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SECOND QUARTER 2019 RETROSPECTIVE AND PROSPECTIVE – The Times They Are A-Changin’

Global conflicts in trade are beginning to impact economic outcomes in very fundamental ways. The disruption resulting from these trade skirmishes is evident in both the bond and equity markets. The times they are a-changin’… In Canada, the S&P/TSX Total Return Index advanced 2.6% in the second quarter of 2019, bringing the year to date to 16.3%. The US market advanced 4.3% in the quarter as measured by the US dollar denominated S&P 500 Total Return Index. The S&P 400 MidCap Total Return Index lagged the 500 with a 3.0% return in this quarter. Markets represented by the MSCI EAFE Price Return index posted a positive 2.5% return as measured in US dollars or a 0.5% return in Canadian dollars. The Canadian dollar appreciated 2.2% to its US counterpart in Q2.
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Michael Sprung’s Top Picks – BNN Bloomberg Market Call, June 17, 2019

Global economic growth will continue to deteriorate over the remainder of 2019 as trade conflicts are having an effect on fundamental economic events. Evidence of the impact of the disruption caused by these trade concerns can be seen in the bond market where rates are reflecting higher expectations of a slowdown and in the increasing volatility in the equity markets.
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Michael Sprung’s Outlook and Top Picks on BNN Bloomberg’s Market Call

After a dismal end to last year, global stock markets rebounded in the first quarter making up much of the ground lost in the final quarter of 2018. The underpinnings of this sudden reversal in sentiment are less clear. There appears to be a disconnect between the direction of the stock markets and the direction of the global economies. Economists continue to moderate the outlook for future economic growth. The issues that vexed the markets in 2018 remain and in many cases, those issues have deteriorated even further.
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FIRST QUARTER 2019 RETROSPECTIVE AND PROSPECTIVE – What a difference a quarter makes!

After a dismal end to last year, global stock markets rebounded in the first quarter making up much of the ground lost in the final quarter of 2018. The underpinnings of this sudden reversal in sentiment are less clear. There appears to be a disconnect between the direction of the stock markets and the direction of the global economies. Economists continue to moderate the outlook for future economic growth. The issues that vexed the markets in 2018 remain and in many cases, those issues have deteriorated even further.
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Michael Sprung’s Outlook & Top Picks on BNN Bloomberg MarketCall, March 20, 2019

Markets have been surprisingly robust since the lows of late December despite signs that global economic growth has been moderating since 2017. While there have been some positive stimuli over the intravening period, the overall trend has been for successively lower estimates of GDP growth. The US markets have been buoyed by the tax reductions in 2018 that have contributed to strong earnings growth which have been used to finance share buybacks and dividend increases. Little has been spent comparatively on capital expenditures to support future operations. Wage gains and employment have also made some progress in the US. The Eurozone has been less buoyant as the Brexit fiasco continues to play out and trade wars take their toll. The German economy has slowed at a faster rate than pundits pontificated while Italy actually reported a technical recession. While the Chinese economy continues to grow at a faster pace than the other developed economies, the fact that growth has been slowing has large implications for its trading partners given the size of the economy. The ongoing trade fight with the US does not bode well for China's economy particularly at a time when they are attempting to rein in excessive debt levels locally.
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