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: [...]
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 25, 2010 · 5 comments
in Asia, China, G20, Latin America, US economy, capitalism, central banks, economics, economy, emerging markets, foreign investment, future, international economy, politics, preparedness, protectionism, reviews, wealth transfer, world order
As soon as I saw this title on the bookshelf, it caught my eye. Since I’ve been trying to curb my spending, I just skimmed it and put it back. Well, I returned a week later and decided to buy it after skimming it again.
I’m not finished with the book yet (although it’s just a [...]
January 20, 2010 · 13 comments
in 2010, Federal Reserve, US economy, bull market, central banks, economy, exchange rates, financial planning, forex, hedging, inflation, interest rates, international economy, market crash, market reports, market timing, recession, risk
Highest ever one-month inflation rise in the UK for December, fiscal imbalances in Greece, weakened macro-economics in Germany, a Canadian housing market bubble, higher than 50% gains in the commodity currencies since last March (2009), and the return of hubris and risk-taking in the U.S. investment banks… what do these all have in common?
Is it [...]
December 23, 2009 · 0 comments
in Federal Reserve, US dollar, US economy, central banks, financial planning, government, inflation, interest rates, money supply, stimulus
With long-term U.S. bond yields rising and much of the recovery seemingly in place, analysts are increasingly wondering when the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) will begin to implement its quantitative easing exit strategy and start raising interest rates.
Currently the Fed baseline interest rate fluctuates between zero (0) and 0.25%and has done so since late [...]