May has been a little more positive and calmer than April. We continue to be shaken around by news headlines and tweets which makes the day-to-day activities very challenging to say the least. Our job more than ever is to guide you through this volatility and not get caught up in the negativity. 

The big topics remain tariffs and the larger size of the U.S. deficit. The U.S. administration continues to squeeze trade partners, and this will probably continue all summer. With a budget going through the system now which looks more like spending than fiscal responsibility, it provides more fear for inflation. The market does continue trying to price all these factors in which explains why there is short-term volatility. I think the U.S. market has priced in everything except the scenario for what if everything they are doing works. They want more jobs and less regulation which leads to more growth which offsets the deficit issues. Bottom line - the U.S. is where capital will flow because of these polices. 

In Canada we have a new Prime Minister with the same government but no immediate direction or polices as of yet and we  wait more certainty. Our economy is struggling and until we stabilize trade issues and have more direction we could have a stagnant market for a while. Europe which has done well as capital fled the U.S. to what was perceived to be cheaper markets there. I do not see this lasting as this area has very little growth with trade issues and conflicts on their borders. China has its own issues and in addition they also have trade issues with the U.S. which will continue to be a problem for China in the foreseeable future. 

Like it or not the best area for capital and growth remains the U.S. market. The themes of artificial intelligence, the need for more power and the build out of data centers remain strong and will continue even with all the day to day noise. Housing is also way under supplied and has to rebalance based on the population growth. 

We will continue to navigate this interesting time using the themes above to our advantage.