As individuals, we need a large, diversified set of products and a host of services to live a comfortable life. These include commodities like metals and fuel, utilities like electricity and transportation, and services like healthcare and entertainment.

And we need food to eat.

Howard Marks wrote an interesting piece entitled “Cockroaches in the Coal Mine.” And he raised an important point.

According to Marks, when the economy is humming along -- companies reporting growing earnings, stock prices are rising and profits are increasing, people (aka investors) will say that risk is their friend. The investor approach is, “The more risk I take, the more money I will make.” These good times heighten positive news (even if it is ambiguous) and downplay negative news. Moreover, the longer the good times last, the more the possibility of loss recedes.

Disconnected… that is what stock markets and economies look like in 2025. There’s always been a difference between what happens on “Main Street” versus what happens on “Wall Street,” but today, the stock market and the economy might as well be on different planets.

Rare earths or rare earth minerals are a group of 17 heavy metals that are abundant throughout the Earth’s crust. The United States Geological Survey estimated, in 2024, there were 110m tonnes of deposits worldwide. This includes 44m tonnes in China - by far the world’s largest producer.

Given that we are often asked for our perspective on investment-related concepts from the traditional and social media, we dedicated the “Looking Around” section to a longer-form article once a month. This month, our article looks at allure of shiny objects in investing.

It looks like our assessment of the impact of the Trump tariffs last week was timely. The tariff tit-for-tat had gasoline poured on it when President Trump announced that he would impose a 100 per cent tariff on all products from China, in response to China’s curbs last week on rare-earth minerals.

This tariff will take effect on November 1 and be imposed “over and above” other tariffs on Chinese exports, which are already 30 per cent and higher in some cases. And, it will be accompanied by the United States (U.S.) placing export controls on critical software. Trump has also signalled that his meeting in two weeks at an international economic conference in South Korea with President Xi of China may not happen.

We are now entering the sixth month of trade tariffs and it seems like a good time to assess their impact.

First some context. Where U.S. trade policy will land, and how trading partners will respond, is still a moving target. Over the past nine months, the U.S. administration has increased tariffs against virtually all trading partners and the levies continue to evolve week by week.

For now, it appears that the full impact of tariffs have yet to be felt. We continue to watch and monitor, and make adjustments as necessary. Should have you have any concerns, let’s set up a quick meeting and we’ll discuss it with you directly. There are no taxes or tariffs on our discussions!

There is no doubting that artificial intelligence (AI) has been a significant driver of stock market growth for several years, particularly in the United States (U.S.). Leading artificial intelligence companies would largely be considered as technology companies, although other sectors and industries benefit from this trend. Someone has to generate all the power to run the computers, after all.

The ongoing housing shortage and rising rents are making it difficult for Canadians, especially young Canadians, to buy or rent a home of their own. This situation gets a little better if young people are willing to split a two-bedroom with a partner or roommate. But even then, renter households are still spending nearly half of their pre-tax income on rent alone in these cities.

Often, we’re asked for our perspective on investment-related concepts from the popular press.

This week, we talk about walled gardens and structures in the investment industry that can keep you trapped in suboptimal investment products.