ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
February 11, 2025 | Canada Becoming the 51st State – When?
QUESTION: What do you think of Trump’s proposal that Canada become the 51st State? Rob ANSWER: If we are talking about economics, then yes, it would be better for Canada to merge with the USA for its own benefit. The provinces in Canada have trade barriers among each other. That would be illegal under […]
February 10, 2025 | Cooper: Canada is a Major Fentanyl Portal
Today we’re speaking with Canadian investigative journalist Sam Cooper, whose deeply researched book Wilful Blindness exposes Canada’s damning role in the opioid trade. This might explain why the Trump administration is going on the offensive with our northern neighbor. Sam’s research uncovers an intricate network where the inputs to make synthetic opioids like fentanyl move […]
February 10, 2025 | The Discretionary Bid
Happy Monday Morning! And just like that, tariffs are off. At least for the next 30 days, or so we are told. In other words, the direction of the Canadian economy really depends on what side of the bed President Trump wakes up on. Remember, just last week we were facing 25% tariffs across the […]
February 10, 2025 | Store Nothing in the Cloud – EVER!!!!!!!!!
The Washington Post reported Friday that the United Kingdom’s deep state has demanded that Apple create a back door for them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud—what would be an unprecedented erosion of online privacy and civil liberties. This works because once the UK seizes your data, […]
February 9, 2025 | China’s Underground Banking Empire: How Drugs & Money Corrupt America | Sam Cooper
February 9, 2025 | Juicing Our Bull Market Bellwether
Get the forecast for Microsoft right and you cannot go far wrong guessing where the stock market is headed next. This has been an article of faith at Rick’s Picks for years, and it has served us well. The chart shows MSFT either moving in lock-step with the Dow Industrials, or sometimes leading the Indoos with pullbacks […]
February 9, 2025 | ‘Quantitative Easing with Chinese Characteristics’: How to Fund an Economic Miracle Ellen Brown
China went from one of the poorest countries in the world to global economic powerhouse in a mere four decades. Currently featured in the news is DeepSeek, the free, open source A.I. built by innovative Chinese entrepreneurs which just pricked the massive U.S. A.I. bubble. Even more impressive, however, is the infrastructure China has built, […]
February 8, 2025 | Attack Rapidly, Ruthlessly, Viciously, without Rest
QUESTION: Would you comment on Trump’s agenda? Paul ANSWER: Those in Washington have lived a privileged life. During the Mortgaged Backed Security Crisis, when real estate declined, it did not decline by much at all in Washington because the government is like a broken gun without a firing pin – it won’t work, and you can’t fire […]
February 8, 2025 | Tech Talk for Saturday February 8th 2025
The Bottom Line Despite better than consensus fourth quarter earnings and revenue reports released to date by large cap U.S. and Canadian companies, equity market indices on both sides of the border have stalled below their all-time highs set at the end of January. Analysts have started to take a more cautious stance on strong […]
February 7, 2025 | Exposing the Empire’s Secrets In Real-Time – USAID is just the beginning…
The US political class has created a constellation of taxpayer-funded grifts and sinecures that provide swamp creatures a lifetime of employment for a minimal amount of work. All that’s required is moral flexibility. A graduate of, say, Georgetown University, can build a “career” by cycling through the following entities: Congressional/White House staff Washington think tanks […]
February 7, 2025 | Big Leverage Magnifies Boom and Bust
Human life is full of unforeseen risks every day. Unexpected events are the norm, not the exception. There’s no such thing as certainty. Only daily choices and habits are within our control. But that gives the disciplined a big advantage over the masses, who tend to careen helplessly from one crisis to another. Contrary to […]
February 7, 2025 | Elon Musk Will Not Meet His Deficit Cutting Targets
Elon Musk is wrong about how government deficits work. He is firmly in the camp that says that government budgets must be balanced because otherwise a government will go bankrupt. He compares the government deficit problem to a household spending crisis. Does Musk understand what he is getting into? Elon on X, formerly Twitter, has […]
February 7, 2025 | China Implements 15% Tariff on US Coal
China is hitting back with 15% tariffs on US coal. America sent 11.6 million tons of coal to China, with 6.46% of all US coal imports flowing into China. Climate zealots are cheering the move, and those on the far left are pleased that this will disproportionately hurt red states. The majority of the […]
February 6, 2025 | Health Prepping: Vitamin D Prevents Tooth Decay
Vitamin D is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s already known to prevent cancer, heart disease, and dementia. And according to new research, it also prevents and/or fixes cavities. Here’s an excerpt from a much longer article on the subject by Dr. Joseph Mercola: Remember that sharp pain while biting down on popcorn? Or the dreaded dentist visit […]
February 6, 2025 | Distributive Bargaining
Distributive bargaining is a competitive negotiation approach where one party aims to maximize its share from a limited pool of resources. This strategy is often called zero-sum negotiation, as the total amount of resources available remains constant. Some call this the win-lose method, as compromise is not the goal. David Honig, an attorney and adjunct […]
February 5, 2025 | Canadian Tariffs Delayed – WHY?
Canada has followed Mexico in a recent move to expand border security to temporarily delay tariffs. Justin Trudeau announced that $1.3 billion will go into a border plan, including new technology, equipment, and personnel. Trudeau said he will be appointing a Fentanyl Czar to oversee drug enforcement and will spend C$200 million on a […]
February 5, 2025 | WTI Crude Oil Falls Below US$72/b As Trump Tariffs Get Delayed For Now. If WTI Falls Below US$70/b We May See New BUY Signal Triggered
President Trump used his Tariff threats against Mexico and Canada to get support in the battle to keep fentanyl and illegal immigrants outside of the US. Mexico’s team found the right solution of adding 10,000 National Guard soldiers to lock down the border and plan aggressive moves against the cartels. They also accepted Trump’s remain […]
February 5, 2025 | Less Over-Valued Equities Do Not Equate to ‘Safe Haven’
Participating in a recent VRIC panel with my two favourite economists was fun, and I have included the video clip below. As the only money manager on the panel, I must add a caveat to David’s comments about the Canadian stock market being relatively cheaper than the U.S. That’s true, as I have noted many […]
February 4, 2025 | Canadian Insolvencies at 15-Year High and Rising
According to the latest Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, 2024 saw a 15-year high in Canadian business and consumer insolvencies—about 375 daily. The group expects pressure on companies and consumers to continue in 2025 amid threats from potential tariffs and mortgage renewals. See, Insolvencies in Canada rose 12.1% in 2024, led by business filings: […]
February 4, 2025 | Panama Aligns with the US Against China – Panama Exits BRI
Panama was presented with an ultimatum to control foreign Chinese influence in the Panama canal or face retaliatory measures. While retaliatory measures were not specified, the State Department said that Panama was violating the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, and the US would move to protect itself. Secretary of […]
February 3, 2025 | Zelensky says 58% of Money from US is Missing
Zelensky is preparing for DOGE. We are going to need a new crop of conspiracy theories. They are all coming true one by one.
February 3, 2025 | Tariffs & Housing
Happy Monday Morning! We are now in the midst of a full blown tariff war. There’s plenty of smart economic commentary out there, so let’s get into it. According to BMO’s chief economist, Doug Porter, “Trump’s tariff hammer will come down hard on Canada’s economy. If the announced tariffs remain in place for one year, […]
February 3, 2025 | Art of the Collapse, February 2025
Making America fun to watch again… Transforming government with the stroke of a pen. (Sensitive readers should skip this one.) And in case anyone still needs to be reminded, never believe anything you haven’t personally witnessed:
February 3, 2025 | Starting Points Matter Most of All
How long the Trump bump will continue in stock prices is everyone’s guess. Still, great expectations increase room for disappointment, and nothing matters more to long-term investment returns than the level of fundamental valuation at the starting point. Donald Trump comes back to office astride extreme confidence and the most highly valued stock market of […]
February 3, 2025 | It’s a Big Club and You Ain’t in It
“The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the […]