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

Gold It is hard for a long term investor seeking dividend income to buy into gold. He thinks the longer term cut in Fed rates is more significant than the Coronavirus. You simply don't get paid to wait holding gold. Instead, he would buy dividend payers and get paid to wait.

If the US drops, should I hold a Canadian gold, not American, ETF? When gold goes up Don't worry about the currency. Gold will do well. At PDAC this week in Toronto, many gold companies have reported cutting costs while gold has risen above $1,600/ounce.

The cruiselines are suffering during the coronavirus. The long-term demographics will support this sector which will bounce back. But you need to wait for the virus to fade. Meanwhile, there will be cheap cruise deals for travellers.

After complacency, markets are now volatile. Markets were breaking new highs just two weeks ago as the coronavirus was spreading. Up 4, down 3, then the Fed rides to the rescue again. However, this is not financial--it's biological. The virus doesn't know what the Fed funds rate is. The Fed has cut too early and too large at 50 basis points. What happens if there are more ill effects from the coronavirus. Frankly, if you haven't taken some profits already, you should in this relief rally and now that we're out of correction territory again. Have diversification, like bonds. Rate cuts are unsustainable. Expect more inflation. It's destroying the business model of high street banks and insurers with bond yields below 1% or negative; they can't make their profit targets. This is dangerous long-term.

Copper has held up in this sell-off, though it's down 7.5% YTD. Chinese demand was hit last year during the trade war, but supplies have been adjusting. We won't see oversupply even if there's a drop in demand. Today's 0.5% rate cut from the U.S.: markets are down only 4% from their peak, and gold does well in a low rate environment. All the signs are there for an up move in gold, which should break through $1,700. WTI has shown more sensitivity than any commodity in this downturn. People aren't traveling, so gas usage is down. Though flights and cruises are cheap, but he wouldn't take a cruise now himself.

How are you processing recent trading sessions? Lots of excitement. Market was straight up for a while, and health news caused some concern. Market was looking for an excuse to sell off.

Today's Fed rate cut and subsequent market selloff. Just another data point. From a technical perspective, the selloff is concerning. Each piece of information is added to your analysis. The virus is having an impact, and the Fed is being proactive in case it causes a recession. It was the responsible thing to do and will help the economy. The next quarter or two could be a bit weak. By summer, we should have a better grip of what's going on and we should move forward again.

More people are staying home, but will the US and Canadian consumers continue to spend? Consumer confidence is important, and the Fed cut will help down the road. The bigger question is where will we be at 4 months from now. You have to focus on the value of a stock and where will it be in 12 months, not on what's the stock doing today. That way, you can find some great bargains. A stock is not a bargain if it's down 20% from being up 400% on no earnings.

Today's Fed rate cut a mistake? They're in a difficult position. They have to do what they think is right for the US economy. He's not going to second-guess that decision.

Effect of cryptocurrencies on small businesses? They're way over-hyped. Huge speculative binge. Used by the black market. Blockchain technology behind it is, however, very interesting.

What will it take to stop the bleeding? So many things driving the market. Tech drove the US market more than Canada last year. This is the danger of momentum money. What's been working for the last 5 years could stop working if the quant machines start working against stocks. There are some great opportunities out there with hidden value, but you can't just look at a stock chart.

Market. Market volatility is here for a while. No amount of central bank easing is going to stop this. Wall street is used to the wall street cushion they call the 'Fed Put'. The big deal is how to deal with the economic shock from Corona Virus. To him, this is an end of cycle and the recession will play out. He thinks the path to Bernie Sanders being president is way more likely than the market is pricing in.

ETF for Global Market Giants. There is not exactly that but there is similar. TXF is probably not currency hedged but covers 25 of the TECH giants in the world, with a covered call overlay. You want to participate in large cap tech on a diversified basis. You could by QQQ-T to track the NASDAQ.

Educational Segment. The US Election – Bernie. Trump and Sanders are the same candidate to Larry. Trump went after the idea that it was the immigrants' fault and foreign trade. Sanders is saying that it's Wall Street's fault and corporate greed. They are both asking for the same vote.

Markets. [Brian Cook and Joe Mazumdar guests] They are seeing a lot more money coming into the mining sector but it is very selective. The juniors need a higher gold price. Less people are interested in the juniors right now. They are now seeing solid projects that are oversubscribed. ABX-T is promoting their working with juniors. Larger mining companies recognize that their own production profile is dropping off.