A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert (A Commentary)

Markets: Thinks long term the market is on sound ground. Corporate profits are in good shape. Risk and fears of Europe and even the US have abated a little bit. However markets don’t go in one direction for very long and there will be a time when markets have to take a breather. There are cyclical risks and secular risks. China is slowing, but over time will grow smartly.

Markets: He thinks there will be consolidation in the telecom sector. His idea on telecom and cable is that it is all about data. If you can’t get the higher part of the data into your house you are not going to make it. He owns 3 of 4 major telecoms. US Indices have gone to new highs. It is picking up, vs. Canadian, which is range bound 11,000 to 13,000, and so you buy companies that keep increasing their dividends.

Preferreds: Depending on client, he typically holds 80% in dividends and 20% in bonds or preferreds. Likes preferreds, especially in taxable accounts.

Gold: It is a supply/demand situation. It trades off the US$. It is down today about $50 and he thinks it could go back down to $1500 without problem. His clients have 5% in Gold Corp as a long-term investment.

Markets: Equities are still an under owned asset glass. Markets are likely to continue to rally and pullbacks will be shallow as long as European leaders are constructive. The yield play is getting tougher. It is hard to find companies that are miss priced and are likely to raise their dividend. Protection strategies are protecting against systemic risk and the downside risk.

Markets: Hopefully the Rally will continue. Each year we have at least 5 drops of 5% or better. He is quite bullish on earnings and equity markets over the next 2 to 3 years. He won’t touch US financials until they can raise dividends. He is watching them carefully. Cyclical have an attractive entry point. US Mega caps are approaching or over par and people should take advantage of them.

Markets: A couple of weeks ago we got a lot of sentiment and momentum indicators said it was time for a pause. Sees that for the next couple of weeks and then we are back into the race. Right now, he loves the banking sector. Energy has been attempting a breakout and metals as well. Banks had a crummy year last year.

Bollinger Band: Volatility bands. A 20-day moving average and then the computer will calculate two standard deviations away from it. They should capture the volatility of that stock. When they move into the top or the bottom of the band. When the bands are squeezing, things are staying a little too quiet and so it will soon break out.

Silver: Charts are some of the best things to use when you are looking at commodities. Silver is an industrial commodity but gold is purely a chart based metal. Right now we are at a head and shoulders pattern in silver. You want to see a breakout of the neckline. It needs to stay there at least 3 trading days.

Markets: China has been decelerating a little bit. Some people think China will have a hard landing. In Canada that would have a big impact, but the Chinese have a lot of tools in their arsenal. It is one more peg that is being removed from the market. It is one more concerning issue. Greece: The default swaps were triggered and he is not surprised. The markets function based on trust, investors will charge you a very high price in the future. He has a lot of cash in his portfolios. Energies have been weak, mining and gold have been week. Financials have been performing very well. Fewer and fewer stocks are holding the markets up at these levels and a lot of damage is being done. All of these things are piling up.

Markets: If you watch what happened last year, this year doesn’t look much different than last year. Just because we have some kind of deal in Greece doesn’t mean we have fixed anything. There are individual names that might have good things happen to them, but as for commodities, nothing much will happen.

Growth has been tremendous on apple which has boosted the smp. Not expecting a correction. Maybe 5%, but nothing major.

Due to technological improvements in drilling, (Sideways drilling and fracking) The US oil reserves are starting to look good. Is becoming more independent as far oil is concerned.

Markets: High profile investors talking about housing sector, showing signs of life. A lot of people are not fully invested. We got a scare earlier this week. We needed a 3-5% pullback. We will see how it plays out.

Canadian Junior Biotech: Two negatives. 1. He is not a research scientist so has to rely on other people’s research; and 2. There are not a lot of companies in the space. Make sure you buy a basket that come highly recommended. Big pharmas are desperate to add things to their pipelines.