Inflation Over Time is a Significant Personal Risk
Inflation is a hot topic these days, writes Peter Watson. People are concerned about the increased cost of groceries and higher price of gasoline for their cars. There is always the risk that when homeowners renegotiate their mortgage at the end of its term, interest rates will be higher. Inflation decreases the purchasing power of […]
Tax Avoidance Hurts Us All
It is unfair that most Canadians pay their fair share of taxes while some of the rich and famous do not, writes Peter Watson. The world has just had another glimpse of how the privileged have avoided taxes. This round of tax avoidance has been named the Pandora Papers. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists […]
Investing and Sports Both Include Competition
Let’s compare investing with sports. In both cases you want to win. It gets more complicated when you consider investing. For every stock trade there is a buyer and seller. The buyer wants a low price, the seller a high price. In stock trading terminology there is a bid and ask. Then the two parties […]
Investing – Measure Twice and Cut Once
An Investment Policy Statement helps reduce common mistakes investors make, writes Peter Watson. People make mistakes. That can be costly. There is a popular expression used when doing carpentry work. Measure twice and cut once. This is just another way of saying be careful not to make a mistake. Making a mistake with your investments […]
New Investor Regulations are an Upgrade
Pending investor regulations are designed to ensure investments purchased are suitable, writes Peter Watson. Investors will benefit from changes that will be implemented at the end of this year. The central focus of new regulations is meant to ensure that investment products being recommended to you are consistent with your investment objectives and risk profile. […]
Investment Returns are Based on Expected and Unexpected Factors
The fundamentals of investing are logical. In many cases investing can seem anything but logical. Investing in FAANG stocks produced extraordinarily high returns during the last decade. A return was expected, the extraordinary high return was unexpected. Over the last decade FAANG stocks did exceptionally well. FAANG represents Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google’s parent […]
COVID-19 Chaos Disconnected from Stock Market Performance
This year has been the most confusing time that many investors have experienced during their lifetime, writes Peter Watson. S&P 500 Index performance in 2020 seems disconnected to the damaging impact COVID-19 has had on the economy. Early in the year COVID-19 spread around the globe, accelerating change in many areas of the world economy. […]
Debt levels are dangerously high and is a risk for us all
Deferred costs, such as mortgage payments and billions of federal support, have camouflaged our financial weakness and the dangers of staggering amounts of debt, writes Peter Watson. Debt is good and debt can be dangerously bad. That is an issue that affects us all. The magic of debt can be every consumers’ dream. Without any […]
Office work in the future has changed forever
Covid-19 has changed the lives of millions of Canadians who work in an office, writes Peter Watson. After suddenly being sent home to work remotely, people are now realizing they are far more efficient at their job. They are spending far less money commuting and they are more available for home duties, particularly with young […]
Uncertainty and Risk Ahead Despite Recovering Economy
Consumer spending critical to country’s overall well-being, but it could hurt many Canadians in the long run, writes Peter Watson. June numbers indicate the Canadian economy may be recovering. Continued consumer spending is critical, but will the spending hurt the financial well-being of Canadians? Our COVID-19 weak economy got some good news. Retail sales rebounded […]