February 22, 2010 · 2 comments
in BRIC, Canadian, ETF(s), India, S&P/TSX, TSX, diversification, emerging markets, financial education, foreign investment, infrastructure, international economy, news and updates
ETF investors have noticed the enormous growth in ETFs offered over the past two years. We’ve gone from simple “emerging markets” ETFs like Vanguard’s VWO and iShares’ EEM/XEM to not only BRIC ETF offerings (such as Claymore’s CBQ), but now iShares Canada is offering ETFs specific to India (TSX: XID), Brazil (TSX: XBZ) and Latin [...]
January 27, 2010 · 2 comments
in 2010, GDP, January, Obama, US Treasury, US debt, US economy, budgets, debt, deficits, employment, fiscal year, government, news and updates, recession, special dates, stimulus, stimulus plan
The Obama administration sits between an economic rock and a political hard place. Others might call it a contradiction. Obama needs to cut spending, but he’s doing this at the same time that more spending is being introduced (on job creation, more troops in Afghanistan). Slight cuts in some areas are supposed to offset increased [...]
January 26, 2010 · 4 comments
in 2010, DJIA, Federal Reserve, Obama Effect, S&P 500, VIX volatility, banks, central banks, earnings, economics, economy, market reports, market trends, news and updates, politics, recession, special dates, stocks
State of the (Economic) Union 2010: is political news now a leading indicator of stock markets?
I can’t remember where I read it recently, perhaps even in the End of Influence, but the consensus among some who know more about it than I do is that stock markets, and most notably the U.S. stock market in [...]
January 21, 2010 · 4 comments
in 2010, British Columbia, Canadian, Canadian dollar, Canadian economy, Olympics, entertainment, forex, news and updates, seasonal investing, special dates, sports, winter
Between February 12 and 28, 2010, all eyes around the world will be on Vancouver, BC, Canada for the 2010 XXI Winter Olympic Games. More than viewers around the world, the Winter Olympics are expected to attract thousands of new visitors, tourists, athletes and Olympic personnel to the lower mainland of British Columbia. But just [...]
January 1, 2010 · 4 comments
in consumers, economy, financial planning, investing, lifestyle inflation, market trends, news and updates, phone, retailers, technology, telcos, telecom
There are always broader economic and financial factors that affect the markets – fiscal and monetary policy decisions being one – but don’t overlook the factors that come from elsewhere – pure innovation, be it cultural or technological, that can also come to change the investing landscape over time.
The following are a few of the [...]
Earlier this year I wrote an article explaining seasonal investing for those new to this particular stock investing strategy. My attention is turned once again to the topic of seasonal investing now that Horizons BetaPro has launched a new seasonal investing ETF.
Moreover, the new AlphaPro Seasonal Rotation ETF (TSX: HAC) is managed by Canada’s foremost [...]
November 8, 2009 · 14 comments
in US economy, VIX volatility, economy, emergencies, financial fitness, layoffs, market bottom, market crash, news and updates, recession
I’m an extremely cautious bull on the current markets. Cautious, because, if a few criteria are met, the mini bull market (or bear market rally, if you prefer) we’ve seen since March 2009 could easily tip over and provide the catalyst for the hypothetical “double-dip recession.”
Commentators have recently been pointing out the fact that the [...]