Blog for Friday, February 9th, 2024
The Demise of Skiing, the End of Football (for this year anyhow), and FOMO.
My poor ski season is taking a beating this year. I am in Collingwood writing this blog today and it is 10 degrees and sunny. Worst of all, it is windy out. It is the wind that impacts snow levels the most as it sucks the moisture from the hills. Mid-February and I can see a lot of mud showing through the snow at Blue Mountain Ski Resort. My club is in pretty good shape and will continue to make snow next week as the temperature drops next week.
I hear Utah has had the most snow this year and Nova Scotia, although I have no idea what ski resorts are in Nova Scotia. Ha. Climate change is real. I will look back on this time one day and say, “that was the point at which the sport of skiing went into decline, and eventually disappeared for good.”
I took last weekend off from my downhill adventures to attend the NHL All Star Skills Competition and All Star game. It was pretty cool! The energy and vibe in downtown Toronto was electric. I can say Connor McDavid is truly the best player in today’s game. The guy has amazing skills that are far and above the best in the league.
I had the rare opportunity to attend a lunch for about sixty people on Saturday with Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, and Wendel Clark. They spoke for about thirty minutes about their life in hockey and then everyone got a chance to have a picture with them. I had my jersey signed as well. Very cool experience. Great guys and willing to stand and take the time to chat with me one on one over lunch.
I also got Rick Tocchet’s signature. I was heading to the arena and found myself walking with him and his family. I started chatting with him and of course got my jersey signed. I thanked him and asked what he was up to these days, only to be told he was coaching the Vancouver Canucks, the hottest team in the league right now. Oopsy! I figured he was an old hockey guy hanging out in retirement. Such a foot in the mouth moment. Ha! Of course, I rolled with it and responded that he must be very busy, and congratulated him on the season so far. What do I know? Ask me anything about football…
Speaking of which…the Superbowl is Sunday! Not sure what I am going to do with my Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sundays after this weekend. Bummer. Two great teams competing for the title. I don’t really care who wins. I just want to see a great game. I have all the ingredients purchased for my chili and I’m ready to go on the big day.
As for the markets, they keep inching higher with the S&P 500 hitting a significant milestone of 5,000. I think this might be a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) situation. Economic data of late has been coming in a little stronger and/or holding steady more than expected. Global central banks need to see growth meaningfully declining or at least trending lower to cut interest rates.
Forecasts for rate cuts this March are now being pushed into June. I would argue that maybe that is too soon and maybe the total rate cuts this year will be less than expected. At least everyone can agree that global interest rates have peaked and no more increases are in the forecast. I figure the USA cuts rates first, then Canada, followed by the European Union and finally Great Britain.
The team is busy reviewing portfolios and rebalancing. That always takes some time.
The RRSP deadline is fast approaching. February 29th is the cut off and not a minute after. Get your contributions in.
That’s it for me. Heading over to the hill for an hour to get some runs in.
Have a great weekend. Go Taylor Swift’s team! Yeah! Actually, I would prefer to see San Fran win.
Miles…