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The Globe and Mail's Globe Investor section (which replaced Net Worth) is dedicated to giving you what you need to manage your personal finances successfully. Globe Investor appears every Saturday in The Globe and Mail and on globeinvestor.com. View our archive of past Globe Investor issues.
TOP STORY
Stocks and the Ballot Box
They say history never repeats itself. Well, someone forgot to tell the U.S. market, which has made a habit of ebbing and flowing in oddly consistent ways depending on where we are in the presidential cycle. Not only that, some analysts even believe the market can predict who will win in November. Would you believe Al Gore?
By DAVE EBNER
Somewhere in the crowds at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia last month Yale Hirsch was part of a group being interviewed by an Internet broadcaster. During the segment an assistant grabbed hold of Steve Forbes and hurried the one-time presidential hopeful and forever flat-tax advocate over to join the roundtable. On his introduction to Mr. Hirsch, Mr. Forbes remarked: ''The legend!''
FED ON HOLD
By DAVE EBNER
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board, though politically independent, keeps its hands off the interest rate button in the heated two months before Americans elect their president.''The fact is the Fed, particularly the Greenspan Fed, has never raised interest rates during the election campaign, defined as the day after Labour Day to the election,'' says Jeffrey Rubin, CIBC World Markets chief economist. ''Certainly that's a very strong message. At the same time you have to recognize that what goes around comes around.''
Who can you trust after you've gone?
Setting up a testamentary trust is one way of ensuring your wishes are carried out. But who you appoint as trustee is crucial. Remember, you'll be gone a long long time.
By ANDREW ALLENTUCK
Who will look after your family if you die? Who can be trusted to be honest and wise years after you're gone?One way of ensuring that your wishes are honoured is to set up a trust. The question is: which type?
Young 'swing' trader feels need for speed
By TONY MARTIN
Ben Bittrolff speaks five languages -- German from being born just outside of Mannheim, Spanish from his family's move to Buenos Aires when he was young, and English and French, picked up when they later settled in Waterloo, Ont.
Nortel dominates major Canadian stock indexes, but if you're properly diversified you can enjoy the ride, as long as it lasts, Rob Carrick says.
By ROB CARRICK
Live by Nortel, die by Nortel. Probably you've heard this warning directed lately at followers of index investing.Nortel Networks Corp. dominates the major Canadian stock indexes today, and this is a legitimate concern for index investors.
NET WORTH - BEST BUYS
A weekly scorecard of some of the lowest and highest rates and yields across Canada. The survey of mortgage, GIC and car loan rates - taken from a sample of companies by Cannex Financial Exchanges - covers posted rates only, so consumers may be able to haggle for a better deal at some financial institutions.
The sale of personal use property can lead to a tax hit, Tim Cestnick says.
By TIM CESTNICK
Talk about a stressful experience. I'm talking about moving our home. I thought that our move last week was a good opportunity to get rid of a ton of junk that has collected in our basement. You know, stuff like my wife's old love letters, dresses she wore 15 years ago, her Barbie doll collection, and her collection of wigs that she inherited from her grandmother (Carolyn has hair of her own.)
The recent action in JDS Uniphase reveals market distortions by the S&P 500, our contrarians say.
By BEN GALLANDER and BEN STADELMANN
In a previous article we looked at the changing composition of the Dow Jones industrial average of 30 stocks. But for all its importance in the minds of investors, relatively little money is directly tied to the old barometer. That distinction belongs to Standard & Poor's index of 500 stocks. A trillion dollars is tied to this benchmark through investments in index funds designed to track it.
STARS & DOGS
A selection of this week's winners and losers compiled by Andrew Bell
A Republican victory this November may not be so bullish for markets after all, Jeffrey Rubin says.
By JEFFREY RUBIN
The likelihood of a Republican victory in November raises the prospect of more tax cuts, further deregulation and a host of other market friendly policy initiatives.But is a Republican victory really as bullish for markets as their free enterprise campaign slogans would suggest? Particularly, when the centerpiece of George W. Bush's economic agenda -- tax cuts and the return of a portion of the social security surplus to private savings -- have some potentially troubling implications for short-term and long-term interest rates.
Hot Hand
A look at what the hot fund managers are buying
By ANDREW ALLENTUCK
A fund that is barely two months old has broken recent performance records for all 360 Canadian equity funds for 30 days ended Aug. 17. Floyd Growth Fund, with a minuscule $1.1-million in assets, gained 19.2 per cent for the period, far above the 0.35-per-cent average of Canadian equity funds and the 2.1-per-cent rise in the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index.
HOME BASE
Three-storey Victorian home for sale, ten minutes north of London, Ontario.
ASKED & ANSWERED
By ANGELA BARNES
Each week we'll answer readers' questions on personal finance topics. Question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of investing using a margin account? Answer: It's up to you and your adviser to decide whether you go this route, but before you do, be aware of the risks of investing on margin -- and the rewards.
