Having a few decisions such as index insurance puts and precious metals go positive, when everything else is going negative, helps reduce the panic emotion.
Tag Archives investing
Navigating investments amid current market volatility
Investing for Fun and Profit: The main thing during these volatile periods is to avoid panic
The ‘Rule of 72’: Why don’t they teach this in school?
Investing for Fun & Profit: A couple of important but simple math exercises for those new to investing
Invited by a former ag retailer and farmer to conduct an investing workshop, I was once again surprised by how few had heard of the “Rule of 72.” While working through this simple formula someone asked, “Why don’t they teach this in school?”
Is it best, when investing, to stay politically agnostic?
Investing for Fun and Profit: Besides, how much influence do governments really have on the markets?
I began this column the day after the great Harris/Trump debate. Based on the publishing schedule, you might be reading it just before the U.S. election. A lot can happen in both politics and the markets over a six-week period, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to review how politics may or […] Read more
Even in a weak economy, strong performers exist
Investing for Fun and Profit: We limit our exposure in some sectors, but ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat’
The saying “There’s more than one way to skin a cat” probably dates back to medieval times when both domestic and wild cats were skinned for their fur. A literal interpretation would be rather repugnant in modern times, yet the saying persists to represent multiple ways to achieve a goal. Two issues ago, I bemoaned […] Read more
A brief history of market dominance
Investing for Fun and Profit: Is the publicly traded past a guide for the future?
The largest 10 U.S. companies by market capitalization (number of shares, multiplied by price per share) currently represent about 30 per cent of the value of the entire U.S. publicly traded universe, and the U.S represents about 60 of the world market cap. Therefore these 10 companies represent about 18 per cent of the entire […] Read more
What good are bonds?
Bonds and Risk: The price for the greater security bonds provide is that they do pay less on an historical basis compared to stocks
Bonds have long been scorned by investors lured by the seemingly higher returns of stocks. To be honest, on a historical basis, comparing returns over decades, stocks do pay more than bonds — but those stocks pull off this feat with much more pain and suffering. With the higher reward goes the higher risk. For […] Read more
Markets are dispassionate to our human disasters
Investing for Fun and Profit: While headlines may exalt a unique situation, to markets it's 'same as it ever was'
The first public stock exchange opened in Amsterdam in 1611, trading one company, the Dutch East India Company. Twenty-five years later, coincident with tulip mania, the company had a market cap of 78 million Dutch guilders, which translates to $9.7 trillion current U.S. dollars, putting Microsoft’s and Apple’s near-$3 trillion valuations into perspective. The London […] Read more
‘Everybody’ is usually wrong — and why it must be so
Overwhelming strength of sentiment, when few buyers or sellers remain, can bend a trend
Everybody is familiar with the colloquial term “Everybody is doing X.” By “X” we don’t mean “formerly Twitter” — everybody has been writing “X (formerly Twitter)” so I thought I would do the opposite. In this case you’re welcome to fill in whatever you wish for X. Salespeople often use the phrase to help sell […] Read more
Economic and market outlook for 2024
If the U.S. avoids recession, Canada's will probably be shallow
It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” One of my favorite prediction quotes comes by way of the legendary baseball player, manager and philosopher, Yogi Berra. This quote, like many of his famous quips, incorporates a meaningful paradox. Following up on my previous column, the TSX ended 2023 with a total return — […] Read more
More investing opportunities in alternative energy
A look at wind and solar energies and electric vehicles
My last column looked at potential investments in nuclear and geothermal, two viable alternative energy sources. Let’s now look at possibilities in what’s considered the alternative energy holy trinity of wind, solar and electric vehicles. These three areas have taken most alternative energy investments over the past decade. Estimates of what has already been spent […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
