My Own Advisor

Earlier this year I wrote about 10 things I thought we would see in 2013.  As we approach the halfway mark this year, I thought I’d reflect on how close my calls were.

1. The S&P/TSX Composite Index will finish the year at 13,100.

As of June 16, 2013 the S&P/TSX sits at 12,187.

2. The Dow Jones will finish the year at 13,900.

So far the Dow has blown this mark out of the water, now at 15,070.

3. With renewed focus on Asia markets, RIM is the comeback business story of the year and makes the cover of Canadian Business Magazine at some point to prove it.

RIM has had a nice comeback in 2013 but I have yet to see them on the cover of CB magazine unless I forgot about that.

4. Crude Oil will finish the year at around $98 per barrel.

At the time of this post light crude oil is hovering right around that mark.

5. The Canadian Dollar will finish the year at $0.97 against the U.S. Dollar.

Recently, our dollar closed just a bit higher.

6. Speaking of cents, nobody misses the Canadian penny.

I don’t.  Although I do keep plenty around the house in a large jar for Rummoli games.

7. Canadian REITs, measured by iShares XRE performance, will deliver 10%+ return.

Real Estate Investment Trusts are running just above par this year.  Year-to-date return for XRE is about 0.3%.  I’m not worried, I’ll continue to own REITs.

8. The following U.S. companies will announce dividend hikes this year:  Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Emerson Electric.

• On February 21, 2013, Coca-Cola announced a dividend hike of 10%.
• On April 25, 2013, Johnson & Johnson announced a dividend hike of over 8%.
• On April 15, 2013, Procter & Gamble announced a dividend hike of 7%.
• Nothing yet on Emerson Electric.

9. The following Canadian companies will announce dividend hikes this year:  TD Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Enbridge and Telus.

• On February 28, 2013, TD Bank announced a dividend hike of 5%.
• On March 5, 2013, Bank of Nova Scotia announced a dividend hike of 5%.
• Nothing yet on Enbridge.
• On May 9, 2013, Telus announced a dividend hike of over 11%.

10. Canadian bonds, measured by iShares XBB performance, will deliver 5%+ return.

XBB, a low-cost ETF that tracks the diverse DEX Universe Bond Index is running rather flat this year.  Year-to-date return is about 0.2%.

What do you make of my financial predictions?  Did you make any such predictions this year?

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.

With the deadline to file 2012 personal income taxes with the fine folks at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)  approaching fast I thought it might be fun to provide a few excuses some procrastinators might have for filing late.

Here are the top-10 excuses for not filing your 2012 taxes…yet…

10. 3-words:  Witness. Protection. Program.

9. Didn’t my spouse take care of all this money stuff?

8. I thought “GST” meant “Good Stalling Tactics”?

7. My son is 39 and lives in my basement.  I’m too busy trying to kick him out of the house to do my taxes dammit.

6. I’m waiting for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to “Like” me on Facebook first.

5. I lost my favourite shoebox with all my receipts.

4. I thought tax filing was for nerds and geeks.

3. I’m waiting for My Own Advisor to write a blogpost about some tax filing tips.

2. I have 1 kid in university and another one graduating high school this year.  I don’t have any income to report.

1. I’m waiting for the Leafs to win the Stanley Cup.

Each year, thousands of Canadians wait until the last possible moment to file their tax returns.  Proud supporters of this site, H&R Block Canada, can help you avoid becoming another statistic this tax season – consider getting some professional help with your tax files or get after it yourself if you’re running late.

Have you ever missed filing your tax return?  If not, good on you, but what is the best excuse you’ve heard for not filing taxes on time?

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.

I haven’t done this very often on my site but for today’s post I’m going to look into my crystal ball and forecast a bunch of financial events I think will happen in 2013.  At the end of this year, we’ll see how close I came to hitting the marks.

Ready?

1. The S&P/TSX Composite Index will finish the year at 13,100.
2. The Dow Jones will finish the year at 13,900.
3. With renewed focus on Asia markets, RIM is the comeback business story of the year and makes the cover of Canadian Business Magazine at some point to prove it.
4. Crude Oil will finish the year at around $98 per barrel.
5. The Canadian Dollar will finish the year at $0.97 against the U.S. Dollar.
6. Speaking of cents, nobody misses the Canadian penny.
7. Canadian REITs, measured by iShares XRE performance, will deliver 10%+ return.
8. The following U.S. companies will announce dividend hikes this year:  Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Emerson Electric.
9. The following Canadian companies will announce dividend hikes this year:  TD Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Enbridge and Telus.
10. Canadian bonds, measured by iShares XBB performance, will deliver 5%+ return.

That’s good enough  Let’s see where I end up.

How about you?  Any financial predictions you’d like to share?

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.