Scott Barlow
A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the Web
A world in which in-depth handshake analysis tops political news is probably not a culturally healthy one, but investors should keep in mind that, despite the madness, the global economy and profit outlooks both look healthy. In Canada, Bloomberg notes that bank stocks are hitting all-time highs,
"Six Canadian lenders including Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank reached record highs Monday, extending a North American bank rally as analysts predict higher profits. Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada and Laurentian Bank of Canada also reached peaks, helping extend the eight-company S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index's streak of record highs for the fourth straight day. Bank of Montreal rose, though remained 8 cents short of its all-time high."
"Six Canadian Lenders Hit Record Highs Ahead of Earnings Season" – Bloomberg
"@TCommodity [Goldman Sachs] Global Leading Indicator is at a five-year high" – (chart) Twitter
"Canadian dollar posts one-week high as Trump plays down changes to trade" – Report on Business
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Business Insider, with its typical hyperbole, notes a major surge in unoccupied Canadian homes,
"The latest numbers show that 99,236 homes are not regularly occupied, as identified by the owner of the residence. This represents 4.5 per cent of all homes in the city, and a 10.5-per-cent change over the past 5 years. The general population grew by 4.5 per cent during the same period, which means this trend appears to be accelerating."
Interestingly, the story suggests that house flipping, not foreign buyers, are behind the trend.
"Toronto has a boatload of unoccupied homes" – Business Insider
"Vancouver's Empty Mansions Highlight Middle-Class Housing Woes" – Bloomberg
"Population growth isn't driving Toronto house prices. So what is?" – Macleans
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The Bps and Pieces website uses the "alternative facts" meme to remind investors of some important rules for investing. The tongue in cheek misinformation includes "Standard deviation is risk. Period!," "Your calls for hyperinflation and currency debasement were not wrong, they were just early" and "Risk and return are NOT related. Period!"
"The (Alternative) Facts of Investing" – Bps and Pieces
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The Financial Times argues that U.S. president Donald Trump's will have significant effects on commodity prices. The column argues that aluminum, steel, gold, agricultural commodities and oil are most in the way. On oil,
"The new administration has promised to reduce regulations on the oil industry and has already moved to approve two big pipelines that, though fiercely opposed by environmentalists, should help better connect sections of the US shale boom to markets.
"The US shale sector has already been putting rigs back to work as oil recovers to near $55 a barrel from below $30 in early 2016. But they are still operating on razor-thin margins, so any reduction in regulatory costs is likely to be welcomed by the industry."
"Trump's impact on commodities: 6 things to watch" – Financial Times
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Tweet of the Day: "@tracyalloway A rainbow of OPEC compliance, via EmiratesNBD " – (really good chart) Twitter
Diversion: "An Ivy League professor who spent 4 months working in a South Bronx check-cashing store says we're getting it all wrong" – Business Insider