investors to keep it simple in an article in The New York Times.
Financial Advisors talk about the worst RRSP mistakes they’ve seen.
James Daw praises UFile for offering tools to split pension income.
Jonathan Chevreau writes about a lazy portfolio for younger investors with a long time horizon and high risk tolerance.
Have a nice [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
February 14th, 2008 · 2 Comments
It is hard to sympathize with the plight of lumbering mutual fund companies.
The Toronto Star’s James Daw is cautious about the launch of the first peer-to-peer lending website - IOU Central.
You may have heard about the decoupling theory that the US doesn’t matter much anymore because China or (insert your favourite emerging market here) are [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
February 7th, 2008 · 11 Comments
Warren Buffett’s recent visit to Toronto generated a spate of newspaper articles. The Financial Post reported that Mr. Buffett is bullish on the American economy despite the recent credit crunch and carried his Q&A with a Toronto audience. You can also view a video of an exclusive interview the Post conducted with the Oracle of [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
January 31st, 2008 · 14 Comments
How did a junior-level trader with a major French bank manage to bet 50 billion Euros of the bank’s money on stock futures?
If you are renewing your mortgage, Rob Carrick feels that variable-rate might be the better option now.
It is shocking to read the sleazy tactics employed by the door-to-door salespeople selling fixed-price natural gas [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
January 24th, 2008 · 8 Comments
The creator of the Easy Chair portfolio, Eric Kirzner tells The Financial Post that investors should take a Rip Van Winkle approach to volatile markets.
Larry Swedroe counsels investors to keep their emotions in check in a guest essay in The Wealthy Boomer blog.
This column explains why a lot of people hate loyalty points.
It is heartening [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
Staying the Course
January 21st, 2008 · 18 Comments
Global markets took a big dive today. The TSX Composite closed down 4.6%, following the plunge in other stock markets - Japan down 3.9%, Germany down 5.35%, UK down 3.9% and France 4.5%. Emerging markets were hit hard as well - Hong Kong down 5.5%, China 5.1% and India 7.4%. The only port in [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous
This and That
January 17th, 2008 · 9 Comments
The markets are well into correction territory. Since New Year’s Day alone, the TSX has dropped 7.5% and the S&P 500 has dropped 9.2%. It’s the nature of markets to rise and fall, sometimes sharply. As long as you have the right asset allocation, it’s best to stay the course.
Our big banks delivered record earnings [...]
Tags: Miscellaneous