A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the World Wide Web.
If Bank of Montreal is going to scare everyone for no reason, I humbly suggest that next quarter, another bank should report earnings first. Since BMO's weak results Tuesday, the banks reporting since have been in the solid to spectacular range. CIBC and TD both announced earnings per share ahead of expectations this morning and also raised dividends. As always, the Report on Business has readers covered with the details.
"TD hikes dividend as earnings inch higher to $2.06-billion" – Report on Business
"CIBC boosts payout as profit beats expectations" – Report on Business
A report from The Atlantic's Quartz site supports the contention that water treatment will be among the best investment ideas in the coming years. The story describes how Brazil, a country with the world's largest supply of renewable water resources, is experiencing severe shortages due to drought.
California is also experiencing drought conditions and, as the China Water Risk Site details, that country's water situation – complete with rapidly depleting water tables in agricultural regions – is increasingly dire.
The frustrating thing is that the sector is not easy to invest in. General Electric has a large GE Water Division, but revenues are not enough to significantly move the needle in such a large company. Until leadership becomes more clear, ETFs like PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio and Guggenheim S&P Global Water ETF seem like the best bet.
"Brazil has more freshwater than any other country, but its biggest city is running dry" – Quartz
"Water ETFs are smarter than they look" – Bloomberg (Sept, 2014)
"Q&A: How General Electric is tackling the water crisis" – (older, but very informative) Circle of Blue
The outlook for North Sea oil operations is really not good according to the Financial Times.
"The end of the North Sea basin could come much earlier than previously expected. The plunge in prices, a tax system that he says deters investment and a failure by producers to co-operate could lead to a wave of early field closures and accelerated moves to decommissioning. Chris Wheaton, analyst and fund manager at Allianz Global Investors, says the region — between the U.K. and Norway — 'is balanced on a knife edge.' "
"North Sea oil: That sinking feeling" – Financial Times
FT Alphaville's brilliant Izabella Kaminska asked an interesting and, for some, uncomfortable question, "Should central banks adopt a green agenda?"
"Nicholas Stern, LSE professor and chair of the Climate Change Economics and Policy centre noted the potential of climate change bonds in encouraging environment-focused investment trends, a market which he said was already growing precipitously."
"Should central banks adopt a green agenda?" – Kaminska FT Alphaville
Tweet of the Day: "@iimag Should #Investors Expect the #Saudis to Cut #Oil Production? http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/media/3429977/should-investors-expect-the-saudis-to-cut-oil-production.html#.VO8jA-bF8g "
Diversion: Norway's Karl Ove Knausgaard Is the new literary phenomenon after publishing My Struggle, a six-part memoir lauded universally by critics and of course not read by anyone else. Mr. Knausgaard is now re-enacting the ancient Vikings' trek through North America for the New York Times - a new version of de Tocqueville. He started in Newfoundland and posted his first report.
"My Saga, Part 1" – Knausgaard, New York Times
Follow Scott Barlow on Twitter @SBarlow_ROB