Blog

Vancouver’s Housing Bubble Fueled by China’s Credit Bubble

Jul 21 2016

Many of us are under the impression that there is an endless supply of multi-millionaires in China who are intent on scooping up Vancouver properties at any price, often before they even hit the market. But the underlying source of the money does indeed have a limit, and we might be getting close to that…

Global Markets Trying to Overcome Economic Challenges

Jun 20 2016

The chart below looks at the return of the stock markets from the ten largest economies in the world. It shows how far those markets have dropped from their prior high (peak level) and how long ago that peak was reached. The data shows that the US equity market has been the most stable but…

The Limits of Economic Experimentation

Apr 20 2016

Pacifica Partners Spring 2016 Quarterly Commentary: There seems to be a steady concern amongst policy makers that the financial markets are losing confidence in monetary policy (interest rate cuts) and the ability of central banks to do much more to boost economic growth. As recently as last month, the Bank for International Settlements (the central…

Taking an Inventory of Investor Worries

Jan 06 2016

The Pacifica Partners Winter 2016 Quarterly Commentary: Most years, financial markets tend to rally in the month of December. As the 2015 holiday season wound down, investors found that Santa had deprived them of their traditional yearend rally. Instead of a rally, investors were left showered with volatility to close off 2015 and clinging to…

US Consumers Riding to the Rescue Again

Oct 13 2015

The Pacifica Partners Fall 2015 Quarterly Commentary: There are not many things in finance that one can find a near perfect consensus on. One that comes close to unanimity is the notion that the current regime of low interest rates globally has about run its course in being able to accelerate economic growth. Simply put,…

Mr. Xi Goes to Washington

Sep 30 2015

One would have to go back a long way to remember when China’s place in the world was even up for debate. As Chinese President Xi Jinping came to the US for his first state visit last week and second visit as President of China, many are looking at China through a slightly different lens…

Low Interest Rates a Fading Solution

Nov 24 2014

The last several months have served as a reminder to the global financial markets that the work of central banks is not done yet. Nearly six years after the last recession ended the world finds itself still guessing as to when interest rates will finally begin to rise. As Europe is so clearly illustrating,…

LNG Promises Steeped in Forecast Risk

Sep 16 2014

The government of BC staked a great deal of the province’s future prosperity on its ability to work with the energy industry to harness BC’s natural gas reserves for export to the energy hungry nations of Asia. To further underline the future potential, the government has stated that it would follow in the footsteps of…

Debating the Return of Inflation

Jul 25 2014

When the world’s central banks decided to undertake a zero interest-rate policy and then to inject money into the global banking system to levels that were previously unforeseen, there was widespread fear that this would eventually unleash an inflationary firestorm. Our take was, and is, that these worries were misplaced because ... Debating the…

An Embarrassment of Riches

Jun 06 2014

One of the few things Wall Street, Main Street and politicians of all stripes can agree on is that the economic recovery since the last recession has been slower than expected. If we listen closely to the speeches of various policy makers, there is an undertone of frustration in their voices. An Embarrassment of Riches…