Thursday 31 July 2014

Market Turmoil

    Looks like the markets are getting a little bit shaky today. The S&P/TSX  went down 194.08 points, or 1.25%. The US S&P 500 fared even worse, losing 39.4 points, or 2%. Personally my portfolio dropped 1%, based mostly on Energy and Finances, Veresen (VSN) alone made up ~.05% of my losses today. The market appeared to be shaken from the announcement that Argentina has defaulted on its debt as it attempts to broker a deal to restructure its debts. There is also the ongoing instability in Europe as the Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Palestine/Hamas conflict continues with fears of escalation in the area that will continue to negatively affect the broader Eurozone.
  

    There is some good news though! If you've cash on hand you can pick up some solid companies for a fair bit less now! For the most part it would appear that the current spat of a market correction seems to be due more to investor emotion and fears than the underlying companies fundamentals. Going back to VSN, it dropped 2.83% today and yet there was no news from the company or media that a pipeline burst or that it couldn't pay a loan or had to cut dividends due to a decline in profits. Its running just as smoothly as it did the day before and most likely *fingers crossed* as it will tomorrow. Its important to not lose sight that what the market does, it doesn't always do so in a rational manner.

      But, sometimes big news like an escalating war(s) are causes for concern and need to be monitored as they can and do have impacts on your portfolio. So its never a bad idea when you are managing your own investments to simply scan a newspaper or twos daily financial/business headlines for news that may be important to you and look into the events a bit further.

2 comments:

  1. DW,

    It is times like these where you can find some great bargains. Kraft (KRFT) dropped over 6% on Thursday bringing its yield up close to 4%. Keep your eyes open and keep dollar cost averaging throughout the market ups and downs.

    MDP

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  2. Div Pipeline,
    For sure! I'd love to be able to do some buys in the next couple weeks for sure. Sadly my cash is tied up at the moment as I am apartment hunting, so need to be able to have the first/last months in rent in cash/figure out my new income/expenses to properly forecast how much money I'll have for investing. Although, once everything is settled I will most likely have extra cash sitting around to use :) Ugh, and will have to probably buy a kitchen set.... that will most likely be my august/September 'investment' lol

    Thanks for stopping by! Can't wait(although I must) till I can start getting monthly dividends like you do!

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