Market Updates

Q. Like most people invested in the North American market, my portfolio dropped substantially in October. With slow growth predicted for the U.S. economy next year, I’ve considered selling my stocks to buy gold. What’s your take on this strategy? – Duncan S. A. Selling all your holdings to buy gold is not a prudent [...]

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Q. I was recently told by a colleague that Canadian investments are performing far better than U.S. alternatives. Should I consider moving my investments from U.S. holdings to Canadian? What’s your view of the U.S. market? Any investment ideas for either market? – April P. A. While U.S. investments have been out of favour in [...]

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Q. The Department of Finance has initiated a consultation process about income trusts. What does this mean to investors in income trusts such as myself? – Raphael L. A. First a primer on the increasingly popular Income Trusts – as the name indicates, this is an investment that holds assets that are income producing. The [...]

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Q. What effect will Hurricane Katrina have on the price of oil, and what impact do you feel this will have on the stock market, if any? – Vivian R. Much has been written about Hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact on the lives of thousands who were unfortunate to have been caught in its path. The [...]

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Q. Oil and gas stocks seem to keep going up on the Canadian stock market? What’s the outlook in this sector and should I be buying, or have I already missed the boat on this investment opportunity? – Marla E. A. Oil and gas stocks have certainly been a hot topic of late, especially as [...]

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Are bank stocks still a good investment following their market decline last week after CIBC’s surprise Enron settlement? – Steve H. While the Canadian banks struggled last week, banks remain great long-term investments. They have strong fundamentals and, despite strong gains in share price for all except CIBC year to date, they are still attractively [...]

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Q: I’ve heard those ‘cocktail party’ friends talking recently about socially responsible investing. I generally know better than to use investment advice overheard at parties but I’m curious to know exactly how one would go about investing responsibly. Are there certain companies or funds that specialize in this type of investing? – Jean P. Socially [...]

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With high gas and oil prices lately is now a good time to buy energy stocks, or am I too late? – Mika O. The Canadian resource sector of the market has garnered a great deal of attention this year, especially as the sector’s performance has been hot. While the Canadian energy stocks represent an [...]

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