For the past few weeks, I’ve been talking about tariffs – what they are, how they affect consumers, and how they affect the Canadian dollar. But tariffs rarely happen in isolation. When one country imposes them, the other often fires back with its own set of retaliatory tariffs. With this week’s announcement of sweeping US tariffs on imports from almost all trading partners, it’s the perfect time to discuss the next round of the trade war: counter tariffs.
Author Archives: 1investor
Weekly Update for the week ending March 28, 2025
Economists and analysts have been bringing up the word ‘stagflation’ lately – and that’s not a good thing. It’s an economic scenario no one wants, where growth stalls while prices keep rising. The term might sound complicated but understanding it now can help you avoid surprises later. So this week, I thought I’d go over what stagflation is and explain it in a way that’s easy to understand.
What is Stagflation?
Imagine you’re driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic – moving painfully slow – but at the same time, your car’s engine is overheating. That’s basically stagflation in economic terms: the economy isn’t growing much (or at all), but prices keep rising. Normally, inflation happens when the economy is booming, and a slowdown helps cool things down. But stagflation flips the script, combining slow growth with rising costs – something that can leave consumers squeezed and businesses struggling.
Weekly Update for the week ending March 21, 2025
How Tariff Wars Are Impacting the Canadian Dollar—And What It Means for Us
With all the talk about tariffs and their effect on the Canadian and US economies, I started wondering – what do these trade battles mean for the already weak Canadian dollar? My first thought? It can’t be good. But that made me realize I wasn’t entirely sure how tariffs influence our currency or what that means for us as consumers, businesses, and investors. As Daenerys Targaryen would say, “Let’s begin!”
Weekly Update for the week ending March 14, 2025
This past week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped below its 200-day moving average (DMA). OK, you say, but what does this mean, and why should we care? Well, let’s take a closer look at two of the most commonly watched moving averages: the 200-DMA and its shorter-term counterpart, the 50-DMA.
Weekly Update for the week ending March 7, 2025
With the US implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico this past week – and Canada immediately retaliating, while Mexico held off implementing tariffs for now (as of the time of this post) – I wanted to dig deeper into how tariffs actually work. Beyond just driving up prices, tariffs play a significant role in trade and investing. So, what exactly are tariffs? Let’s take a look.
Monthly Portfolio Update February 2025
Monthly Market and Portfolio Review February was a rollercoaster for North American markets, with early gains wiped out by a sharp drop at month’s end, as shown in the chart below. The biggest market mover was renewed tariff threats on Canada, Mexico, and China. While investors initially reacted with uncertainty, many began tuning out the […]