Stock Market Can Provide Useful Investing Insights
Understanding how the stock market works can be a useful guide to personal investing, writes Peter Watson. Do you want to know the best place to look for reliable information on the stock market? The answer is simple. Look to the stock market. The reason is buyers and sellers come together to trade a stock. […]
Stock Market Volatility Can Leave You Depressed
There is a reason why the normal ups and downs of the stock market can leave you depressed, writes Peter Watson. It has to do with human behaviour. People are emotional. Investors value gains and losses differently. A loss has more significance on an investor than a gain of an equal amount. For example, if […]
The Challenges of Another Interest Rate Hike
Many households will feel the pain of the most recent interest rate hike, writes Peter Watson. Plus, the cumulative effect of so many rate hikes over such a short period of time could be unmanageable. The Bank of Canada’s most recent increase to the cost of borrowing is one half of one per cent. That […]
Financial Pain is on The Way
Beware, the financial storm clouds are closing in, writes Peter Watson. That was the tone of a recent warning by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Her conclusion was that many households are going to be adversely affected. Interest rates are being aggressively increased to try to control inflation. That will slow the economy, businesses will suffer, […]
How to Build Your Investment Portfolio
A good portfolio will address two important principles. Investing to achieve a higher expected return and managing risk, writes Peter Watson. As an example, we will consider saving for your child’s university education. The same logic can be applied to other financial objectives. Assume a university education will cost $25,000 per year over four years […]
Investing – A Time to be Brave
Investing in the current climate can be challenging, writes Peter Watson. The stock market has been volatile with many significant declines and bonds, that are meant to be a safe haven, have done poorly too. Then there is that sacred asset that Canadians are so proud of: Homeownership. Rising home values over a prolonged period […]
Retirement in Canada is Becoming More Risky
Canadians financial risk during retirement is a reason to plan carefully, writes Peter Watson. Canadians underestimate the impact of longevity, inflation and healthcare costs have on retirement savings, and that’s making our country a less secure place to retire. This is according to the Natixis annual ranking as reported by Investment Executive. Greater focus needs […]
Canadians Net Worth Declined Significantly
Canadians’ net worth suffered a significant decline during the three months ending June 30. Both real estate and financial investments fell in value making this the largest drop of household wealth on record. This information was recently released by Statistics Canada. Stock markets performed poorly during the first half of the year. Many investors diversify […]
Bank of Canada Increases Interest Rates Again
Managing personal finances just got more difficult, writes Peter Watson. Another significant interest rate hike was just announced by the Bank of Canada. The most recent rate increase was three quarters of one per cent. The Bank of Canada is determined to reduce the annual inflation rate to the target of two per cent. This […]
Prices Increasing and Spending Decreasing
Prices are increasing so Canadians are reducing their spending, writes Peter Watson. The annual inflation rate as of the end of July decreased slightly to 7.6 per cent. That is good news for the Bank of Canada who are trying to control inflation. The reality is things are significantly more expensive than one year ago […]