HoweStreet.com Radio - Canada in a great position to profit from green transition

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Central banks, especially the Federal Reserve, are caught between a rock and a hard place. It seems that they might have to choose between saving the banking system and fighting inflation. Their recent statements, until this week, indicated that they would make fighting inflation their only priority, even if that means triggering a recession. But […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Several banks made headlines this week. The Silicon Valley Bank of San Francisco was wound up after deposits fled. First Republic Bank, also of San Francisco, got into trouble and was rescued. Credit Suisse received government aid. Are Canadian banks next? These banks are in trouble for a variety of reasons but there’s a common […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The world’s most successful long-term investor, Warren Buffett, writes an annual letter to shareholders about investing and the recent performance of his investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway. This year’s letter came out last weekend, and like always, the short piece contains interesting ideas, comments and tips on investing. Why not take advantage of his wisdom, at […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Tesla presented a live event for investors this week and got a mixed reaction. Was this March 1 event a flop? In a four-hour marathon event, various Tesla employees presented on almost every aspect of their company. First, Musk outlined a vision for how the planet can eliminate fossil fuels entirely. He calls this The […]

HoweStreet.com Radio - BC Real Estate data missing in action

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The Russia Ukraine “special military operation” is now one year old and showing no signs of ending. A surprise visit of US President Joe Biden to Ukraine promising “unwavering support” ensures that the US will not cut back on assistance and that Ukraine forces will not be defeated on the battlefield in the near future. […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The fight against inflation is far from over. The US Federal Reserve is committed to taking rates higher, even if the result is a recession or a severe market correction. Can this cycle end? This week there were economic reports showing that CPI inflation is not fading away. The markets were convinced that inflation reports […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Famed investor Warren Buffett, of Berkshire Hathaway, has a saying about market bubbles. He says, “You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” Is the tide going out? Who is swimming naked? As discussed last week the bear market is about one year old, and the markets are down slightly […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - One year ago investment expert Jeremy Grantham used his experience and knowledge from a 55-year career in investment management to predict that a new bear market in stocks had begun. He was right as the stock market in the U.S. declined about 20 percent over the following year. One year on, Grantham has an update […]

HoweStreet.com Radio - One of the richest people on earth facing financial collapse

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The Bank of Canada (BOC) met expectations Wednesday with a 25-basis point increase in rates, and hinted that it might go on hold. This was the eighth consecutive interest rate increase from the BOC. Markets expect inflation to fall quickly allowing the BOC to cut rates, perhaps as soon as the middle of 2023. Until […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The Canadian housing market is in a correction, but not yet in a crash. The CREA, a real estate industry association, put out a report that showed a 13.2 percent decline in house prices from the peak that occurred early in 2022. Will this housing correction turn into a crash? The CREA, a perennially bullish […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Inflation as measured by the CPI is moderating but it is not likely to hit the Federal Reserve target of 2 percent soon, despite a widespread and growing belief to the contrary. A popular narrative about inflation: The surge was caused by the war in Ukraine, COVID relief government spending and supply chain disruptions and, […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Speculation on the direction for interest rates will dominate stock market chatter in the first half of 2023. In November 2022 market participants had started to anticipate a decline in inflation which would allow the Federal Reserve to drop interest rates, leading to a new bull market in stocks, bonds and housing. Will interest rates […]

HoweStreet.com Radio - Stock Markets, Tesla

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Commercial fusion energy would change the world. This week U.S. researchers showed that more energy could be produced by fusion than was used in the process. This is called a “net gain”. Is this the energy breakthrough the world was waiting for? Fusion promises to provide a source of energy that is plentiful and cheap, […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The Bank of Canada resorted to wishful thinking this week while raising interest rates again and hinting that this increase might be the last one. The Bank of Canada (BOC) raised rates this week by 50 basis points. The prime rate at Canada’s banks almost immediately jumped by the same amount to 6.45 percent. In […]

HoweStreet.com Radio - Tesla and Twitter

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook -   Philip Lowe, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), made a public apology for the statements that were made about interest rates. He told people that rates would stay low and now that rates have risen substantially many people are in trouble with very large mortgages. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said that […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Canada’s private sector debt problem keeps growing larger. With private sector debt at about 230 percent of GDP, Canada has no room for error. And rising interest rates could force large numbers of mortgage borrowers into default, which could create a financial crisis. But the Bank of Canada is not worried. Bank of Canada staff […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Ben Bernanke, then-chair of the Federal Reserve, made his wrong prediction about real estate in a 2005 interview, just a year before the collapse in house prices in the US. The collapse in housing and subprime mortgages triggered the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) from 2006 to 2009. In October Bernanke was awarded a Nobel Prize […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Canada is about to hit the wall over CO2 emissions. Canada’s commitment to reduce by 290 million tonnes annually looks increasingly difficult to achieve.   Canada is second only to Saudi Arabia in emissions of metric tons of CO2 per person, due to Canada’s status as a major producer of oil and gas. Other countries, […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - Tesla reports another record quarter of production but there are hints of some bumps in the road ahead. The company is generating huge amounts of free cash flow, even while building out two new factories. But a weak stock market and looming recession could affect Tesla. In full disclosure I have owned and driven a […]

Hilliard's Weekend Notebook - The Bank of Canada blinked first as recession looms and the economy continues to adjust to much higher interest rates. The BOC hiked interest rates only 50 basis points on October 26 when the market expected 75 basis points. Is the Bank of Canada signaling that rates are high enough now? Source: MacBeth MacLeod Partners […]