In the long run, those investors who have a plan and stick to it tend to be more successful. Such an effort requires an understanding of your objectives as well as your risk tolerance. Only you can determine your short-, medium-, and long-term financial goals. And only you know whether you can tolerate wild swings, to the upside as well as the downside. Read More

The recent turmoil engulfing the global financial system and economy has had a significant impact on all businesses. There’s a great deal of uncertainty about where we’re headed in 2009, which makes it all the more important to understand how tight credit conditions, for example, will affect day-to-day operations for companies. Read More

It will require a helluva Santa Claus Rally to pull 2008 out of the rare company it’s currently keeping, but we take at least some solace that the last 11-plus months have formed an outlier--a disaster--second to only one. Read More

Billions in unplanned spending, now to be included in the budget scheduled to be presented Jan. 27, will push Canada into its first budget deficit in a decade. The federal government has pledged to accelerate CAD6 billion already set aside for 2009 for infrastructure spending, and provincial and territorial finance ministers will be seeking aid for their particular struggling industries. Read More

Canada has been in budget surplus for 10 years; fiscal balance is now an ethos among the political leadership, and voters have grown to expect it. And prudent budget management means the country is in better shape than most to take on additional and significant fiscal spending measures to stimulate its domestic economy. Read More

According to Ottawa-based Informetrica, motor vehicle exports from Canada were worth CAD52.3 billion, almost all of which were to the US, and parts exports were worth CAD35.1 billion in 2007. Read More

Will Santa Claus visit Canada this year? To be sure, the second half of 2008 has thus far been pretty much a lump of coal for investors, just as it’s been in virtually every other market on the planet. But there are some reasons to hope for a better December. Read More

Tight credit markets and weakening global growth sent energy prices and the Canadian dollar plummeting in the second half of 2008. That took a big bite out of Canadian trusts. And even those that continued to post strong growth in cash flows and distributions weren’t spared. My bet for 2009 is we'll see many of those negative factors reverse. Read More

The possibility of further distribution cuts is well priced in for almost every energy and resource trust. There is a group of trusts, however, that’s almost equally beaten down but has far more revenue security--and therefore doesn’t face the risk of distribution cuts if the recession lasts longer than expected: Strong business trusts. Read More

Reliable, recession-resistant businesses pay yields you can count on. That’s the hallmark of both of this issue’s High Yields of the Month. Read More

Distribution cuts continued for energy producer trusts last month; that was no real surprise given oil's decline. A couple familiar names are pleasing to Bay Street's eyes, and don't be surprised about tax-loss-driven volatility as year's end approaches. Read More

Canada’s November jobs report proved an unpleasant, though not necessarily unexpected, wakeup call. This morning’s release ended a string of relatively solid (read: not awful) economic indicators. Read More

For all his cunning, Mr. Harper proved himself doubly cold, though perhaps a little dumb, with the official fall economic and fiscal update delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on behalf of the minority government last Thursday. It was widely hinted that Mr. Flaherty would put off any stimulus plans until the February 2009 federal budget period, and there was no upside surprise there. Read More

Providing government support to aggregate demand is of obvious critical importance right now, but efforts to do so by spending money building schools, railways, hospitals, low-income housing, bridges and water mains has the added benefit of redressing decades of neglect by governments with other spending priorities. Read More

The global financial crisis has made balance sheet strength fashionable again when it comes to evaluating companies. It’s what will allow those that have it to survive. Countries that entered this extraordinary period with sound finances are similarly positioned to weather it better and emerge from it stronger relative to not-so-prudent nations. Read More

China announced a USD586 billion stimulus package Nov. 9, an amount equal to nearly a fifth of the country’s GDP. Global markets reacted with initial glee before turning negative in the face of discomforting economic news. Read More

The Federal Reserve’s October 2008 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices found what many companies have already been saying: Banks are less willing to lend, and they’re tightening credit standards. Read More

This month's High Yielders are ARC Energy Trust and Great Lakes Hydro Income Fund. Read More

October was one of the most turbulent months in recent memory for the financial markets. Canadian securities were hit hard, but we've since seen some recovery. First-rate Canadian trusts and high dividend-paying corporations are still deeply undervalued, so the best course of action is to stick with those that continue to perform well as businesses. Read More