pipeline in canada

The economic trouble with Canada

Investing for Fun and Profit: It’s unwise to strictly shop Canadian, when shopping for stocks

It’s important to understand the Canadian market is largely financials, energy and mining, with a smattering of smaller tech companies and industrials. It’s impossible to build a diversified portfolio exclusively on Canadian stocks.

A close-up external view of the old Toronto Stock Exchange building

Let’s revisit the basics of investing in stocks

Investing for Fun and Profit: Three ways to invest, three culprits for poor performance — and three antidotes

This week we’re looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the three main ways to invest in stocks, as a path to achieve higher returns compared to cash, GICs or bonds. As investment vehicles go, pension funds are out of control of their individual investors, so let’s quickly move the discussion to areas where we have control.



Despite my call for an official recession in Canada, I do think our stocks will perform better, with a gain of perhaps 10 per cent.

A spectacular 2024 defied predictions, again

Investing for Fun and Profit: Also, my amateur investor market outlook for 2025

The stock market was a happy place in 2024, with the U.S. S&P 500 delivering a 25 per cent total return, including dividends. Even the laggardly Canadian TSX joined the party with a total return of 21.6 per cent. How did my 2024 predictions turn out compared to the pros, and what do I see […] Read more


Closeup of Canadian 100 dollar bill on top of US one hundred dollar bill

Wish not for a weak Canadian dollar

Investing for Fun and Profit: Weak currency is symptomatic of weak investing confidence in a country

There exists what I believe is a very common misconception that a weak currency is good for the economy. Statements by news media and politicians often parrot this theme because on a short-term basis, exports become cheaper for foreign buyers and imports more expensive for domestic purchasers, theoretically enhancing domestic production. However, what’s missing in […] Read more

The average of the big bank projections was for the S&P 500 to gain 1.9 per cent, but as of late November the S&P 500 was up 25.5 per cent.

Analysts’ target prices again miss the mark

Investing for Fun and Profit: I plan to continue to ignore those target prices when making decisions

Approximately a year ago a column titled “The value of target prices” studied analyst price targets on every TSX index stock with how the stock actually performed over the next year. Analyst target prices had been conveniently amalgamated in a Globe and Mail article. While I had never used target prices to make purchase or […] Read more