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Curated by Michael O'Reilly since 2020
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COMMENT
Trump just delayed his EU tariffs till July 9

The EU is so bureaucratic and slow that he doubts they can reach a trade deal by then. Trump slapping then withdrawing tariffs is his bargaining chip while markets get whipped around. The bottom line though comes from the C-suite who won't make any deals until this all ends. This will eventually matter, but now the markets don't care. Right before Covid hit, markets were at all-time highs, though the Covid news was out there, percolating. Markets didn't care. Will we see another AHA! moment when we see notable weakness in the US economy, especially jobs? He thinks so, but nobody knows when. Another jolt like April 2 will happen in early July. Expect uncertainty and a lot of good coming, too. But he doesn't see the market going up a lot from here. In fact, markets shouldn't be ripping higher now.

COMMENT

Will a new Blackwell chip they will send to China be a big source of income? Doesn't know, but what is Trump's view of this deal? China can play the long game vs. the U.S. As for NVDA's earning this week, analyst estimates are spanning a broad, but not crazy $140-200. There are 68 buys, 9 holds and 1 sell. For NVDA to take out $150 resistance, their quarter must be stallar and include no worries about China--and he doesn't see that. So, the stock may retreat to around $120, but not to April's lows in the $90's.

BUY
Is this as good as holding silver bars?

No, but why own silver bars? Those bars are useful if there's an end of the world scenario, which is unlikely. He likes silver and sees upside as silver catches up to gold. We need silver in the electrification of the world--lots of demand.

COMMENT
Will the TSX rally continue?

Only if there's a strong Canadian economy, which he doesn't see. Canada has longer-term structural weakness. Lighten up your Canadian holdings. Then again, money is flowing out of the US into other places. Canada is cheap compared to the US large-cap market. 

COMMENT

There's been a lot of talk of Trump loosening bank regulations, which is a positive for ZWK, but if we hit a hard economic landing, the banks are not in a good space. He can't figure out Trump's end game. We could see a negative outcome, then a positive over the next 3 or so years.

BUY

Basically, it's a corporate money market fund. Is a lot safer than JAAA in terms of credit risk and dividend yield. Note: High-interest savings ETFs used to pay more than money-market funds until the government got rid of that. The best of the lot is ZST.

COMMENT

Is riskier than ZST in terms of credit risk; when markets are at risk, equities fall with credit risk and so will JAAA. Some credit risk here, but not as bad as a high-yield bond.

COMMENT
Canadian bank outlook

If you're worried that economy is fragile in the face of tariffs, then the Canadian banks will take a harder hit than other sectors as the economy slows down. He's cautious the Canadian banks and added on April's weakness--but sold those positions already to be tactical and cautious.

BUY ON WEAKNESS
education segment on covered-call ETFs

They're popular, because people want the extra yield, but they work only in some environments. Better when you expects markets to go down for 6-12 months (a correction). In rapid declines, like Covid, you get only some protection. But in a strong market, you give you the upside and lag the market a lot. Just owning ZEB since 2011, you would have made 10.71% annualized; ZWB 8.34%. SO, use ZWB defensively at some point after a correction, say 10% or 15% down. Use ZEB in a strong rally. During strong declines, both ETFs fall roughly the same, but during the recent strong rally, ZEB was 16.98% and ZWB 14.85%.

BUY
education segment on covered-call ETFs

They're popular, because people want the extra yield, but they work only in some environments. Better when you expects markets to go down for 6-12 months (a correction). In rapid declines, like Covid, you get only some protection. But in a strong market, you give you the upside and lag the market a lot. Just owning ZEB since 2011, you would have made 10.71% annualized; ZWB 8.34%. So, use ZWB defensively at some point after a correction, say 10% or 15% down. Use ZEB in a strong rally. During strong declines, both ETFs fall roughly the same, but during the recent strong rally, ZEB was 16.98% and ZWB 14.85%.

COMMENT
China-US 90-day pause in tariffs

We don't have a trade deal, but a pause with talks to come. It's complex. Nobody know how this will play out, but he expects a base rate of tariffs everywhere no matter the outcome, around 10%. The markets are comfortable with that level, but it's still inflationary and a hindrance to growth. Animal spirits is driving today's rally; the market did not expect this news. But the news is not a green light to fully jump into the market. Keep an eye on CPI, PPI and retail sales later this week, to reflect April's consumer activity during tariffs that month. Watch Walmart earnings which is a huge trading partner with China. This year, he expects earnings to disappoint and fall short of the projected 8% earnings growth. 

BUY

This hold short-term corporate bonds which yield a little more than the government equivalent, safe. You assume a little credit risk, not much

DON'T BUY

He doesn't recommend coin-based ETFs for clients, because they are volatile assets that may or may not be worth anything one day. Highly volatile, especially when using leverage.

BUY
Seeking 4% dividend in a money-market ETF

Gives exposure to the US with a lot less risk and tax-efficient distribution though it's market risk, not the safer money-market risk.

BUY
Seeking 4% dividend in a money-market ETF

Holds Canadian utilities, pipeline and telcos and pays over 7% with less correlation to the market, but it's equity risk, not money market risk.

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