Money laundering is a major problem affecting many countries in the world. But what exactly is money laundering? In simple terms it is one form of “washing” illegally-sourced money to convert into good money. I came across the following more details on this process:
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Mining is critical to the province of Ontario in Canada. According to Ontario Mining Association, mining contributed over C$8.0 billion to GDP in 2021. The industry employed about 31,000 workers in direct employment. Many other interesting facts about the industry are in the above link.
In addition to the economic benefits, the mining of metals and minerals is also important for the well-being of the people not only in the province but also everyone around the world. I came across the following infographic showing how various metals are used in everyday items and functioning of our society. For example, who knew gold was a critical component in Covid-19 test kits.
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Source: Ontario Mining Association
Related ETF:
Disclosure: No positions
The weapons industry is one of the major industries in the world. In some countries the industry accounts for a significant portion of the economy in terms of revenue, jobs and so forth. In the U.S. for example, defense companies are a source of employment for hundreds and thousands of workers. Similarly in developed Europe, thousands of workers are employed by defense firms. In addition to the need to fight terrorism, the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 have made these firms even more critical to countries around the world.
From an investment perspective, many defense stocks offer steady growth and decent dividends. One way to identify firms in this sector is to review the top 100 companies in the world published Sweden-based SIPRI each year and identify potential firms to research. The 2023 report was release late last year with data from 2022.
The following are some key excerpts from the report:
The Top 100 Arms-Producing and Military Service Companies, 2022:
Source: SIPRI
Some of the firms listed in the above list include:
It remains to be seen if defense stocks would have another great run this year. As with the overall market, defense stocks are also richly valued now. So investors may want to wait for pullbacks and add in a phased manner.
Disclosure: No positions
Equity markets do not always go up forever. Just like bull markets market crashes are also a feature of equity markets. However the good news is that stocks generally tend to recover after bear markets. So the trick for investors is not to sell out in panic when equities decline. Investors who are able to stomach the pain during bear markets and hold stocks for the long-term reap solid returns when stocks recover.
The following chart shows this concept in action in Canadian stocks. Similar to other developed markets, Canadian stocks also tend to return to growth after market crashes. The returns after 5-years for the three crashes shown above are indeed surprising.
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Source: Ontario Securities Commission
Related ETF
iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC)
Disclosure: No positions
Trading between the European Union (EU) and the USA in goods and services is one of the largest between major trading blocks. For instance, in 2022 the EU exported more goods to the US than it imported from the US. The below infographic also shows that generally between these two partners have increased over the years.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the EU has become a major market for American oil and gas exports.
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