Covid 19 Update 3

Once again you probably all know as much as I do and speculation is currently the name of the game. A few highlights after what has been another terrible week for the markets.

Toronto was the lead player in a horrendous fall yesterday. Obviously affected by both the virus but also given we are an oil economy the Saudi's game of chicken with Russia has hurt us further. What is strange is this information was already out there so what caused yesterdays fall? There was no new virus information that might have been the cause although at the end of the day Mr. Trump's European Travel Ban didn't help but by that time the damage was already done. Personally I think people are finally grasping the idea of a coming recession. I'm amazed how many have been in denial of this for so long. Corona has just served to bring it quicker. And given the poor state of the Canadian economy I think we may take the lead ahead of other countries on that front.

Other strange happenings...in the last 10 days gold has had single day drops of over $55 on two separate occasions including yesterday (and right now is down a further $49). Typically gold will go the opposite of the markets but for some reason (yet to be explained but theories are out there) it followed the markets down. I will suggest all holders of gold be patient for the time being, it will likely still head north. No guarantees of course!

At time of writing Mr. Trump will follow his poor national performance yesterday with a 3pm announcement. Bloomberg believes he is going to announce a national emergency which should lessen restrictions and allow for money to flow more easily into the economy. Democrats say up to $42 billion.

I don't know if it is too early for this but buying opportunities might begin to present themselves. It concerns me that people are asking about this which may portend for more of a crash but markets are all down 25 - 30% so most things are on sale! But buyer beware as further falls may be forthcoming.

And I have no idea how this relates to anything but apparently Video Game sales have fallen for the seventh month in a row. I know my teens are doing their part to support this area but apparently not everyone else is. Perhaps the 3 week 'March break' that is upon us will help those numbers pickup. Markets remain positive for the time being. Please reach out if you need to discuss any of the above or review where we currently stand. Have a good week-end and sleep well!