This year, Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary since Confederation in 1867. Much of the birthday hoopla is coming from the national broadcaster, CBC, in what is labelled “Canada 150”. This week, CBC even featured one of our own in their celebratory reporting. As you may know, Pat and I are proud parents of Will and Stefanie, whom many of you have met over the years, either in our conferences or through my writing in this blog. This week Stefanie was profiled in CBC’s Canada 150 series:
http://www.cbc.ca/2017/from-king-west-to-west-coast-a-toronto-to-victoria-move-1.3955194
Although Stef’s move was 3,000 miles away, and we miss her dearly, we are delighted that, as the article reflects, she is in such a happy place in her life today.
Isn’t knowing that what every parent needs?
What every Canadian investor might need is the Cara Canada 150 Report that I hope to have in weekly publication in March as a premium subscription. For the Canada 150 companies, I selected only those that are dually-listed between the Toronto Exchange and one of the major US exchanges. One of my reasons is consistency in accounting and SEC reporting by these companies as my report will include studies of corporate fundamentals and the Management Discussion & Analysis filings to the SEC. However, at some point I may decide to replace the smallest of these companies with larger ones that trade only on the Toronto Exchange because the Canada 150 includes 34 whose stocks have a market cap of less than $200 million. In any case, none of these companies are listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange.
More on that later. For now, I’m busy trying to get a two-year computer system project finished. No, Kyle, this one does not go back further than that. I scratched all the others.
The continuing delays in this one still have not put me in such a happy place. But, there is some good news on that front. Within a week – two at the most – we will be publishing a lot of free content under the blog tab called “Markets.” I think all of you will quickly see the power of the new computer system I have been developing.
As for the Goldminers today, many of which are Canadian headquartered companies, Owen and I have decided to take much of the risk off the table in our gold accounts. I will be retaining small positions in only a couple prospector and developer companies that will likely form a core holding for me over several years. I happen to like their properties and their management; but most importantly happen to believe they are legitimate take-over candidates.
Despite the reduction in already small holdings in the Goldminers, I also believe this industry group is presently in a long-term market Bull. So, at the next intermediate-term Buy signal, I will be entering new positions in what I believe are the stocks in the Cara 100 gold and silver miners that have good fundamentals and considerable trading upside, even for short-term trades.
As for the Oilers, the price of Crude (West Texas Intermediate and Brent) is on the rise, possibly to around $60 over the next several months, which could facilitate a run-up in price of some of the most leveraged companies, i.e., those with heavy oil production and considerable debt. Yes, it’s a grind, but I feel some of these junior oiler shares might double in price over several months, so I am holding, not adding.
Market risk, overall, is elevating. The media cites many reasons and quotes many experts daily, which I wish to avoid discussing right now. As even a broken clock is right twice a day, most important to me is watching the continuous price action of the market. However, I do agree with Owen that the broad market is likely to offer considerably lower prices for most stocks from maybe one or two months to a year out. So, holding a larger than normal cash position presently is prudent. And, so is watching the market closely at this time.
Finally, I’d like to reiterate how proud Pat and I are of our daughter Stefanie. I think the CBC article does her justice. She is a remarkable young woman who, after considering all the issues, has always made a good choice. In moving West, she’s made another life decision that will serve her well for decades.
All the best,
/Bill
