14. April 2011 by David Parkinson, Ph.D.

Looking at the end of the quarter numbers, North American equity markets delivered solid performance with both the TSX and the S&P 500 up 5.4% in Canadian dollars.  Coupled with the decline in the US dollar, Canadians did particularly well with MSCI Global index rising 2.71% in Canadian dollars.

However, looking only at the end of quarter hides a lot of market turmoil and risk.  The Japanese earthquake, Tsunami and nuclear tragedy, the uprisings in the Middle East and the continuing saga of European sovereign debt problems (this time involving Portugal) together produced a sudden, sharp drop in equity markets in February and March.  A close examination of these events and Seabank’s response shows how our active investment management both protects your capital and adds value.  Read More Here.

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12. September 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Sy Harding makes for an interesting comparison of the market conditions now relative to the end of the bear market in 1992.  Then as is the case now the media was full of doom and gloom reports prognosticating that there was no end in sight.

Shortly after a headline article in detailing the malaise in September 1992 the market then went on to gain 50% in the following three years.

History does not repeat itself exactly but it sure does rhyme! Read Sy’s commentary here.

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22. July 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Most investors who buy mutual funds are unaware of the hidden charges embedded in the funds themselves. If not required to “write a check” hidden fund fees continue to escape investor’s attention. The United States Securities & Exchange Commission aims to force transparency, a win for investors.

If you invest in mutual funds read more here.

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23. May 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

I have never been a fan of financially engineered products by Wall Street or Bay Street as more often than not these products benefit the broker or issuer far more than the client.

In recent years the latest “shell game” is a product called principle protected notes. These are very complicated deals where the capital value of the investment is supposedly “protected” meaning that if the market goes down that the investor is guaranteed the principle at a certain date. Furthermore these things are very expensive and because the charges are “internal” and embedded in the investment itself one cannot not see the true cost.

These types of investments are commonly issued by insurance companies in both Canada and the USA.

These types of products go against most of the basics I look for in an investment including transparency, low-c0st, liquidity and ease of understanding.

Gretchen Morgenson at the New York times documents a classic case  here. Worth a read if you own or are considering buying one of these investments.

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18. April 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

The past several years have been a game-changer in terms of investment strategies with “buy and hold” strategies providing little in the way of investment returns for many investors. Making money requires a much more nimble approach where tactical asset allocation techniques, sector rotation  and profit specific targeting are the order of the day.

GREGORY ZUCKERMAN of the Wall Street Journal has a very good article on how to Play the Bubbles like the pros. You can read it here.

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17. April 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Chinese authorties take further action to rein in runaway real estate prices. Under the new rules, down payments for second homes must be at least 50 percent, up from 40 percent, and mortgage rates can’t be lower than 110 percent of benchmark rates, the State Council said. Banks should also raise down payment ratios and rates for third homes “by a broad margin,” it said.

Read more here.

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29. March 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

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15. March 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

At the beginning of the year we described China as one of our “5 biggest risks” of 2010.  Last week we mentioned (see here) the risks in the Chinese economy appear to be mounting as property prices surge and inflation begins to rear its ugly head.  Well, it looks as though we’re not the only ones who are concerned about the sustainability of the Chinese economic recovery.  According to Westpac Bank in Australia the leading economic indicators in China are beginning to roll over:

Read  more at the Pragmatic Capitalist here.

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15. March 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

China has succumbed to hubris. It has mistaken the soft diplomacy of Barack Obama for weakness, mistaken the US credit crisis for decline, and mistaken its own mercantilist bubble for ascendancy. There are echoes of Anglo-German spats before the First World War, when Wilhelmine Berlin so badly misjudged the strategic balance of power and over-played its hand. This is worth a read go here.

Posted in Investing, protectionism, Economics | No Comments »

29. January 2010 by Dan Walkow, CFA, CMT.

Following on China’s lead the Central Bank of India is tigthening monetary policy and has indicated that there is more to come. As the old adage goes ” Don’t fight the FED”, of China and India that is.

Tighthing monetary policies such as raising bank reserve requirements and raising interest rates are tools Central banks use to slow down the economy and arrest inflationary pressures. Tends not to bode well for both equity and bond markets.

See the story here.

Posted in Investing, Economics, Fixed Income | No Comments »