U.S. Dollar Down 3.1% since Start of 2018; 13.4% Year-over-Year The U.S. dollar had momentum in the first half of 2017, but it’s been all downhill since then. In fact, the U.S. dollar is off to its worst start in 21 years and it looks like it could get worse. The U.S. dollar Index, which […]
01
Feb
Feb
Return of Winter Catches Natural Gas Bears Off Guard After months of trading in a tight range between $2.75 and $3.10 per MMBtu, natural gas prices started to rise in late December with that momentum carrying into 2018. On January 23, natural gas prices hit an intra-day high of $3.62. After two historically warn winters, […]
25
Jan
Jan
Next Bear Market Will Catch Investors Off Guard Stocks are soaring, and the U.S. economy is chugging along. This has led to investor complacency. In fact, investors haven’t been this complacent since 2007, just shortly before the stock market crashed and the U.S. economy slipped into the Great Recession. Having no fear in the markets […]
18
Jan
Jan
Are We on the Verge of a Cashless Society? The idea of cashless society has been discussed for decades. But the movement toward a true cashless society has finally arrived. The physical money you hold in your hand is starting to disappear. Whether that’s a good thing or not is open for debate. Some argue […]
11
Jan
Jan
Credit Card Companies Embrace Blockchain, Just Not Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple may be making all the headlines, but the fact is, blockchain technology really hasn’t caught on yet in a practical way. There simply aren’t that many merchants that accept blockchain payments. But that is about to change. And one credit card […]
05
Jan
Jan
Last year was a strong year for the stock market, with the S&P 500 advancing 18% and the TSX up five percent. Cryptocurrency captured headlines in 2017, with bitcoin soaring 1293%; closing out the year at US$13,889 (CDN$17,371). U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) was strong in 2017, but the Canadian economy is showing signs of […]
23
Nov
Nov
Cryptocurrencies: What You Need to Know in 2018 When it comes to cryptocurrencies, bitcoin is the first thing that pops into people’s minds. But there are a lot of other cryptocurrencies out there, and in 2018, they could provide a lot more upside potential than bitcoin. Bitcoin continues to capture all of the cryptocurrency attention. […]
16
Nov
Nov
Apple Inc. Market Cap Cracks $900.0 Billion Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/APPL) blew Wall Street away when it announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2017. The company also announced soaring “iPhone” sales and has received critical acclaim for its “iPhone X,” despite an eye-watering price tag of US$999.00. On Thursday, November 2, […]
10
Nov
Nov
Canadian Economy Contracts in August After being on a tear, it looks like the Canadian economy might be taking a breather, or worst yet, starting to cool. In the first quarter, the Canadian economy advanced at 3.7%, in the second quarter, it surged 4.5%.1,2 For the first six months of 2017, Canada’s economy expanded by […]
02
Nov
Nov
Oil Prices Near Two-Year High, But for How Long? West Texas Intermediate is trading near a two-year high at $54.00 per barrel, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and other-major non-OPEC oil producers (minus the U.S. and Canada) says it will stick with its intended production cuts through 2018. This has resulted in […]
