From the Desk of Irwin Michael – October 16, 2015

Since the end of September, North American common stocks have materially recovered as higher U.S. interest rates have been pushed out to 2016 along with the expectation of easy worldwide monetary conditions for at least the next several quarters. While we anticipate continued stock market volatility over the next few months, we expect common shares to move higher in a saw-tooth like fashion for the balance of 2015 and into 2016. Furthermore, we would not be surprised if the proverbial Santa Clause rally propels share prices from late fall to early next year.

Given low money market and 10-year Canadian and U.S. government bond yields, 3-5% dividend yielding common stocks with capital appreciation potential remain very attractive relative to fixed income. Consequently, we remain overweight in liquid, high dividend paying equities and underweight fixed income securities.

Interestingly, despite the Canadian federal election on Monday October 19th and the present relative political uncertainty, the Canadian dollar has improved almost 2.5ยข over the past two weeks. Fortunately our $U.S. currency hedge continues to protect our ABC portfolios from the Canadian/U.S. dollar volatility.

Irwin A. Michael Signature

Irwin A. Michael, President
I.A. Michael Investment Counsel Ltd.

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