Fortis and The Big Banks in Focus

 

As I grow my stock portfolio, I also keep track of the current BTSX portfolio on Matt's Dividend Strategy site. I own all the stocks listed along with the new addition, Fortis (FTS) ... a St. John's, Newfoundland utility company spread throughout North America and beyond.

Fortis has a current dividend of  $2.26 (4.08% yearly yield). The stock is up 3.49% so far this year.

The BTSX strategy is to buy the 10 stocks listed at the start of a year and sell at the end however I keep the list for long term until a see a reason to sell one or more. 

Looking it over currently, I can see higher than normal dividend yields. High in the 6 and 7% where prices for most of these stocks are down in price from previous highs. Market sentiment as investors watch what's going on and sell/buy accordingly. Interest rate hikes again in this month of June, 2023 by the Bank of Canada, oil prices, company financial reports/news, etc. all weigh in on that daily sentiment. 

July will be interesting where most of the top banks in Canada have ex-dividend dates and there's currently a lot of buzz about them having to shuffle more of their huge quarterly profits to back some possible/expected mortgage/loan defaults as per Canada's banking rules where interest rates increased once again. 

They have done this in the past with the cycles of high and low interest rates through the years but with some major bank collapses in the US recently, it's making investors nervous.

AI and Money

 

Canada burns and parts of the US are coughing from the smoke drifting down south. This has to be the worst for fires across the land with many out of control that I can remember ... from east to west coast. And ... it's only June while heart breaking for people that have lost homes and businesses.

With more bad news ... Bank of Canada is back at hiking interest rates to curb inflation which isn't happening. Meanwhile Banks are ready for loan and mortgage defaults, making people's lives more miserable and stress filled, as interest rates climb.

AI or Artificial Intelligence along with Machine Learning is the talk these days while some developers and experts in the field say "shut it down" knowing what the worst case scenario in the future could be ... going beyond human control. Reminds me of the movies and books based on that subject.

But ... it's all about the money for Tech companies developing it and businesses will use it to save money like cut jobs. Military uses are endless as long as it doesn't get out of control. Humans will think less ... it's like futuristic upgrade of Google search and applications.

Looking at the last half of June, 2023 ... Banks and financials are on my list to further buy like CIBC (CM) with a dividend yield of 6%. 

Power Corporation of Canada or POW also has a yield of 6%, remembering the percentage moves with stock price fluctuations. POW is a financial outfit and has several companies under it like Great-West Life to fintechs such as Wealthsimple.

Looking at the dividend calendar (filtering Canada) to June 30th ... there are too many stocks to mention here that I have a further interest in and some I will add to my Watchlist to further dig into to see if they are a decent fit or not, while seeking long term holdings.

In the Crypto scene, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) haven't moved much in their price ranges although there are spikes. A lot going on in the US while the Fed's SEC continues to go after exchanges like Coinbase. Coinbase could just throw in the towel and pay the huge penalty fines and comply which they have done in the past but their legal teams are fighting these current charges for now.

It's calm in Canada as long as outfits that set up shop here register and comply with the crypto rules and regulations of the land.