Market View

The US Senate continues to look for a way to end the government closure that entered its 35th day today. The US Senate has rejected two shutdown-ending bills. Major Indices are trading in green, including the European and most Asian shares, attributed to strong US earnings, despite concerns with the slowing global economy and US-China trade dispute. The US sanctions threat on Venezuela. The Canadian dollar was 75.42 cents U.S. Both TSX and S&P500 ended this week flat. 

Only 2 of the 12 subgroups ended the week in negative territory. Healthcare jumped by 5.8% and Materials were up 3.1%, Consumer discretionary by 2.5%, and real estate by 1.7%. Energy and Consumer Staples were down 2.6% and 0.9%, respectively. Canadian Pacific Railway, the country’s second-biggest rail operator, reported earnings of $4.55 per share, beating estimates of $4.22. Net income was down by 45% to $545 million. The company has forecasted double-digit earnings growth for 2019, due to strong pricing and growing crude shipment and demand for other commodities. Revenue rose 17% to $2.01 billion this quarter. Rogers Communication posted an increase in net income to $502 million this quarter from $499 million the year prior. The company raised dividends by 4.2%. Tim Horton's parent company, Restaurants Brands International, and MTY Group raised dividends by 11% and 10%, respectively. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aphria, Green Organic Dutchman and Bombardier.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

-What we should expect from our investments

-Which sectors have proved their ‘value’?

-How are junk bonds doing this year?

-When do buybacks happen?

-Market-cap weighting might not always be the way to go

Bonus: Alternative investments in pension funds have been a bad move