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Are stock markets overvalued? Yes and no and maybe…and don’t worry about it

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A long time ago, back in 2008, a co-worker at the company I was then at talked himself out of buying Apple stock because it had risen to $100 a share or so, double what it had been a few years prior. I felt for the guy, he really wrestled with the decision, he’d done his homework, and loved the company. He would hover tormentedly over his keyboard trying to hit the “buy” button, but despite the ever-more theatrical anguish, he couldn’t do it. Too expensive was too expensive and he took a pass.

I was fortunate to move on and lose touch with the guy before Apple’s stock took off to $700/share over the next few years; based on his inner turmoil at not buying at $100 he must have been wailing like an air raid siren at seven times that. Then it got “worse” – Apple stock split 7 for 1, the price was adjusted to $100, and has now risen back up over $300/share. A stock that seemed overvalued in 2008 went on to increase in value 20-fold in the next dozen years. Is Apple stock overvalued now?

Hope you’re not asking me, I haven’t the foggiest idea. By some yardsticks it likely is but it was in 2008 as well. 

Now, that’s a crazy growth stock, one of the world’s biggest success stories, so probably not a great example. But maybe we can glean something from looking at others that seem somewhat predictable for a number of reasons.

We could take airline or hotel stocks, which to my mind should be worth zero, but are not, so my mind is clearly wrong. I don’t see how their value can be ascertained when we don’t know at all what travel patterns will shape up as, and both these industries live or die based on utilization rates.

We could also look at blue-chip companies that are bought mainly for yield; are they overvalued? Well, companies bought for yield often are priced according to interest rate expectations, because that is the competition for yield seekers. We can now see that government bonds yield almost nothing, or less than nothing in some countries, so what is an appropriate yield level for a big stable dividend company?

Years ago, I unwisely did not put any money in big blue-chip stocks because their dividend yield was usually 2-4 percent, and I couldn’t see getting ahead by watching that snail move along (my chosen alternative, to chase growth stocks, was far more interesting, in the sense that a car bouncing down a mountainside is interesting). 

Now, many big blue-chip stocks are yielding 5-7 percent, an enormous gap to both the “risk-free” (haha) yield of government instruments and inflation expectations. So are these stocks undervalued?

That would seem incredibly hard to believe, given how the stock market has risen in the past month or so, in a world that remains incredibly unstable and drowning in debt. Unemployment rates are at levels that were unthinkable 6 months ago, and there is potential widespread devastation amongst small businesses (and larger ones for that matter – Volkswagen reported about a month ago that they were hemorrhaging cash at a rate of $2.2 billion per week).

It can all drive you crazy, but it can help to focus on some friendly realities that exist in the stock market. There are investments that hold up in the very long term. The Motley Fool investor website recently listed 3 Canadian stocks that have paid dividends continuously for over a century: Bank of Montreal, Imperial Oil, and BCE (aka Bell Canada). 

Value shmalue. If you’re investing to help yourself retire one day, pick a handful that have impressive dividend histories, reinvest the dividends, and don’t get too rattled by the news. It might be boring, but far better to be bored and rich than broke and wild-eyed.

For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.

Terry Etam is a twenty-five-year veteran of Canada’s energy business. He has worked at a number of occupations spanning the finance, accounting, communications, and trading aspects of energy, and has written for several years on his own website Public Energy Number One and the widely-read industry site the BOE Report. In 2019, his first book, The End of Fossil Fuel Insanity, was published. Mr. Etam has been called an industry thought leader and the most influential voice in the oil patch. He lives in Calgary, Alberta.

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Trump orders 10% baseline tariff on imports, closes de minimis loophole

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From The Center Square

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Reciprocal tariffs higher on many nations

President Donald Trump on Wednesday put the biggest piece of his new trade policy in effect by signing executive orders that place a 10% baseline tariff on all imports and much higher rates on nations that put taxes on U.S. products.

It could be the opening salvo in a global trade war, or, as Trump sees it, the beginning of a “Golden Age” for U.S. trade.

Trump also closed the small value packages loophole that allowed China to avoid taxes on packages valued at less than $800. Companies such as Temu and Shein used the loophole to ship billions of dollars worth of products directly to U.S. consumers and avoid paying the tax, as The Center Square previously reported.

President Trump speaks about tariffs at a Make America Wealthy Again event

Trump’s moves on Wednesday, which he termed “Liberation Day” for U.S. trade, marked the most significant shift in U.S. trade policy since the end of World War II.

In a speech from the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump said foreign nations for decades have stolen American jobs, factories and industries. He said the tariffs would bring in new jobs, factories and industries and return the U.S. to a manufacturing superpower.

“Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Trump’s supporters praised the trade overhaul. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said it was time for foreign nations to pay up.

“If you want to do business in America, you need to play by our rules,” she said. “For too long, American businesses, big and small, have been ripped off by bad trade deals and unfair competition. President Trump is putting a stop to it. He’s standing up for our workers, our companies and our consumers.”

Critics slammed Trump’s trade plans.

“Donald Trump may want to call this ‘Liberation Day,’ but there is nothing liberating for working families who are grappling with the high costs of food, housing, and utilities,” said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat. “Tariffs are a tax. They are a tax on working families, a tax on groceries, and a tax on other everyday necessities.”

Other countries planned their own responses. The European Union plans to retaliate with its own measures.

“Europe has not started this confrontation,” EU boss Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech. “We do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.”

She said tariffs are taxes “paid by the people.”

“But Europe has everything to protect our people and our prosperity,” she wrote on X. “We will always promote & defend our interests and values. And we will always stand up for Europe.”

China, the world’s second-largest economy, said Monday that it was planning to coordinate its response to U.S. tariffs with Japan and South Korea.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday that he was willing to fly to the U.S. to meet with Trump to get an exemption for Japanese vehicle makers. He also said the government will take steps to minimize the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japanese industries and jobs.

Trump will impose a 10% tariff on all countries that will take effect April 5, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT. Trump will impose an individualized reciprocal tariff on the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits, including China, India and Vietnam, among others. All other countries will continue to be subject to the 10% tariff baseline, according to the White House.

“These tariffs will remain in effect until such a time as President Trump determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying nonreciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved, or mitigated,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Trump’s executive order also gives him authority to increase the tariffs

“if trading partners retaliate” or “decrease the tariffs if trading partners take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align with the United States on economic and national security matters,” according to the White House.

“Foreign cheaters have stolen our jobs, ransacked our factories and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream,” Trump said in the Rose Garden.

For China, the tariff rate will be about 34% on imports from the world’s most populous nation. For European Union countries, it will be 20%. For Japan, the duty will be 24%. Imports from India will get a 26% tariff. Cambodia will get hit with a 49% tariff, among the highest Trump outlined on Wednesday.

For months, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has warned that tariffs could increase costs for U.S. consumers and hurt businesses. Neil Bradley, the chamber’s chief policy officer, said businesses large and small don’t want tariffs.

“What we have heard from business of all sizes, across all industries, from around the country is that these broad tariffs are a tax increase that will raise prices for American consumers and hurt the economy,” he said.

Last week, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts, duties that he said would be “permanent.” The White House said it expects the auto tariffs on cars and light-duty trucks will generate up to $100 billion in federal revenue.

Trump said he hopes to bring in $600 billion to $1 trillion in tariff revenue in the next year or two. Trump also said the tariffs would lead to a manufacturing boom in the U.S., with auto companies building new plants, expanding existing plants and adding jobs.

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Alberta

Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”

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