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

Natural Gas: Nat Gas: It is very choppy so you can make a lot of money in a short time, but he doesn’t see a lot of clear trends, so avoid it.

Market: We have given back 6-7% now. It is getting close to being a substantial correction and it has gone its course. Doesn’t think there is a double dip. People may be picking away through out the summer in expectation of better 3rd and 4th quarters. There may not be QE3 but there is still easy money and companies can show good earnings. Expecting weak summer and pickup in the second half. Feels we need more signs than we are getting now before people try to get in.

Thermal coal: No way to play it in Canada, but TCK is the best way to play it. The Chinese market is a big market for coal. With scrubber technology, coal is not as polluting as it used to be.

Nat Gas: Resistance at $5. He is not bullish on nat gas for the next year or two. There is a lot of supply and we don’t have extensive capability to liquefy it and ship it off shore. We have a 200 year reserve life.

Market: Bonds have come back into favour in the past few weeks. Bonds are a safe place to be. The inflation fear is drifting out of the market. It’s when, not if, they default in Greece.

Canadian Bank Preferred Shares: One of the last places there is value is the fixed income market in banks. They are not low risk, but rather moderate risk. You have to watch the call features and the redemption features before you buy. 75% of market is owned by retail.

When you buy a bond, you don’t have to look at the price over the term. When it matures you will get paid plus the interest.

We are at an over all, long term low in interest rates. The 24-year government strip is guaranteed to rise over time.

Real Return Bonds: Not a good time to buy them. It’s guaranteed, and that is worth something.

Floating Rate bonds. A bit better than holding cash. Rates will go up over time so your rate will go up.

(Top Pick Jun 25/10, Up 12.6%) GE Capital Australia 5.75% 01/2011 10% of gain was Australian dollar against the Canadian.

Market: We are on the RISK-OFF side of the market. We expect stormy weather in the markets. He thinks people should be waiting until August/September. He is looking at 5-10% correction from here. Commodities are his best investment idea. They will go higher even if emerging markets only expand 5-6%.

Economic data in the last few months has been weaker and the misses have been larger and larger. Employment numbers are not good and it looks like we are entering a period of softness. Also, US quantitative easing is ending at the end of June. Expect the market will end the year higher but not significantly.

Market. Feels S&P is in danger of breaking down through crucial support level. Would like it to stay above the 1,300 level. If it drops much below that, we’ll probably see 1,260. Also, bond yields are dropping and copper held And these things are pushing against an equity drop. No clear picture but will have a better idea after tomorrow.

A little over 2 years into the economic and market recovery, so not a surprise to see a pause. This pause has been exasperated by slow employment growth and housing. This time we are looking at the European debt situation, which is causing a lot of worries. TSX and S&P 500 are down about 5% and a little below their 50 day moving averages. So far they’re OK. A break below the February low would be temporary and is looking for a reacceleration as we get into the fall.