Cardinal Update – February 2018
NAFTA – Concerns surrounding NAFTA have been top of mind as a sixth round of negotiations wrapped up in late January. There is a real risk of a U.S. announcement to pull out from NAFTA. This may well be a negotiating tactic; however, the Canadian market would react negatively. Over the longer term, the markets will adjust to whatever new trade rules take the place of NAFTA. But until then, the uncertainty could impact various companies including Magna and Gildan.
Click here to read more: Cardinal Update – February 2018
Cardinal Quarterly – January 2018
MARKET OUTLOOK – The fourth quarter ended strongly with markets across the globe seeing sharp gains. What were already high valuations have stretched even further as economic data from across the globe has been excellent. Our view is that we are not yet at the peak of the bull market and 2018 should be another good year for equity markets. None of the traditional recession indicators are flashing red, or even yellow, and though stocks appear to be fully valued, they still look cheap relative to other asset classes like bonds, most areas of the real estate market, and especially bubbles like Bitcoin.
Click here to read more: Cardinal Quarterly – January 2018
DM Monthly Report – January 2018
YES, IT IS DIFFERENT THIS TIME – About two and half years ago, the NASDAQ index reclaimed the high mark it had set a decade and a half earlier when the dot-com bubble was at its most inflated. Rather than being met with hand wringing and apprehension, however, the re-crossing of this once frothy threshold generated little angst amongst the investing public and not even much fanfare from the ordinarily excitable financial press.
Click here to read more: DM-Monthly-Report-Jan-18
Budgeting
If you’ve made a resolution to be more disciplined with your spending, or you’ve overspent over the holidays, a budget is a good way to get back on track. Here’s a good article from Practical Money Skills that you might find helpful.
A budget is a plan, an outline of your future income and expenditures that you can use as a guideline for spending and saving.
Only 47 % percent of Canadians use a budget to plan their spending. But Canadians are feeling more in debt than ever with 90% saying they have more debt today than five years ago. A budget can help you pay your bills on time, cover unexpected emergencies, and reach your financial goals — now and in the future. Most of the information you need is already at your fingertips. Read more 
