Blog for March 22, 2024
Fulfilling on a bucket list item, Markets approaching the height of the Matterhorn
I did it! I managed to stay up past 8:30 pm and sleep past 4 am! Woot woot. Denise and I have been suffering (if that’s what I can call it) through jet lag this week. Oh poor us, right? First world problems. We are on a five hour time difference and haven’t been able to get back on EST yet. Alas…I think we suddenly turned a corner last night. Whew. Getting over jet lag is not as easy as it used to be.
Admittedly, it is kind of cool to get up so early, hop online, and get a bunch of work done before anyone is up. I also have this weird enjoyment of thinking about my team waking to a bunch of emails from me to start their day – evil laugh included here.
Denise, Addison, her friend, Lauren, and I fulfilled on a bucket list item of mine to ski the Swiss Alps. Last week for the March break we ventured over the pond to Zermatt. We all had a vision of what the experience was going to be like and all of us had our expectations exceeded! Waking up to see the Matterhorn looming over the town at 14,692 feet was how I want to wake up each day. Opening a Swiss branch office of GWM certainly crossed my mind!
It was such a different experience from Whistler, Banff, and other places we have skied. The views were breathtaking. The elevation was considerably higher than we were used to. The town sits at 5,000 feet above sea level and the peak of the mountain accessible by ski lift was 12,750 feet. We acclimatized over a few days to get to that height, making journeys to 8,000 and 10,000 feet. On our second last day, we hit the top and skied down into Cervinia, Italy, enjoying a day on the slopes of Italy. What?!? That is crazy right. Ski one day in Italy and the next in Switzerland. My mind was blown. I felt like I was home…which 31% of my DNA results from Ancestry tell me I was actually back in my native land.
The experience in the town of Zermatt was equally cool. Being so close to the border of Italy, we enjoyed a lot of great Italian food and wine. And don’t get any of us started on fondues! We topped out at three cheese meals and don’t want to see another bowl of hot cheese for a year. There are also no gas powered vehicles allowed in Zermatt, so getting into the town we had to take a four hour train ride from Zurich, and then flag down one of the many electric taxis to get around.
I would highly recommend the trip. Put it on your list of places to travel. Winter is great for skiing. Summer is great for hiking. All year around is great for pasta, wine, and cheese fondues. Oh, and you can even stop mid hill to enjoy some champagne at the Veuve Clicquot hut – one of our favourite stops!
The four of us agree that we are going to go back to explore more regions of the Alps in the coming years. I hope you are also fulfilling on your own bucket list items as life is short.
So what else is as high as the Matterhorn these days? The USA stock markets!!! They hit another new high yesterday. Crazy, crazy, crazy. The Federal Reserve has indicated they are staying on hold with interest rates for now. The USA economy is percolating along beautifully although inflation is not coming down quite fast enough to cut rates in the short term. It looks like rates south of the border are going to stay higher for longer with the expectation of a rate cut in June or July.
In Canada, our inflation rate has come down nicely and the economy is in good shape, allowing for the Bank of Canada to potentially cut rates mid-year as well. The European Central Bank has already indicated they are aligned for cutting rates perhaps before the USA. Singapore was the first to cut just this week.
Rates will most likely come down a touch this year, however, and the total amount of cuts will be much less than anticipated originally. This one is going to drag out a while and if the economy is chugging along and inflation is in check, then rates don’t necessarily have to come down as much in the short term. Policy seems to be working well.
As for the stock markets, this is a perfect economic situation of not too hot and not too cold, allowing it to run higher. However, I am thinking the markets have gotten ahead of what’s reasonable given the circumstances. I am going to ride this one for longer, and it sure seems like things are a little lofty at the moment.
On some other notes…
We have moved to a new Salesforce contact management system, and our experience so far has been less than enjoyable.
I moved to an RBC issued phone with a new cell number for industry related compliance reasons. You can always reach me on my work number at 905-434-4515 as it is forwarded to my new cell. If you want to reach me directly on my new cell number, I can be reached at 437-872-6282.
Nancy has received so many kind and generous notes from clients about her contributions to the team and clients over the years. So, thank you. Her drop-in gathering on April 11th is gathering steam. 4 to 6 pm at the RBC DS offices in Oshawa. It will be fun albeit tightly packed.
Leanne is settling in nicely with the team. Lots of training and learning systems and processes, along with getting to know clients. You will be hearing from her in due time. So far I am impressed with her hard work ethic, knowledge of financial issues and planning, and her bright disposition in the office.
That’s it for this blog. I have to get to Collingwood for a vet consultation for the dogs. Teeth issues. Don’t get me started. Some of you may recall the issues we’ve had with Matilda in the past and now both need some molars pulled. Denise and I are beside ourselves on this one. I even brush their teeth daily so it has to be a genetic thing. Who brushes their dog’s teeth?!?!
I also need to start working on taxes. Slips are out with a few more to come in I am sure. At least I can get a start on it.
Enjoy your weekend and be well.
Bye, auf wiedersehen, au revoir, ciao. Did I mention I want to learn Italian for the next trip?
Miles…