I’m featured in the business section of the Edmonton Journal tomorrow.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Lamphier+sides+coin+this+stock+picker/7940653/story.html
Our stock picks have ended out the week in decent shape.
As always the signals from the economy are mixed. The U.S. economy continues to recover.
Canadian multi-family housing starts dropped a lot in December. Single family housing starts were also a bit lower I understand. In general house prices in Canada appear to be slipping a bit.
In Alberta things seem strong. But we do have the issue of a low oil and gas prices and eventually that couold cool the economy in Alberta. So Melcor faces that risk. On the other hand I expect Melcor to release good Q4 earnings (around March 6) although it may report a weaker outlook. Melcor had of course risen about 20% last month when it announced it would spin off its office and retail rental properties into a REIT (which is would continue to own a majority of that REIT). If that plan were to fall through then presumably Melcor would decline. And if the plan goes ahead perhaps it would rise a a bit more on that news. It is tempting to sell or lighten up on Melcor. On the other hand it’s probably going to be a good long-term hold. My strategy at the moment is to hold and I would probably buy if there was a significant pullback.