Nouriel Roubini was featured on BNN’s Squeeze Play today, you need to check it out for yourself on BNN.  Amanda Lang and Kevin O’Leary are not only probably the most entertaining talking financial heads out there, but they really do know what they’re talking about - you’re truly missing out if you don’t tune in to them regularly.  I think they both deserve some broadcast journalism awards of some sort.

Basically, Roubini said today that he thinks the US is entering what will be about a 24-month recession that will be “twice as deep and protracted” as the last one.

Kevin O’Leary retorts back at Roubini, saying that “You are one negative dude.  I listen to you and I want to go home and slit my wrists.”  You have to understand how bullish O’Leary always is, having such great faith in the markets bouncing up as soon as all the chaff is cleared away.  O’Leary jokes that he’s never seen this much money being poured into the markets “and I’ve been around for 150 years.”  Roubini doesn’t so much as smirk!  He is a bit humourless, perhaps.

“Unfortunately, the recession train has left the station,” says Dr. Doom.

The BNN producers have quite a sense of humour, actually, trying to interview “Dr. Doom” on Hallowe’en.  Asking “how much more scary can the economy get?” etc.  Plus you should check out the Hallowe’en costumes:) Who would have expected a Sarah Palin impersonation on BNN?!  And Kevin is such a hoot.  I really have to wonder how much they rehearse their segments.  It’s like Financial Saturday Night Live.

You should also check out SqueezePlay if for no other reason than to hear Kevin O’Leary’s hot picks.  I know I’ve already followed up on some of them.  O’Leary’s really hot on shipping lately, and I think the case he makes is quite convincing.

Here are the stocks I’m watching lately, supported by votes of confidence from the guest analysts brought in lately on BNN:

Arc Energy Trust - (AET.UN-T): $28-29
Crescent Point Energy - (CPU.UN-T): $33-34
Husky Energy - (HSE-T): $43-44
Freehold Royalty Trust - (FRU.UN-T): $21-22
Diana Shipping - (DSX-N): $28-29

Interesting that most of them are oil plays. Oil per barrel is really cheap right now, and that means all the oil stocks are on sale. I really want to take the opportunity to buy some up, but with limited cash, I can either do this or put some more money in US stocks for increasing my US cashflow (since most US stocks are superbly on sale right now, too). Not sure which decision to take.

The Loonie could be falling again if oil stays low. In that case I’d better buy my US stocks now while I don’t lose money in the exchange rate. On the other hand, because oil is low right now, all the great Canadian energy plays are on sale too.

Hmmm…. what would you do? If you’re Canadian, or living/working in Canada, how are you planning to take advantage or protect the recent highs of the Loonie?

I’m not a big TV person but I’ve recently re-discovered BNN, Canada’s Business News Network. Maybe I’m going through a phase, but I think I could watch this at any hour of the day. Definitely between projects and other activities. Every half hour there’s a different “program” on — Market Watch, Night Cap, Taking Stock are some of the good ones — but usually they all involve the host in conversation with a CEO or Senior managment person from a financial holdings company. They take callers and emails from viewers and the CEO answers the questions.

Almost all of these questions are like “Can you comment on Barrick Gold.” Or, “I bought Penn West back in the 25-range, what do you see it doing now?” Or, “What are your thoughts on the one-year-outlook for Suncor?” The host brings up a year-to-date chart of the stock, and the CEO spouts off his opinion. It’s great, insightful fun.

I don’t know about how these channels work through satellite or cable, but it might be possible for Americans to tune in, too. If anything, you can check out their website. BNN is a superb resource on investing in Canadian stocks. I’ve been totally impressed over the last week or so that I’ve been watching it again. And it’s pretty easy to understand. Even my bf, who has no interest in investing, has started to learn the basic terminology pretty quickly just from hearing BNN in the other room.

I’ve done so much research on my own with Canadian stocks that it’s great to hear some live impressions from analysts in the field. Especially when they confirm my own holdings:). And you’ll learn stuff about the management of these companies that is more difficult to get on your own, unless you’re a serious investigator, I’d imagine. And with the time to do it.

They do have some other, related shows, such as “CAR Business” and a segment on career counseling. And some segments are repeated twice daily. Overall, though, I would say I most recommend “Taking Stock” with Kevin O’Leary. That should get anyone interested in dividend investing:)

So I recommend checking out BNN. On TV, or on the web. But I’ll prefer semi-live programming for the moment. Are there any other BNN fans out there? By the way, I thought that Kevin O’Leary really reminded me of Don Cherry. Then a viewer calls in asking the same question. Turns out that Kevin O’Leary once worked for Cherry!