Cardinal Quarterly – July 2017
MARKET OUTLOOK – The global economy continued to strengthen in the second quarter with Canada’s GDP leading the pack at 3.7%. The Canadian economy has been boosted by continued strength in the housing market, the weak Loonie, and decent economic growth in the U.S. The long-struggling European economy has also been showing signs of life after consistently weak growth for most of the past decade. Sooner or later, improving growth in the global economy will lead to higher inflation, which is causing most central banks to reconsider their loose monetary policies.
Click here to read more: Cardinal Quarterly – July 2017
Preparing your Heirs for Wealth
If you think your heirs are not quite old enough or prepared enough to discuss the wealth they will inherit on your death, you’re not alone. Unfortunately though, this way of thinking can leave your beneficiaries in a decision-making vacuum: an unnecessary predicament which can be avoided by facing your own mortality and making a plan.
If you have a will in place, great. A will, however, is only a fundamental first step, not a comprehensive plan, point out authors of the 2017 Wealth Transfer Report from RBC Wealth Management.
“One generation’s success at building wealth does not ensure the next generation’s ability to manage wealth responsibly, or provide effective stewardship for the future,” they write. “Knowing the value (alone) does little to prepare inheritors for managing the considerable responsibilities of wealth.” Overall, the report’s authors say the number of inheritors who’ve been prepared hovers at just one in three. Read more 
Microsoft Corp. is launching a new family caregiver benefit for all employees.
To date, the benefit has rolled out in 22 countries, including in the United States last week. The company will extend the benefit to the remaining countries where it operates, including Canada, over the coming months.
The family caregiver leave allows an employee to take up to four week of fully paid leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, wrote Kathleen Hogan, executive vice-president of human resources at Microsoft, on her LinkedIn page. Read more
Provisus Monthly Insight – July 2017
COMMODITIES BOTTOM OUT – Typically, commodity prices go through longer bear market cycles compared to bull market cycles while the opposite is usually true for stock prices. While Canadian equity markets are slightly off the record highs set in February 2017, commodities, relatively speaking, are dirt cheap. In fact, they are basically the cheapest they have been since the all-time high was reached in June 2008. Commodity prices have fallen 56.9%, based upon the decline in the S&P GSCI Commodity Index over the past 9 years.
Click here to read more: Monthly Insight – July 2017 – Commodities Bottom Out
