It’s early September as I’m writing this, and once again, over 30 degrees outside. Here in Calgary, we’ve hit 30 degrees or more numerous times this year. Historically, Calgary only hits 30 or higher around five days per year1. This summer we hit at least 30 degrees twelve times2. It has been a very hot summer. While it’s been nice for us, we know how much the people of Jasper, Alberta have gone through this year. The forest fire outside Jasper devastated the town. It made headlines around the world and left many without a home. Luckily, it doesn’t sound like there were any major injuries. More than 25,000 people had to evacuate the area though3. Our hearts go out to all of those who were impacted by this awful fire.
September is a very busy time of year for us as we have our three daughters back to school. This year, they are all at the same Middle School. It’s in our neighborhood which makes it easy for us to get to. They went for their first days of school at the end of August. That came right after our big trip to Atlantic Canada which was the highlight of our summer. We flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia and spent time there for the first time. It was great to be right down by the water.
We spent time walking down the boardwalk and seeing museums. We then spent almost a week in St. John’s, Newfoundland. We have some clients there, so we got some good visits in with them. They were able to show us around and had great tips on what to see and where to eat! We had never been to the East Coast before this trip, and we really enjoyed it. Great weather, great scenery, great company and great food!
My recent newsletters and emails have talked a lot about Interest Rates. Anyone who has met with me or Patrycja over the summer would have heard us talk a lot about Rate Cuts and the potential for your Bond Funds going forward. Even though we’ve been warning about an eventual Stock Market sell-off, we really haven’t seen a significant, prolonged one this year. The beginning of August started with some very negative days which was certainly concerning. Since then, things have rebounded nicely. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to a level of 38,703 on August 4, 2024. By August 30, 2024, it was back up to 41,563, a new Record High4.
The Canadian Stock Market ended August on a high note too. The Toronto Stock Exchange hit new highs last month5. It’s been on a good run since the end of October last year. Obviously, this won’t last forever. There is plenty of evidence to show that the economies of Canada and that United States are slowing down. It’s been a slow, slowdown, but it has been happening6.
We’ll continue to urge clients to take some profits and top up their Income Portfolios and Bond Funds. Best not to let things overheat! We’ll get less and less Interest on Savings Accounts with each Bank of Canada Rate Cut so revisiting the Bond Market should be a good option at this point. Let us know if you’d like to discuss any of this in more detail and have a great Back to School Season!!
Bryce A. Borden
1The Weather Network: Historic heat continues in Alberta, increased wildfires fuel poor air quality
2The Weather Network: Severe storm threat builds with the heat on the western Prairies
3ABC News: Jasper Fire: Latest map after wildfires break out in Jasper National Park in Alberta
4BNN Bloomberg: Dow Jones Industrial Average
5BNN Bloomberg: S&P/TSX Composite Index
6RBC: Proof Point: Canada’s economy might not be in recession but it feels like one
