Skip to main content

Scott Barlow

A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web

There's little doubt that Canada is under better management than our neighbours to the south but that's not a particularly high bar at the moment. We have ample reason to be proud but there is a degree of reverence for our country that, with a potential peak in the credit cycle imminent, has me anxiously looking for the other shoe to drop,

"It's really quite simple: When Canadian governments need more money, they raise taxes. Canadians are not thrilled when this happens. But as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. put it, taxes are the price paid 'for civilized society.' And one of the reasons Canada strikes many visitors as civilized is that the rules of arithmetic generally are understood and respected on both sides of the political spectrum. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hiked the marginal income-tax rate up over 50 per cent on rich taxpayers, right-wing commentators expressed disapproval – but the issue was relegated to the status of political subplot."

"Why Canada Is Able to Do Things Better" – The Atlantic

"Want to Achieve the 'American Dream'? You Might Have Better Luck in Canada" – Fortune (May, 2017)

"Canada's housing market is rolling over – and buyers are flocking to America" – Business Insider

***

A Merrill Lynch survey of institutional money managers uncovered that a bond market crash has surged to the top of the list of biggest worries,

"Bond crash fear ascendant" – Keohane, FT Alphaville

***

BlackRock portfolio manager Russ Koesterich argues that the slump in commodity prices is not yet a major concern for global markets,

"Don't fear the commodity slump  –  yet" – Medium

***

In a world awash in central bank-provided funds looking for investment, Macro Man attempts to find unloved asset classes representing value and has some difficulty. After tossing out the obviously expensive investments like 'virtually any variety of credit I can think of,' he writes,

"What does that leave on the menu? Foreign Equity, presumably emerging markets , EM fixed income, presumably local, not USD, Foreign Real Estate (cheap markets raise your hand….not so fast, China, Canada and Australia) , Smart Beta (?), Robots, AI, machine learning (?), Real Assets...oil/gas, timber, etc. Or...here's the one that always gets people excited...cash. Or even...gasp...gold."

"Question for the class: what are the unloved asset classes?" – Macro Man

***

Maclean's magazine published a long and meandering interview with Canada's trade minister and there were a number of good nuggets,

" 'I was just in Cincinnati. And I was saying to the folks there: 'It's never been between Canada and the U.S. It's us being more competitive. Make things together and sell to the world. That's the real challenge. It's never been between us.' I mean, I was in Ohio, talking to state senators, state congressmen, city people, business people, and I was saying, 'You know, about 40 per cent of your exports go to Canada.' Like, Really? And I said, 'Fifty per cent of your 40 per cent is intra-company trade. When you talk about 'Hire American' and 'Buy American,' hold on a minute. This is intra-company.' "

"François-Philippe Champagne has things to say" – Maclean's

***

Tweet of the Day: " @IvanTheK Oh, come on. Are we going to make a big deal every time rats fall from the ceiling of a restaurant? smh." – Twitter

Diversion: "1 in 3 dementia cases are potentially preventable" – CBC

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe