Playing Hardball with China? Not To Worry, Stepping Up To The Plate Is....Justin

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-28/china-s-canola-ban-adds-to-trudeau-s-woes-in-bitter-huawei-feud?srnd=premium-canada

"...China is ramping up pressure on Justin Trudeau in a feud that already had the Canadian prime minister facing few good options.

The Asian nation halted certain canola shipments from Canada this month in the aftermath of last year’s arrest of a top Huawei Technologies Co. executive in Vancouver on an American extradition request. Officials in Beijing are now, in the same breath, defending the canola move and invoking Canadian “previous mistakes,” in an apparent nod to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the tech giant’s chief financial officer and daughter of its founder.

Trudeau doesn’t have a clear solution. His government can’t legally intervene in Meng’s case at this point, even after President Donald Trump hinted she could be a bargaining chip in U.S.-China trade talks. The prime minister was already grappling with China’s continued detention of two Canadians on national security grounds and a looming decision on banning Huawei from his country’s next-generation wireless networks. Now he’s getting an earful from farmers whose crops are being turned away..."

And Yet Another Trudeau Gaffe...And, Of Course, Apology: When Is Justin Going To Learn...And Grow Up?

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/matt-gurney-pm-scores-a-direct-hit-on-the-core-of-brand-trudeau?video_autoplay=true

I do not understand how a room full of supposedly up and coming, intelligent, well(er) off than Trudeau's version of the middle class paying a $750 annual/entrance fee will continue to cast votes for this Liberal regime.

Liberals and SNC Lavalin: Two Committees, Two Shutdowns, What Will the Liberals Do Next - Ride This Out Until the Proposed New September 30 Statutory Holiday Just Before the Election?

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/pm-stays-mum-on-clash-with-wilson-raybould-over-high-court-pick-leak-of-info

What!? Are Not All Canadian Houses and Real Estate Purchased (By Foreign Buyers) With Well-Earned, After-Tax, Clean Money?

Sarcasm aside, it is about time Canadians wake up to what is happening under their noses. and realize that despite all the complaining from potential buyers, government measures, increased taxes on foreign buyers, mortgage changes and FINTRAC regulations to ease real estate and housing price inflation - IT IS OUR OWN PROBLEM that Canadians have IMPORTED due to a lack of restrictions between domestic and foreign buyers as well as a lack of checks and balances on where those funds are sourced (not just geographically, but legally versus illegally). 

https://business.financialpost.com/real-estate/toronto-housing-has-become-magnet-for-money-launderers-with-28-billion-in-real-estate-bought-by-anonymous-owners-study

"...Toronto’s housing market has become a target for money laundering or “snow washing,” thanks to anonymous property ownership, weak regulation and lax enforcement, according to a new study.

Since 2008, $28.4 billion worth of housing was acquired in the Toronto region largely through private entities where owners can remain anonymous, according to a report released Thursday by Transparency International Canada, Canadians for Tax Fairness and Publish What You Pay Canada.

In that period, $9.8 billion of housing was bought by companies through cash purchases, largely bypassing anti-money laundering checks on fund sources and beneficial owners, according to the study, which analyzed more than 1.4 million residential sales dating back to 2008..."

It is Official: Elected Liberal MPs and Now Appointed Liberal Senate Members Are Sabotaging Western Canada and Our Prosperity, Growth Opportunities

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/braid-leaders-erupt-as-senate-cuts-alberta-out-of-tanker-ban-hearings/wcm/41afeb6b-10ce-4e23-8841-23145975ec77

Inverted Yield Curve? Not Good, Hello Recession....

Be defensive out there (thanks to Larry Berman on BNN)...

The question is when - 18 months?

With a Chronic "Skills Shortage" in Canada, Unemployment Rate 50% Higher Than in the USA, and Three Major Cities Bursting at the Seams, Should The Institution of Immigration in Canada Be Reviewed and Seriously Reconsidered?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-25/canada-s-inverted-yield-curve-signals-holding-pattern-for-poloz?srnd=premium-canada

Interest Rates in Canada: Inverted Interest Rate Curve (Meaning - No Interest Rate Increases for the Near Term)

Despite what the Liberals are and will be spewing over the next six months leading up to the election, the economic landscape is nowhere near what they will be highlighting.

AS PROVEN by the bond market and world markets. 

"...The yield on Canada’s 10-year bond dipped to 1.6 percent Friday, or six basis points lower than the rate on the three-month Treasury bill. That hasn’t happened since 2007, at the start of the financial crisis sparked by a housing crash in the U.S.

Investors demand higher yield to hold 3-month bill than 10-year bonds
The so-called inverted yield curves in both the U.S. and Canada reflect concerns that a global economic slowdown will keep the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada from raising rates - and may even prompt a rate cut if it worsens.

“A rate cut would require signs that the economy is declining,” said Craig Alexander, chief economist at Deloitte Canada, in a television interview with BNN Bloomberg Friday. Still “the inverted yield curve is troubling. Inverted curves have often been accompanied by recession...”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-25/canada-s-inverted-yield-curve-signals-holding-pattern-for-poloz?srnd=premium-canada

Has the Channel Changed? No More Headlines Regarding SNC Lavalin? Have the Liberals Succeeded in Being Held Accountable?

As of March 26th, 2019...no.  The latest after another committee shutdown on behalf of your friendly, "transparent" Liberals.

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/pm-stays-mum-on-clash-with-wilson-raybould-over-high-court-pick-leak-of-info

Some RRSP Thinking for the Future: Another Vehicle Available? Regardless, Will Likely Be a "Political" Issue For This or Future Elections

"Retirement planning needs to be a political issue in this country. Demographics will make it so. I will be surprised and disappointed if the upcoming Liberal budget and next year’s federal election campaign do not include retirement planning policies as key personal finance issues."

https://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/retirement/why-retirement-planning-needs-to-be-a-major-political-issue-in-2019-and-beyond

https://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/retirement/meet-the-budgets-new-rrsp-decumulation-option-that-every-retiree-should-know-about

Newmont's Latest Move For Goldcorp Will Be Something For the M&A Rule Book of the Future: US$0.88 Special Dividend to EXISTING Shareholders

Likely bowing to public pressure of the side Barrick-Newmont deal, Newmont has found a way to appease current shareholders and the synergies that were supposed to be shared from Nevada JV....pay them out now to current shareholders.

https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/mining/newmont-mining-to-pay-special-dividend-if-goldcorp-takeover-approved

Canadian Debt? What Canadian Debt? Fitch Ratings Think Otherwise

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/close-to-a-level-that-is-incompatible-with-aaa-status-fitch-warns-about-canadas-credit-rating-161850591.html

Surprise, Surprise! A Federal Budget For Everyone! Spend, Spend, Spend! More Debt, More Debt, More Debt!

More taxes to come down the road to pay for all of this.  It makes striving to be a teacher or a governemnt worker looking like the only way to "get ahead" in Trudeau terminology with a decent pension at the end of the day rathter being in the private sector and being taxed to pay for Canada's largest employer - Canadian Government.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-19/trudeau-spends-budget-windfall-on-laundry-list-for-voters?srnd=premium-canada

https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/liberals-leave-themselves-little-wiggle-room-in-the-event-of-a-recession?video_autoplay=true

https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/this-years-federal-budget-is-built-for-voters-not-business?video_autoplay=true

https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/another-sprawling-unfocused-budget-and-so-little-to-show-for-all-the-red-ink?video_autoplay=true

https://business.financialpost.com/transportation/autos/federal-budget-2019-electric-car-buyers-get-boost-with-5000-incentive-for-consumers-and-tax-write-offs-for-business

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-a-federal-budget-2019-from-a-government-that-has-abandoned-its-poetic-phase?video_autoplay=true

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-this-budget-is-a-testament-to-the-pleasures-of-endless-growth-federal-budget-2019?video_autoplay=true

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/federal-budget-2019-everything-you-need-to-know?video_autoplay=true

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/jobs-for-dogs-safe-space-regulatory-sandboxes-and-other-curiosities-from-the-2019-federal-budget?video_autoplay=true

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/liberals-promise-billions-for-dairy-chicken-farmers-affected-by-trade-deals?video_autoplay=true

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/federal-budget-2019-offers-first-time-home-buyers-a-break-with-1-25-billion-in-mortgage-relief?video_autoplay=true

Budget Day for Canada: Let's See What Tricks The Liberals Have Up Their Sleeve to Deflect Attention from SNC, Shipbuilding scandals

With no timeline to pay back Canada's billions of debt, no doubt the Liberals will take today's occasion to promise everything to all Canadians and run up more deficits.  The question is only how much and how patronizing will this budget be.

More On Canada's Stifling Income Tax Rates

http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/taxes/canadas-income-tax-rates-have-become-uncompetitive-and-the-economy-will-pay-the-price

Canada's Tax Rates: Are They Helping?

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/canadas-rising-personal-tax-rates-and-falling-tax-competitiveness-2019

Barrick and Newmont Agree to Nevada JV! Hell Has Frozen Over and The Leafs Are Going to Win the Stanley Cup!

After decades of vying for top gold producer status, and conducting M&A almost out of spite, the two rivals have finally decided to tie up what should have been done decades ago.  A bonus for Goldcorp shareholders currently under a bid by Newmont due to synergies going forward.

(The more I watch these stories play out, the more I wonder how much of the script was pre-written)

https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2019/Barrick-and-Newmont-Forge-Nevada-Joint-Venture-Agreement/default.aspx

Newmont-Goldcorp: Despite Eyeing Eachother Up For Years, Courtship (Due Diligence), Engagement (Approving Deal) and Marriage (Shareholder Vote) All Happened Rapidly

All the deal history can be read in the Management Information Circular released March 7th, 2019.  However, page 62 outlines the rapidity of due diligence, magnified by the time it happened around Christmas/New Year's. 

What was the rush? Newmont CEO Goldberg's upcoming retirement?  Knowledge of an imminent Barrick bid? Something yet to be released by Goldcorp?

We are likely to find out after April 4th - shareholder vote day (writedowns have already been made by Goldcorp).

SNC Lavalin Affair: No Apologies, No Trudeau Tears

http://nationalpost.com/opinion/matt-gurney-trudeaus-contrition-statement-a-bit-light-on-actual-contrition