March 15, 2010 · 2 comments
in Canadian, Canadian dollar, NYSE, S&P 500, US economy, exchange rates, foreign investment, hedging, international stock market, investing, stock picks, technology, telcos
Last week I looked at what would be my top three picks for Canadian stocks that Americans would do well to start out with, especially if they would like to diversify their currency risk.
At a reader’s suggestion I thought I should look across the border in the other direction at U.S. stocks that still hold [...]
March 8, 2010 · 6 comments
in Canadian, Canadian dollar, Canadian economy, S&P/TSX, TSX, US debt, US dollar, US economy, commodities, currencies, depression, diversification, economy, energy, financial planning, foreign investment, forex, gold, hedging, international economy, international stock market, investing, mining, oil, precious metals, preparedness, recession, stock picks, wealth protection
With the US dollar increasingly perceived to be walking on shakier ground, and no significant signs in sight that the US will be able to pay off its debts without radical quantitative easing (i.e., effective devaluation of the dollar); continued unemployment levels near 10% and no short-term fix in the ongoing housing slump (more foreclosures [...]
March 1, 2010 · 4 comments
in Federal Reserve, US dollar, US economy, consumers, deflation, depression, economy, financial planning, interest rates, investing, market trends, money supply, recession, stimulus, unemployment, wealth protection, wealthbuilding
The rally has been over for a good two months, and the markets have been stuck in a trading range since the New Year. Recent concerns over the potential of sovereign debt crises, however, show that we’re not out of the woods yet.
Just consider some of the following areas for potential setbacks in the markets: [...]
February 19, 2010 · 2 comments
in VIX volatility, financial education, hedging, indexes, international stock market, investing, investment tools, market timing, options, risk, side income, stocks, technical analysis, terminology
There are many different types of options, and they’re not all equally risky. Some options investing strategies are highly risky, whereas others have a much lower level of risk. If you’re still new to options investing, you might want to first read my post on learning the basics of options trading.
Before you can get into [...]
February 15, 2010 · 4 comments
in CIBC Mellon, Computershare, DRIPs, brokers, dividends, financial education, investing, special dates, stocks, terminology
So you finally want to figure out the exact difference between the ex-dividend date and the record date?
If you’re a dividend investor, you know that stocks which pay dividends set three important dates around the determination, announcement, and distribution of dividends: the payment date, the record date (or date of record) and the ex-dividend [...]
Today’s online discount brokerage investor may never have had the experience of seeing or touching an old-school stock certificate like the one in my previous post on canceling your DRIPs.
Ownership of stocks today usually falls in the hands of the broker you buy and sell through. When the broker holds the stocks for you, it’s [...]
February 3, 2010 · 4 comments
in Computershare, DRIPs, dividends, financial planning, income trusts, investing, investment tools, money decisions, money management, passive income, portfolio, stock picks, time in the market, wealth transfer
There was a time when I first learned about DRIPs when I had some idea that I would eventually own some shares in every one, or almost every one. Over the years as I’ve learned more about investing in general, I’ve realized that (1) I don’t need a portfolio that big and (2) not all [...]
