The Yellow Speech  or the Green Speech?

The Yellow Speech or the Green Speech?

In the seminal Danish movie The Celebration (1998), a family and guests are gathered for the 60th birthday of the patriarch, Helge. Christian, the oldest son, gives Helge the choice between the yellow and the green speech. Helge chooses the green one, which turns out...
Shall We Swap Caterpillars?

Shall We Swap Caterpillars?

Naturally, the answer to this imperative question is always a resounding yes. Banks are special. Though there are many reasons for this, we would venture the opinion, that how they are impacted by interest rates is probably the most important one. There is hardly a...
Regretful Readiness

Regretful Readiness

The Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) just released its Annual Risk Outlook. The outlook lists the top risks faced by the Canadian financial system and the actions OSFI is taking in response. Words like geopolitical turbulence and...
European Banks: Less Rizz*, More Value

European Banks: Less Rizz*, More Value

The banks of Europe—including the UK (no offense!)—are doing great. A few weeks ago, the FT commented that measured by the 47 banks included in the European Stoxx 600 index, the total return and net dividends have outperformed the top US tech stocks known as the...
So Close and Yet So Tariffs Away

So Close and Yet So Tariffs Away

Agreement has been in short supply lately, except when it comes to inflation being a pain that everyone wants to stop or at least get into a reasonable range of, say, 2%. As can be seen on the graph below, the Fed has been working its delicate tool of the interest...