Scott Barlow
A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the Web
The brilliant Tracy Alloway invented the "kill the old" meme as a pointed bit of Swiftian satire while at the Financial Times' Alphaville site.
Ms. Alloway has moved to Bloomberg, but the mantle has been picked up by current Alphaville writer Kadhim Shubber. Mr. Shubber brought it up as a way of introducing a study on intergenerational wealth in the U.K. showing: "For the first time, and after counting housing costs, the median pensioner income is now above its working-age equivalent."
I brought this topic up previously and got some angry emails from Baby Boomers.
One noted "I've paid my taxes and Millennials have never done anything for me" and this is roughly true in its blunt way.
Millennials, however, would point out that government debt levels prove that the aggregate services provided far outstripped tax revenue. In addition, younger generations are getting the bill for this in the form of debt repayment despite a slow-growth, low wage economy that is no fault of theirs.
I personally have no particular axe to grind here. My people, Gen-X, were never populous enough to get our own way politically and usually wind up being the swing vote/referees. So you should be nice to us.
It's interesting also that any generational warfare in Canada, which I doubt will be too serious in the end, is unlikely to play out in mainstream media – Millennials read national news sources about as often as Trump voters read the New York Times.
"Kill the old and take their money" – Shubber, FT Alphaville
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Copper prices continue their impressive rally this morning as labour action continues at the world's largest mine in Chile,
"A tense first five days of a strike helped propel the price of copper to its biggest gain in almost four years on Friday, after Escondida declared force majeure on its shipments and a fire broke out in another dormitory area for contractors. The union denied any involvement. Prices added 0.5 percent to $6,122 ton in London at 6:51 a.m. on Monday, the highest since May 2015."
"Tensions Rise at Top Copper Mine as Strikers Enter Mine Site" – Bloomberg
"@JavierBlas2 #Commodities Watch: #Copper climbs higher as strike in #Escondida (world's largest copper mine) enter its 5th day" – (chart) Twitter
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The global oil glut remains a fact while a balance in worldwide supply and demand remains a forecast (if a reasonable one),
"Oil prices fell nearly one percent on Monday in response to growing evidence that U.S. production is rising and as some investors unwound positions ahead of OPEC's first report on compliance with its deal to cut production. 'Bulls are liquidating ahead of the release of the monthly OPEC report due out shortly and yet another increase in U.S. rig counts is also playing part in the weakness,' said Tamas Varga, senior analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. U.S. oil drillers have added most drilling rigs since 2012 over the past month, bringing the total count to 591 rigs, the most since October 2015, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report."
"Oil falls on rise in U.S. drilling, selling ahead of OPEC report" - Reuters
"Despite Black Shoots in Oil Patch, Canada Faces a Jobs Mirage" – Bloomberg
"Investor Honeymoon With OPEC Falters as Shale Drilling Booms" – Bloomberg
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There has been significant selling of U.S. Treasury bonds by governments in recent weeks. I'm not sure how relevant this is at the current time, but it's something for income investors to keep an eye on. Intense selling would result in higher bond yields in the U.S. and Canada.
"America's Biggest Creditors Dump Treasuries in Warning to Trump" – Bloomberg
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Tweet of the day: "@Samir_Madani Go long in olive oil. Costs way more per barrel than crude. Way more." – Twitter
Diversion: Why do billionaires keep working 80 hours a week? "Happy Ambition: Striving for Success, Avoiding Status Cocaine, and Prioritizing Happiness" – Casnocha
Scott Barlow