COMMENT
TSX closed yesterday at record high. Where's the market enthusiasm coming from?

No idea. We've got a slowing US economy, which is a major trading partner, and tariffs. After the talks between US and China, everyone saw that as a buying opportunity and the market's rallied ever since. You can see that clearly in the chart for the TSX. 

But when you look at slowing economy, quantities of debt, unemployment, and deteriorating credit metrics, this is probably a time to take some profits rather than adding extra exposure. The optimism isn't warranted at all.

The Trump presidency has been a chaos magnet, and what it's done is to reprice some sectors. There was a buying opportunity about 6 weeks ago. If you participated in that, you've been well rewarded. But it looks as though the market's ahead of itself.

If we don't get interest rate cuts, we're going to see more unemployment and problems with company balance sheets. There are problems out there, and the Chinese tariff deal hasn't changed that.

COMMENT
Impact of tariffs.

That's probably the $1M question. A tariff is effectively inflation. Could take 1-2 quarters to hit. Rising prices will put companies under pressure. We're seeing companies that were marginally profitable already start to cut employees. Some boards are making opportunistic cuts. CEOs are being replaced. 

Tariffs will be a catalyst for other changes to occur. It's providing cover for a lot of activity that's probably been needed for quite some time.

BUY

Increased AI spending will not benefit companies with in-house IT departments where employees are being laid off. Share buybacks plus annual dividend increases. Selloff was chance to buy quality company on sale. Buying for new clients.

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Having data centres in different regions is going to be increasingly important. AI is real, but absolutely ahead of itself. Phenomenal CEO. Up 30% YTD makes him choke on valuation. Best of breed tends to get a premium multiple. May get an opportunity to buy on a dip if we see some weak news coming out of the US.

BUY

Stock's never really recovered from oil spill in 2010. Macro overlay of tariffs and a slowing economy. Would make sense for Shell to try for a takeout, but would probably fail on anti-trust. He thinks Shell is the better company, and that's the one he holds in the space.

Generally, oil is out of favour. You make money when you buy, not when you sell. If you like the name, you can buy it here. If you get a takeout premium on it, then sell into the premium and don't wait for the close.

SELL

#2 or #3 elevator company in the world. In a net cash position. Very tightly tied to China; hasn't performed well ever since Chinese real estate market rolled over. China's slowed on geopolitical tensions with US. He sold 1-2 months ago. Growth prospects have, largely, gone.

BUY

He's owned this since 2015, trimming 7 times (that's just good risk management). Markets were pushed well ahead of themselves in 2024, and then we saw a big retraction. Fast money has come out of this name. Down ~60%, growing double digits, 16x forward PE (vs. LLY at 43x forward PE). LLY is really strong in the US, but not outside. 

At this valuation, a no-brainer. Again, you make $$ when you buy not when you sell. He's going to wait and see what happens with the CEO position.

WATCH

Many attempts to lower drug prices in the US, and every one of them has failed. Very highly entrenched business to deconstruct. But stocks will rerate on the noise. So how much downside would there be to revenue? 

He wouldn't buy this here. Tariffs and the drug noise have provided opportunities to expand in the healthcare space, which is very undervalued right now.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Apr 30/24, Up 55%)

Total return also benefited from the currency differential. Up significantly, time to trim -- especially with inflation and potential unemployment spike.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Apr 30/24, Up 38%)

We now have a gateway to Asia. With tariffs, Canadian energy will not be welcome in the US. Integrated nature of its pipelines make it a long-term asset with growth capabilities that will reward shareholders well. Buy when it goes on sale, trim any gains. Good place to be, core holding for him.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Apr 30/24, Up 5%)

His positions are unhedged, so there's been significant currency upside on this name. Stable, well run, tuck-in acquisitions.

BUY

Sleep easy at night, tends to move up over time. Safe and steady rather than the kind of growth you'd get from a BN or one of the banks. Used to be dead money, but that's changed. Attractive dividend. A good name to fund your retirement.

COMMENT

New Zealand is known for its white wines and, more recently, its pinot noirs (very expensive, global quality). This company is the one that comes to mind as the best pure play. Not something his firm would be interested in.

WEAK BUY

Pretty stellar run last year. Banks may see some credit losses if we see job losses. Buy here, get a fairly decent return over a long period of time. But for upside like last year's, you'll be disappointed. Banks should be able to weather an economic slowdown.

DON'T BUY
For widows and orphans?

Decent company. Driven by acquisitions. He's not knocking it, but he owns LISP instead, which has done significantly better (unfortunately, it's $20k a participation share, with a common share being over $200k CAD). There's also the currency benefit on LISP.