Summer Travel Spending is Down
It is no surprise that Canadians plan to spend less money travelling this summer, writes Peter Watson. One of results of the Bank of Canada aggressively increasing interest rates over the last two years is to force people to spend less money. Plus, because of inflation, most things cost more so there is less money […]
Inflation Does Not Harm Investors
Inflation is not bad for investing, writes Peter Watson. There is a relationship between investment returns and inflation. Stock market returns in the United States, as measured by the S&P 500 index, posted an annual return of 10 per cent over the last 30 years. Inflation during that same period, as measured by the […]
AI is Not a Tool That Can Successfully Predict Stock Market Values
Can Artificial Intelligence be used to successfully predict stock values? My opinion is no. The benefit of AI is the ability to search vast amounts of known data at an extremely fast rate. That will change many aspects of our lives. Investing is different. It requires an opinion of the future. If you buy […]
Financial Pain Caused by Higher Interest Rates
Bank of Canada interest rate increase will be painful, writes Peter Watson. It was a surprise the BOC increased interest rates again. The BOC has a delicate balancing act. One consideration is controlling excesses inflation and that is done by increasing interest rates. The second consideration is to try not to put the brakes on […]
Are You at Risk if Your Bank Fails?
Investors are encouraged to manage their investments to be insured with the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation, writes Peter Watson. The banks that have failed in the US and Europe recently likely had customers that thought their bank would never go out of business. The reality is this can happen, not likely, but can happen. The […]
Artificial Intelligence Will Eliminate Jobs
Artificial intelligence could cost us our jobs, writes Peter Watson. The question for many is when will artificial intelligence take our job. The world is changing at a pace that none of us could have imagined even months ago. There is risk to us all. This change will affect our ability to earn an income. […]
When Will Canada Increase Retirement Age?
Canada will have to make tough decisions that will affect when individuals retire, writes Peter Watson. This could affect everything from Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Registered Retirement Income Fund, and the current age some younger workers are able to retire with pension benefits. We had a recent example of how a population reacts […]
Defence is Important in Hockey and Investing
If you want to win, you have to be good on defence, writes Peter Watson. As the Toronto Maple Leafs head into the Stanley Cup playoffs, we understand they have the firepower to score goals. Keeping the puck out of their net will be the key to victory. Like hockey and the glamour of scoring […]
Federal Budget Outlines Financial and Political Priorities
Federal government outlines priorities in the 2023 budget, writes Peter Watson. This budget is a fiscal and political balancing act between conflicting priorities. There are many worthy causes that require funding, but after pandemic induced spending over the last few years the government must control spending. The liberals have a minority government, so they needed […]
Canada’s Financial “Tug of War”
The Bank of Canada and Canadian Parliament have conflicting strategies to manage our economy, writes Peter Watson. There is a financial tug-of-war that occurs when managing the Canadian economy. Covid invaded North America and economic activity in many areas came to a screeching halt or at least slowed down. We were at a financial breaking […]