On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was down 0.3%. There were no particularly notable moves in our stock picks.
Boston Pizza is at $18.67. I bought some of my BP units at about $21 and some over $19. But I also bought in the $16s when it fell and so I am currently showing a modest gain on this holding. And that’s on top of the yield which is currently 7.46%. A modest gain on these units is quite acceptable given the yield. I’d like to see it get back over $19 and I suspect it will get there. I’d certainly be a buyer now if I was sitting on “excess” cash that I wanted to invest for yield. Clearly it can decline if the overall market goes down or the BP sales go down but I think the risk reward relationship is strong.
Statistics Canada reported April new auto sales this morning. For the country as a whole they were up a hefty 5.6% in units and 8.1% in dollars.
For Alberta, they were down 9.1% in units and about the same dollars. That really does not look so bad for AutoCanada. AutoCanada remains solidly profitable although profits are down.
I notice that a Global Edmonton News report on Walmart Canada dropping Visa completely missed the point that debit cards impose FAR less costs on retailers than do credit cards. I don’t think many consumers know this. Global chose to focus on some quirky diner that accepts cash only (foolish, in my opinion unless done to evade taxes). Debit cards ARE cash to the retailer (less about 10 cents per transaction and $40 per month for the debit machine). The report completely missed the point that credit cards companies siphon off some 1 to 2% of total retail sales and do so at MASSIVE profits (while boldly claiming they face stiff competition). I am all for free markets but credit card companies like VISA and MasterCard essentially became monopolies (which should be regulated). (I wish I had held my VISA shares that I bought some years ago) And I am certainly ALL for Walmart attempting to see if it can live without VISA.