Stacks of Canadian Coins

Secrets to sanity and success in the investment world

Buying and holding is a more solid, and sane, strategy then portfolio turnover

This article marks my 24th for Grainews. My first article, in March of 2018, had a quote: “it’s all about buying common shares in solid companies, and holding them for a long time.” I hope you are now convinced of the validity of this approach. Why is this simple strategy shunned by most market participants? […] Read more

The Index of Wheat on The Screen.

What moves grain futures and cash markets?

Fundamentals and futures are the underlying structure. Then add on speculators


In the next few columns, I’ll review what makes futures and cash grain markets move. I’ll touch on fundamentals, futures markets, technical and speculation. Then I’ll throw in some tariff and trade issues and add a little political mayhem, in hopes of trying to make sense of how markets act and react. Market action starts […] Read more


Down markets aren’t bad markets

Down markets aren’t bad markets

A review of 2018’s market 
performance shows a slight gain 
from the sample portfolio

Down markets are great if you’re in the stock buying mood. Markets ended 2018 with a thud. In the fourth quarter there were declines of about 16 per cent in Canada and 20 per cent in the U.S., closing the year slightly off these lows. Financial headlines were dire, with many suggesting the worst December […] Read more

Cash flow is king. A simple measurement that helps you evaluate a company

Cash flow is king. A simple measurement that helps you evaluate a company

Investing for Fun and Profit with Herman VanGenderen

What’s more important than profits? Well of course family, friends and health, but what about in a business? My favorite valuation measure is actually cash flow. Everyone has heard the saying that “cash is king.” At today’s interest rates I would argue that cash is a waste of money, but cash flow is king! Most […] Read more


Watching risk and interest rates

Watching risk and interest rates

Guarding Wealth: There’s a gulf opening between the borrowing costs and what you can get on a GIC

Interest rates are rising in the U.S. and Canada. That brings opportunity to those putting money into savings accounts and guaranteed income certificates, but also pressure on those who borrow. Global politics, trade negotiations and the sheer risk of investing are separating returns on investments from the cost of borrowing. Trend setting government bond interest […] Read more

A review of the market fundamentals

Back to basics — the rudiments, the essentials and the nitty gritty details of fundamentals

When talking about markets you always hear the terms technicals and fundamentals. “Technicals” refers primarily to the historical and present day charting information for a commodity. This includes examining all of the formations, trend lines, etc., to determine where futures prices are going. “Fundamentals” encompasses other aspects that can influence markets — such as politics, currencies, […] Read more


stock market display

Analysts say bond markets may be foretelling bad news

Guarding Wealth: Economic trouble ahead if government bond long yields fall below shorts

From the back rooms of bond research departments comes the disheartening news that the yield curve for U.S. Treasury bonds is flattening and could invert next year, causing a kink where rates rise for a while and then drop. Somewhere between one day and 30 years, which is the usual span of the curve, the […] Read more

Stock market chart on LCD screen. Selective focus.

Global junk

Guarding Wealth: Scorned in the past, it’s become glamorous in a market driven by index funds

The investment market at times resembles a circus in which the strangest acts sell the most tickets. In the latest bit of acrobatics, sovereign junk bonds issued by national governments are turning in their best performance in years. For example, European sovereign junk returned 100 per cent in the nine years since the mid-2008 beginning […] Read more


Guarding Wealth: Signs of future risk in the stock market

Guarding Wealth: Signs of future risk in the stock market

U.S. government initiatives are raising returns on government and corporate bonds

In the early days of the Clinton administration, Democratic Party strategist James Carville opined that, after death, “I’d like to come back as the bond market. That way, I could intimidate everybody.” Bond prices determine bond yields and yields determine the weight of public debt — how fast taxes can pay it down, how affordable […] Read more

wheat and U.S. currency

Riding on the U.S. dollar rollercoaster

Swings in the price we pay for the U.S. dollar will impact profitability on your farm

Since the Board Room Bully took over in Washington in November, promising to revitalize the U.S. economy and provide more jobs and opportunities for Americans, we have seen a change in attitudes in the markets. Just after the election, we saw the U.S. dollar index jump to historic levels, based on hopes that Trump’s plans […] Read more