Even though this is my blog, my voice shouldn’t be the only editorial on investments. When others make sense, they need to be recognized.. and their perspective shared with everyone. Canadian Capitalist knocks some sense into claims that selling puts is “simply money for nothing”. Here’s an excerpt, the simplest explanation of why people would want to buy the puts you sell.
“[Put buyers] are paying the seller to assume some risks they are not willing to bear and it would be wise to assume that the premiums reflect the risks …

Coming back from a month of vacationing, I needed to catch up on all the past financial headlines. But I could care less about the recent China markets situation, or the Canadian Federal bank decision on Canadian interest rate. My mind’s still in vacation mode, I suppose… but the bargain hunter in me loves hearing about good deals, and the fact that PH&N is now making its products more accessible to Canadian investors was a headline I naturally gravitated towards.
I’ve previously blogged on how I loved PH&N - a Canadian …

If you haven’t heard, let me catch you up by saying that Bell Canada (BCE) recently announced that it is in leveraged buy-out talks with a consortium of Pension Plans (including Ontario Teachers Pension Plan) and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR). The stock price has been pushed up amidst the frenzy created by BCE’s senior management.
I couldn’t express my feelings on this any better than Mark Evans. Mark has been writing about the telecom industry for years. He lays out very nicely talkiing points that mirror …

The following piece is a reprint of my article at AOL Blogging Stocks.
50% off isn’t always a good thing! Fellow Blogging Stocks contributor Sheldon Liber and I have been scratching our heads about high payout yields from energy trusts battered by the decision from the Canadian government to tax trusts. On the surface, examining the energy trusts’ financials make it seem possible for them to sustain payouts at current rates, but for how long?
Well, income investors didn’t have to wait long. Energy trusts shareholders will be in for a rude …

First, a correction is in order. In my previous post theorizing a Conservative government conspiracy about the income trust taxation proposal, I erroneously stated that the Conservative party held a slight majority government. In truth, they are trying to make a minority government work. So far this year, I’m looking like a genius with a few recent developments aiming to kill this bill. Let’s get caught up!
Two opposition parties, the Liberals and Bloc Québécois are trying to force special parliamentary hearings to probe the controversial tax — even though Parliament …

I seldom profile other investment / financial blogs here. But when I do, it’s because its content has earnestly captivated my fascination. I’ve been a long time fan of J.S. Kim’s writings ever since he launched Zen Of Investing. Besides being Asian (so am I), and also having a partner (Kaeho) blogging about martial arts (another passion of mine). J.S. displays a thorough understanding of investment, economical and even political issues (to a certain extent). His knowledge stems from his experiences being a former private wealth manager (wonder what happened …

On this, the final trading day of 2006, I thought it’d be appropriate to editorialize a little about Canada’s biggest investment news of 2006. [Editor's note: Although I'm sure some observant readers will realize that technically, the final trading day of 2006 has already passed!] Finance minister Jim Flaherty will forever be associated with introducing the proposal of taxing income trusts to curtail the rush of Canadian corporations converting their structure for tax advantages. My personal position is clear - I welcome anything that helps to keep junk companies with …

Ever since I mourned the loss of Ameritrade Canada to the buy-out from TD Waterhouse Canada, I’ve been hot on their tail about lowering brokerage commission rates. I was remiss to have not blogged about TD Waterhouse’s new Active Investor commission rates policy, but it’s not too late to correct that oversight!
I’ll scrutinize the fine points of that policy to illustrate that TD Waterhouse has merely put forth a shell to fool customers. The only people able to take advantage of this policy are the really high net-worth account holders. …