“Plan on Living Past Your Life Expectancy” — this is the headline of a recent article in the popular press that suggests many of us will live longer than we expect. In fact, many of us systematically understate our chances of living to age 75 by 10 percentage points or more.
On March 28, 2023, the federal government delivered its budget, with a focus on building a “stronger, more sustainable, and more secure Canadian economy,” highlighting three areas: affordability to address higher inflation, public health/dental care and the green economy.
It has been said that change is the only constant, and the investing world is no exception. For more than a year, we’ve seen the effects of a rapid change in inflation and interest rates on the financial markets.
Investing is never a smooth road, and 2022 was a difficult reminder that the markets can go down just as they go up. Financial markets were largely challenged by the aggressive actions of central banks in raising rates in their attempt to combat high inflation; a stark contrast to the excessive exuberance of 2021.
As the central banks continue to raise rates in their fight to curb inflation, many observers have pointed to the current outlook for the economy and financial markets as uncertain: Did the central banks wait too long to control inflation? Is a full-blown recession imminent?
It has been difficult to find much market commentary that suggests positive developments in the financial and economic markets over recent times. The reasons are many: high and persistent inflation, more aggressive tightening policies by central banks and the prospect of recession. This has created significant uncertainty over the path forward...