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

There are some sectors where if you want to be invested you have to be in the US. He focuses his technology and healthcare in the US. With the S&P at all time highs, you want to be invested appropriately between Canada and the US and investors should not get caught switching at the wrong time.

The S&P hit a record high today, but after inflation and share buybacks there's actually a decrease in EPS, so the picture is not that rosy. He holds 10-20% cash, as the market is overvalued. The underlying economy is not that strong. The US Fed is rumoured to cut 50 basis points this week, so that's not good. Here, 47% of Canadians have to borrow to make ends meet. The market is rallying ahead of this expected cut--like an addiction--but what happens if it doesn't? What if we go to negative rates like Japan and parts of Europe? The lower the interest rate, the higher housing prices go. Remember that Trump comes from a real estate background and he's been pushing hard for lower rates.

Market Outlook US tech is the source of funds for the market over the past five years. The Index is now about 30% tech names. Post the last China-US meeting, when everyone got more comfortable, bond yields have risen again and the pressure has come off global cyclical stocks. If you thought 2020 would be a return to normal for global trade, it may be time to re-enter the prime global stocks again. He still likes Amazon, Google and Apple, but there are other options for growth now. Investment is shifting into value investing again.

European industrial was quite good. There's been a few misses. He feels tech is over sold. There's the political situation happening with Trump, and outlook of low interest rates in Canada and US. He would give a B+ for the market right now. The macro is also changing.

The street is expecting another rate cut. He's not sure if the market really needs it. The Feds probably doesn't want to do it, but there is a lot of pressure from the White House. Without the trade war, he would say that interest rates should be going up. He expects lower interest rates in the US but it would be the last one for a while.

The deadline for Brexit, October 31, created a situation where they got fairly close to an agreement. There's a catch-22 where now, you have to cut a deal and move on. Hopefully they will figure a way forward.

Market. Infrastructure is Industrials, energy and utilities. He has includes any stock that provides an essential daily service like cell towers, data centers, payment processing – names that have high barriers to entry, and are cash flow generators. Also railways, mid-stream energy processors, but no producers. Data centers are quite lucrative once you have them established.

Future of Wind Turbines. For on-shore wind the biggest hurdle is that turbines are getting bigger and soon aviation approvals will be necessary. With off-shore wind you don’t have FFA regulations but you are drilling into seabed with underwater cabling and this is the biggest hurdle to wind. He is very bullish on wind both onshore and offshore.

Big earnings day, Visa beats. Visa, Mastercard are great long-term, secular growth stories. They can fall off if there's a downturn in the economy, but they're fantastic names. Only recently passed 50% worldwide digital transactions, so lots of runway.

Big beat for Intel, top and bottom line. Good numbers, but Texas Instruments did not. So you have to be selective. De-escalation in US-China tariff wars, plus positive start to Q3 earnings have moved us less than 1% away from S&P all-time highs. Doesn't mean there aren't risks on the horizon.

Next move for the Fed? A 90% prediction they'll lower interest rates. Dovish stance is also buoying markets. Trading has been sideways since Q1.

Covered call option on an ETF. Ask what your outlook is. In a flat or falling environment, covered calls tend to do well because you're getting the yield plus the covered call premium. In a rising environment, where underlying stocks are moving higher, you won't get as strong a return as if you held the underlying securities.

Market Outlook He looks at the past 10 years of a stock's price, focusing on stock price is down 33% in the past 52 weeks and trades near 10 year lows. He looks for upside of at least 100%. He does not like to see a company with a lot of debt. His 10 year annualized return is over 20%. He thinks President Trump is toast. The question is does he even make it to the next election -- is he impeached or does he have a stroke. He has bet that he will not be re-elected. This will be great for the markets after a brief period of uncertainty. He is just too much of a loose cannon. The American debt and deficit now though and it will become a big issue going forward.

Gold It has had a good run up to $1500 per oz. He is not sure people should put their money into gold if a recession is upcoming -- it earns no income. He has some gold stocks on his radar, but the thinks the contrarian opportunity has almost played itself out by now.

Clean technology and rare earth? Rare earth minerals come in vogue every few years -- investors get excited then getting burned. He would be wary of this space. He does not have the research to make a great comment.