“Net-zero by 2050” is a phony play to make Greens feel warm and fuzzy. They believe it to be the answer to something that is not even an issue - Carbon.  We need Carbon.  It is the building block of life and, contrary to the climate alarmists, the earth has become healthier as levels increased.  Their dreams will result in only one outcome: making energy more expensive while making zero change to carbon levels.  

The big push today is the conversion to Electric Vehicles (EV).  While it sounds great, it will be difficult to achieve. Both infrastructure and materials needed will be a roadblock to widespread adoption. Plus, the EV will not eliminate carbon.  Oil will always be needed to make the tires, lubricants, carbon fibre for frames, asphalt for cars to drive on, and fossil fuels will be needed in manufacturing and shipping.

Charging infrastructure will be an ongoing hurdle. While private enterprise is making small investments, the largest financiers are governments (which says enough).  President Biden announced the government will build 500,000 charging stations throughout the U.S. (they currently have 115,000 gas stations).  Here in Canada, only a few utility companies are installing them.  And when they do, there is maybe 1 for every 50 parking spots.  Petro Canada has made the biggest investment in Canada that we know of, by installing some at their gas stations along the Trans Canada Highway. With little infrastructure committed to, it is easy to conclude that private investors do not see this business model as a profitable venture at this phase in the game. Large subsidies the sector demands also confirm this.

A move towards the EV will increase demand for all sorts of resources and energy. The most obvious is electricity. It will cost the U.S. alone $7t to convert to an EV grid. Who is going to pay for this?    Charging stations will increase the demand for copper, plastics, aluminum, and carbon fibre which all rely on oil-based products and production. This will result in expanding mine operations on a grand scale, offsetting what lower emissions that might be created by the EV.

Lithium is the main hurdle to overcome. There is not enough of it. Lithium also has a large negative environmental impact which is never mentioned.   Lithium comes at the expense of farmland because it uses so much water that it causes drought in the surrounding area.  Mining 1 ton of lithium will supply only 90 EV’s and requires 500k gallons of water. Can you imagine how much water it will take to convert the 1.5 billion cars in the world to electric and then continue this cycle every time a car is retired (roughly every 10 years)? This means that governments will have to choose between agriculture and lithium mining.  For some reason, I think governments would prefer to keep the arable land to feed their people.

The price for one ton of the metal is $355U.S.  It is priced in China's currency because they are the world's biggest user.  There are numerous lithium reserves around the world, but most are not being mined because they are not profitable.  For it to become lucrative the price must increase, but this means more expensive batteries.  Will the consumer be willing to pay the added cost?  

Not only is it expensive to mine, but the supply is also questionable. A paper produced by Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, in Finland, and the University of Augsburg, in Germany found that ‘when researchers examined various models to determine how much lithium remains on Earth, with estimates varying from 30-95 million tons (Mt)…a scenario which assumes 73 Mt of lithium supply left, using best policies (recycling, V2G, second-life) implemented and around 3 billion EVs produced sees lithium fully depleted a few years beyond 2100. If the same policies and number of cars were matched with just 26 Mt of lithium, but recycling efforts would only grow slowly, battery manufacturers will close shops even before 2040." If this is correct, we could expect the supply of Lithium would disappear before the next century if the world switched to the EV.      

There is no doubt that the EV is going to exist and grow in popularity. However, it will be a niche market utilized by specific businesses and consumers.  Cost savings will be the biggest stimulus. Currently, the only reason the EV is price competitive is because of very generous subsidies to consumers and manufacturers. With government deficits in record territory, cuts to subsidies will occur before tax hikes, and demand will increase the price of electricity and minerals.  The EV market does not look promising in the long-term.

We will one day move away from gas and diesel, but it will not be to the EV. There are too many cost constraints. It will most likely be a switch to cleaner carbon-based fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas.  The infrastructure is already in place and the technology to produce on a grand scale is getting near.   If you are an earnings investor, avoid all companies catering to the EV market.   

"Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the stuff of life, the staff of life, the currency of life, indeed the backbone of life on Earth." 

...Dr. Patrick Moore, cofounder of Greenpeace, 2015

Few in the investment business believe the biggest threat to the global economy is deflation.  We share that belief and are confident it will begin within the next year. It will begin in the stock, housing, and bond markets. All three are at or near record highs.  This has never occurred before and if all three correct there will be a historic amount of wealth lost.

What will occur shortly after that? Unemployment will rise. Personal and commercial bankruptcies will also. Prices of consumer goods will drop due to less demand created from shrinking disposable incomes – which may occur no matter what due to rising taxes. And, more importantly, lending will tighten because there will be less income and savings to balance the amount of leverage in real-estate. Rising mortgage rates will exacerbate the situation.

When the asset deflation begins it is surprising how fast investors will step aside and wait for what they believe will be the bottom. Deflation can be slow moving at first but once it passes an unknown point the drop in prices will accelerate.  Bankruptcies then become more common as debt outstanding becomes greater than equity, which in turn drives prices even lower as people try and unload. 

Interest rates fell for 40 years pushing asset prices higher.  The most obvious example is in real-estate. When interest rates decline it allows for consumers to borrow more principal because interest consumes less of the mortgage payment.  This results in higher prices. This equity has turned to be the basis of our economy and the bulk of household wealth.  Unfortunately, interest rates will be going higher for years to come meaning leverage has run out of fuel from here on in. We can see a prime lending rate of 4% within 2 years.

Everyone believes that we will we soon experience record inflation. It has already occurred.  Food prices are at record highs. The cost of fuel is increasing.  Rents have never been higher (although they are now falling in many regions) and home prices are inflated to levels higher than any other country based on incomes. Like rents, prices have only one direction to go - that is down.

One of the best guides for inflation and deflation is the price of gold.  This year there has been 9 days of the price falling around $20 with one down $30.  Over the next 4 to 5 trading days the price would recover only to fall $20 in one day (on March 30^th it dropped almost $50). Investors should take this as a warning deflation is coming so be prepared.  I expect the price to fall to the $1,500 area.  If the price does not hold then $1,200 will be reached and indicate deflation.  A price of $1,500 will be a signal of slow growth, which would be a plus today.

Canada has one large weight on its shoulders that few countries have - a useless one-person government who has and will continue to make a mess of the country.  Over the past 6 years Justin has forced business to redirect over $600b of investment to outside our borders.  He has destroyed over 100,000 high paying jobs throughout the energy sector – one of Canada’s biggest industry and source of billions in tax dollars. Justin has turned Canada into the only country in the world that refuses to take advantage of its biggest assets – natural resources.  He is the laughingstock of the political world.

Canada can escape the worse of deflation if we get rid of Bill C-69.  This bill places so many restrictions and rules on developing major infrastructure that companies do a quick cost analysis and say, “see you later, we can do this far cheaper elsewhere.”  This alone has cost the government hundreds of billions of dollars in future tax revenue. Bill C-48 is another bill that deters investment. This one restricts tankers from much of the West Coast. Hypocritically, those same tankers can sail up and down the St. Lawrence River.   Both bills inhibit economic growth in Canada.

How does one prepare for deflation?  You want as little debt as possible.  This is because debt remains the same during a time when asset prices decline and wipes out equity. You also want your investments to be very liquid. An investment with low liquidity will fall in value further because there are larger buy-sell price spreads.   Investors should also build up a cash reserve (at least 30% of one’s portfolio).   If we are wrong, you still will win because you will have money in the bank and no debt.

“The market is often stupid, but you can’t focus on that.  Focus on the underlying value of dividends and earnings.” John C. Bogle

The latest craze most likely to end in tears for many are the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) and Crypto Currency.  Both are based on promotion rather than value with many professional athletes and celebrities hyping such investments (this alone is a warning).  It is baffling how so many people are risking their savings on such speulcation when one has a much better chance on betting red or black on a roulette table.

A SPAC is a company that raises capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing company. They have been around for years and can invest in whatever they want.  It can be a family business, a publicly listed company or partner with another fund. Many private companies will try to attract a SPAC buyout to bypass the hassle of the legal work needed to go public.

You must read the prospectus before buying any SPAC.  Some have a minimum investment timeframe of many years.  A SPAC may not have to invest the shareholder funds either. It can leave the cash in low interest money market funds until it is needed, which is around .25 of 1% today, all the while paying generous salaries to their executives.

An investor will lose up to 6 to 8% of their cash to management fees upon handing over their cash.  Plus, if the SPAC makes any money, they could end up taking up to 20% of the profits.  This is somewhat the same as how the Hedge Funds work. We rate SPACs one step above investing in crypto currencies - crazy.   

Whereas SPACs are valued in legit currencies and backed by legit assets, the 6600 cryptos in circulation are backed by nothing.   There is no regulated exchange to see what all the different crypto currencies are worth.  The crypto is awfully expensive to create and consumes so much electricity to mine that the carbon footprint is greater than Argentina.  There is also a fee to convert the coin to and from another currency.

A crypto investor in the U.S. invested on the notion that for every coin created, X amount of dollars would be put into a bank savings account as protection.  Someone demanded to see the paperwork of where the money was and not one dollar was found.  At least the SPAC must register with a Securities Agency. 

There is too much risk out there. Most assets today are valued about 40% above their long-term averages. Many commodities, tech stocks and most real-estate are trading in the stratosphere.  We are experiencing a global asset bubble and history says when this occurs the result is always the same; a destructive correction that can last years. It is the only way of cleaning out the system of excesses. 

Today you can purchase shares in blue chips which yield between 4 and 7%.  This yield increases if you qualify for the dividend tax credit. There are companies on the TSX that have raised their dividend for a minimum 10 consecutive years with many over 20. Bank of Montreal and the Bank of Nova Scotia have paid a dividend every year since 1828 and 1833, respectively.  Both banks increased the dividend majority of those years.  Share prices have always followed dividend increases overtime.

As our recommendations have proven, investing in companies that increase their dividends tend to outperform the market. The average return of our current recommendations has outperformed the TSX and the Dow Jones Index with an average 230% gain over 10 years and currently generates an average 9% dividend yield based on the purchase price.  

This is slow investing but certainly better than gambling hoping that one hits the jackpot, which always ends in tears for most.  The one reason why so few people control the bulk of the wealth is they mitigate as much risk as possible and seek out above average returns rather than betting.    

You work hard for your savings so why waste it on high priced promotion where only the promoter makes the profits?  When you think about it there are so many speculative investments available and so few true opportunities that it is next to impossible for the majority to ever make money.  It is scary because the chances of anyone over the age of 50 recovering after losing a large chunk of their savings has little chance of ever recovering financially.

People forget that zero interest rates are telling us something is wrong with the world economy.  Your sole job today is protecting your savings.

The consensus is that once the vaccines are distributed to the masses the global economy will be good as new.  It is believed the consumer will carry out the largest spending frenzy in history.  We disagree because COVID-19 will take years to eradicate and it will take months, if not years, for many industries to get back on their feet.

There are many parts of the world that will not receive the vaccine for a long time, if at all.  Africa is a mess and hardly any vaccines are heading there since many of the countries have no money.  The President of Tanzania is on record saying he does not believe in vaccines, so there is no effort to get any.  Indonesia and the Philippines are also in terrible shape. Both Russia and China have regions along their shared border that are dirt poor with no access to basic amenities, leaving them a prime area for the virus to survive.  Plus, many people do not believe in vaccines. 

As usual, it appears Justin has attempted to please China. Last March he allowed our National Research Council to sign a deal that transfers Canada’s intellectual property on Ebola and Sars-Cov-2 to China’s CanSino Biologics. The Chinese company now gets the rights for all vaccines it develops on the backs of our research. We were fifth in line to receive vaccines from China.  When they were ready to be shipped China cancelled the deal and sold them to Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and others. Canada is now in 43^rd place when it comes to getting vaccines for its citizens.  Once again, China slapped Justin in the face and the world laughed at Canada for being so stupid.  

Just over a month ago Justin announced he wants to be PM for life, like his idol Xi Jinping is in China.  Did you notice the respect he gave Xi Jinping when he refused to vote about the genocide in China?  Obviously, his brainless cabinet agreed since they refused to vote.  After a year Ottawa still does not have a set plan. Now we must scramble to get the needed vaccines.  There is nobody to blame except the Liberals and their directionless one-boy government that prefers an empty House of Commons and to get nothing done.

 With excessive debt and no idea on how to fix our economy going forward, we will be drifting for months to come. Taxes will be increasing across the board to pay for historic budget deficits brought on by Covid.  Canadians do not have enough savings and Ottawa is bankrupt so there is not much to propel the economy.  A report last month stated that people over the age of 50 are the biggest group declaring bankruptcy. This is not a healthy signal for our economy going forward.

Justin continues with his Green ideas.  So far, they have increased costs to the consumer and have done nothing for the environment.  He continues to declare war on the energy sector and farmers via the destructive Carbon Tax. By doing so he is creating unemployment and lowering the standard of living for many Canadians.   His actions continue to tell foreigners to take their investment elsewhere, and they are happily doing so.

Nothing will change until we have a Federal election and Justin is history.  Continue to build up savings and invest in blue chip dividend paying shares.  At least 30% of one’s portfolio should be insured GICs.  Try and get rid of all personal debt if possible.  Tackle the credit cards first then chip away at the debt with the highest interest rate.   The potential for all of Canada remains one of the best in the world. The only problem is Justin and there is an easy solution to rectify this.

Not surprising, the market outlook from Wall Street and Bay Street is bullish for all of 2021. We have no idea where all this money is going to come from to propel share prices higher. We do know that the last hundred years have delivered numerous corrections with the worst being 1929-39.  It took 25 years for the NYSE to recover its August 1929 high. The next three major corrections happened in the last 40 years. We will most likely experience the fourth soon. 

The Eighties was the era of soaring interest rates.  Canada Savings Bonds yielded 21% for a one-year term.  People lost their homes as mortgage rates hit 22% or higher for a first mortgage.  Stock markets got slaughtered because stocks could not compete with those interest rates.

Between 1998 and 2000 we experienced the Dot-com bubble.  Shares were trading in the stratosphere based only on being in the hi-tech sector.  Profits were not important to investors since these companies would be printing enormous amounts of money in a few years.  Most of these companies disappeared when the bubble popped.  It wiped out billions of savings - mostly from the amateur investor.

2008 to 2010 is known for the CDO Mess (Collateral Debt Obligations).  Most banks, finance companies, and brokerage houses bundled up their mortgages, no matter the quality of the loans, and sold them as Guaranteed Investment Certificates.   Some of these CDO’s were representing up to 110% of the value of homes they were covering.  When the market turned many of these CDO’s became worthless and billions of dollars were wiped out overnight.  A few lenders went broke, but most were unscathed as it was their customers that lost their savings. It took about three years to clean up this mess.  This is why it is so important that investors make sure the GIC they purchase is insured.

Today is the fourth troubling market.  Based on recent price/earnings ratios the markets are expecting profits to double in 3 years. Based on the same metrics, investors expect the combined profits of the companies making up the gambling exchange NASDAQ to double in only 55 weeks. This is impossible.  It is safe to say we are experiencing a repeat of 1998-2000.  Hi-tech share prices share no relationship to earnings (if there is any), book value, or sales.  It is the old Greater Fool Theory all over again. This party will end the same way as past bubbles, only this time the losses in dollar terms will be the biggest on record. 

The global economy is hiding behind zero interest rates.  There seems to be a theory the good times can last forever with them.  Japan’s economy has proved this wrong over the last 30 years. It was not until last month the Japanese stock market finally hit a new high (previously set in late 1989). To date, the average home price remains far below their 1990 high. This works out to roughly 31 years of asset price contraction. Japan’s central bank kept interest rates near zero during this period exemplifying that low rates do little, if anything at all, to promote growth over time.

 Contrary to popular belief, a central bank does not control interest rates.  It is the demand for money in the open market that sets the lending rate. A lender will always seek out the best rate of return possible and the borrower is often forced to accept it. When the market gets scared, private lenders demand a higher risk premium. The demand for money by governments and leveraged consumers will continue to increase moving forward.    It is not only going to be interest rates that will squeeze the economy, but higher taxes needed to finance historic deficits across the global economy. Both consume disposable income.

For the past 100 hundred years interest rates between 4 and 6% occurred during a healthy economy (anything below this was used to fend off a contraction that inevitably took place).  These rates kept asset prices in check with fundamentals.  It allowed for people to borrow responsibly because they could afford the cost and lenders to earn a decent return.  Today, real estate prices have increased so much (a direct result of falling interest rates) that they have wiped out any benefit of zero interest rates.  Current interest rates are being used as a temporary bandage while on the way to the hospital for stitches.  The wound will heal, but there will be everlasting scars.

We do know that all excesses are eventually wiped clean from all markets.  When this will occur is anyone’s guess, but it will most likely be within the year. Therefore, we strongly suggest everyone get rid of all debt.  Zero interest rates are a signal that there is something wrong with the economic system. 

The lesson for the next few years will be that debt is the enemy while cash will be king. Continue to hold blue-chip companies with a lengthy history of pre-pandemic dividend increases.  Many of these shares are currently trading at ridiculously cheap valuations that only occur every decade or so. No matter one’s age, maintain at least 30% of a portfolio in cash equivalents.   This is not a time to speculate.