Hobbies I am interested

Hobbies I am interested are

- Reading, I borrow books from library or read in bookstore

- Stock market/Investment analysis, do it mostly online/computer

- Taichi, I took lesson, just finished the whole set recently, now it's time to practise myself.

- Jogging/hiking, daily walk/jog in my neighborhood or join a free hiking club.

- Camping/Fishing, with a small fee for camping site/fishing license, it's very low cost

- Travel, I mostly drive around in north america. This is the usually the best family time for the year.

Except travelling, most of the hobbies are really cheap.

Hobbies I plan to take
- Digital photography - need to take formal lesson
- Hunting Gun - need to take class and get license.
.......

Bot BIN.to at 34.01

Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. is a Canada-based waste management company. The Company provides waste collection, recycling and disposal services to commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers in 13 states of the United States and the District of Columbia and in six Canadian provinces. It serves its customers with vertically integrated collection and disposal assets. Its Canadian business principally operates under the Progressive Waste Solutions, BFI Canada and WSI brand names. It provides vertically integrated waste collection, recycling and disposal services in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Its Canadian business also provides disposal services in the province of Saskatchewan. The Company focuses on tracking productivity based operating metrics and managing its business to optimize returns against its asset base. It believes that improving asset utilization drives growth and profitability.

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BIN.TO&ql=0

Suncor Energy Slips To Loss In Q1

As expected, SU earning is bad this time. SU share price is down.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU: Quote,SU.TO: Quote) reported that its net loss for the first quarter of 2015 was C$341 million and C$0.24 per share, compared with net earnings of C$1.485 billion and C$1.01 per share in the prior year quarter.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2015 was impacted by the same factors that influenced operating earnings described above and also included the impact of an after-tax foreign exchange loss on the revaluation of U.S. dollar denominated debt of C$940 million, compared to an after-tax foreign exchange loss of C$308 million in the prior year quarter.

Quarterly operating earnings fell to C$175 million and C$0.12 per share, from C$1.793 billion and C$1.22 per share, in the prior year quarter, reflecting the lower crude oil price environment. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of C$0.14 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company has made significant progress on the cost reduction initiatives announced earlier this year. Suncor expects that the C$600 million to C$800 million in planned operating budget reductions will be substantially realized in 2015, ahead of the previously projected two-year period. Suncor is also on track to achieve the C$1 billion reduction to its 2015 capital budget while maintaining steady progress on the key growth projects already under construction, including Fort Hills and Hebron. The cost reductions have not impacted the company's continued safety, reliability and environmental performance.

FCX breaks out

the Good news is FCX breaks out today, it's currently $22.81, I am up 17% since my buy.

sold ECA @16.87 for 14.7% gain

I am still concerned about oil market, so sold ECA.to @16.87 for 14.7% gain. When market tank, the gain can disppear quickly.

look at NOV, it dropped 7% this morning, my 10% gain becomes 1 or 2% now. I added 30 shares of NOV @51.17 today. probably I can do better next time.

5 money secrets to a happy retirement

http://www.moneysense.ca/retire/5-money-secrets-to-a-happy-retirement

How much should you save? Where will your income come from? Retirement guru Wes Moss has the answers you need for a happy retirement. Moss is a student of what makes retirees happy and has identified five money secrets of what goes into a successful retirement. Actually, only four of them are money-specific. The other secret, Moss’s first, is the most important: deciding what you want to do with all that retirement money.

Turns out the happy retirees are those who are passionate about at least three “core” pursuits. By contrast, “unhappy” retirees have less than two core interests.

Moss is only 38 but is fast becoming a guru for those who aspire to a happy retirement. By day, he’s a mild-mannered money manager, the chief investment strategist for Atlanta-based Capital Investment Advisors. In addition, he’s the host of a live radio financial advice show called Money Matters, which airs in Atlanta. He’s the author of three books, including one that focuses on the five money secrets: You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think.

Oh, did I mention he was famously a participant on Donald Trump’s hit TV show, The Apprentice? He got half way through season two in 2004. In an interview with me, he confesses: “If I were to make a recommendation to a younger adviser, I’d say never go on a reality TV show, but it worked out. I got out unscathed. I didn’t win but there was no damage.” And living in the spotlight for a while set the stage for Moss’s career as a public speaker and broadcaster.

Now about those five secrets. Once you’ve decided on what you’re going to do in retirement, you need to figure out how much money you need to save to achieve this. Here’s where one of Moss’s most popular concepts comes in. In a nutshell, Moss has developed a Thousand Bucks a Month Rule that says you need to save $240,000 for every $1,000 a month you will require in retirement income. This assumes a retirement that begins no earlier than 60, and the money you save is the amount needed to fill the “gap” between what’s provided by government-issued retirement benefits and employer pensions and what’s needed for your projected lifestyle.

Let’s assume you are getting $1,500 a month from the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and possibly the Guaranteed Income Supplement as well. Assume another $1,500 will come from your employer pension. So you have $3,000 coming in but your aspirations require $5,000 a month, so your monthly “gap” is $2,000. Based on the Thousand Bucks a Month Rule, you’d need two chunks of $240,000, or $480,000 in invested capital to generate that extra $2,000. Fortuitously, $480,000 is almost exactly the magic number that most “happy retirees” view as the minimum necessary to achieve their retirement objectives.

Moss’s Rule is based on generating a 5% annual investment return. That’s slightly more than the 3% or 4% guideline championed by financial planner and author William Bengen, but it’s a return that Moss believes is eminently achievable through his fifth money secret: become an income investor. He recommends building a portfolio of dividend-paying stocks, high-yield bonds and alternative investments. You may not quite make it to a portfolio that generates 5% in income, but even if you have to slowly break into your capital, most nest eggs should last several decades.

Secret three, by the way, is to pay off your mortgage in as little as five years, which is exactly what I’ve always argued: the foundation of financial independence is a paid-for home. And Moss is in the U.S., where the wisdom is that mortgages can be dragged out because the interest is deductible.

Secret four is to develop an income stream from at least three or four sources, not just one. Unhappy retirees too often have only government benefits and an employer pension to live on. Moss wants to see multiple streams of income even if some of them are mere rivulets: real estate rental income, part-time employment income, investment income, income from royalties, etc.

Moss’s book contains only a short list of book recommendations. One I’m reading is Lowell Miller’s The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth, a book that is one of Moss’s investment bibles. Another is Dan Buettner’s The Blue Zones, which is about longevity.

In our interview, I ask Moss if there is a contradiction between planning for both extended longevity and early retirement. “A legitimate question,” he concedes, “they are a little contradictory. We all know people who have lived a long time: I have several clients in their 90s. But then there are those who left this world too early: couples who retired only when they were financially set and six months later the husband is gone with cancer. Sure, maybe we will all live longer but so many people don’t. I want to help people enjoy the time they do have.”

We agree financial planning would be so much easier if we just knew the exact moment of our deaths. But who’s in that situation?

Sell in May and go away

May is just a few days away. I will be cautious to add new position, probably try to reduce my position.

below is a copy from Wikipedia

Sell in May and go away is an investment strategy for stocks based on a theory (sometimes known as the Halloween indicator) that the period from November to April inclusive has significantly stronger growth on average than the other months.^[1][2] In such strategies, stocks are sold at the start of May and the proceeds held in cash (e.g. a money market fund); stocks are bought again in the autumn, typically aroundHalloween. It is the belief that its better to avoid holding stock during the summer period.

Though this seasonality is often mentioned informally, it has largely been ignored in academic circles (perhaps being assumed to be a mere superstition). Nonetheless analysis by Bouman and Jacobsen (2002) shows that the effect has indeed occurred in 36 out of 37 countries examined, and since the 17th century (1694) in the United Kingdom; it is strongest in Europe. While the effect may reflect a failure of the efficient-market hypothesis, alternatives exist such as small sample size or time variation in expected stock market returns.

2015 Canadian Federal Budget Summary

• The budget proposes to increase the Tax-Free Savings Account annual contribution limit to $10,000, effective 2015;
• The budget proposes to reduce the minimum annual withdrawal amount for Registered Retirement Income Fund holders, effective 2015;
• The budget proposes to increase the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption applicable to capital gains realized on the disposition of qualified farm or fishing property to $1 million, applicable to dispositions after April 20, 2015 ; and
• The budget proposes to decrease the federal small business tax rate to 9% by 2019.

Received Tax refund

Received the biggest tax refund this year. Thanks to Conservative Party. There are a number of tax changes made by conservative party.
1) income split, max benifit $2000.
2) increased tax credit for children fitness class, changed from $500 to $1000 per kid

I will vote for Conservative Party for next federal election.

sold SU.to @40.03 for 14% gain

energy sector will continue to be volatile, so I am locking in profit on SU.to.
the purchase price was 35.01, gain is (40.03-35.01)/35.01 = 14%, Will buy it again when the price is right. I believe the oil price will go lower from here

Google and Starbuck earning report after hour

I am very happy to hear the good news from our two holding stocks.

Google earning reports after hour,
Google Inc's revenue climbed 14% as the number of ads on the companys search properties gained. shares is up 4% in extended trading hour.

Starbuck

Shares of Starbucks Corporation SBUX 2.27% jumped over 4 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported results for the second quarter.

The Seattle, Washington-based company reported a quarterly profit of $494.9 million, or $0.33 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $427 million, or $0.28 per share.

Its revenue climbed 18 percent to $4.56 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.33 per share on revenue of $4.52 billion.

World-wide comparable sales climbed 7 percent, while traffic gained 3 percent. U.S. comparable sales increased 7 percent in the quarter, while traffic rose 2 percent.

Net revenue for the Channel Development segment climbed 16 percent to $428.0 million.

Starbucks added 1.3 million new My Starbucks Rewards members during the quarter.

Consolidated operating income climbed 21 percent year-over-year to $777.5 million, while operating margin rose 40 basis points to 17.0 percent.

During the quarter, the company opened 210 net new stores.

Starbucks announced its plans to open 1,650 stores this year.

The average estimate among 77 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.34 per share and revenue of $4.51 billion for the second quarter.

For the third quarter, the company expects earnings of $0.40 to $0.41 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.40 per share.

Starbucks shares climbed 4.90 percent to $51.85 in the after-hours trading session.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/15/04/5438851/starbucks-shares-rise-after-q2-results#ixzz3YAmYVBH2

Added SLF @38.61, Bot BAM.A @67.8

As I was away yesterday, my limited orders I placed a day ago triggered.

So I added SLF @38.61 and BAM.A @67.8. BAM.A issued new shares at $56 USD. convert to Canadian dollar, the share should be valued around $70 Cdn. BAM hardly go down, so I take this opportunity to start my position.

In the mean time, Energy stocks continue moveing up strongly. my NOV is up 3%, ECA is up 1%.

JNJ announced 7% dividend increase  today.

ECA continue to climb today, up 13%

I am so glad that ECA.to continue to climb today to $16.6, its up 13.5% since entry point.

top 10 holding - BMO Global Energy Class

Company Name	Position	Allocation	1 Month Change	Market Value
Data as of Monday, Apr 13, 2015 During the oil downturn, Fund manager has increase pipeline holding sinificantly, ENB and TRP, among these 2, ENB is better.
Whitecap Resources Inc WCP	Long	5.9%	+79.55%	$2.5M
Suncor Energy Inc SU	Long	5.4%	+18.25%	$2.3M
TransCanada Corp TRP	Long	4.7%	+182.79%	$2.0M
Enbridge IncENB	Long	3.8%	+212.05%	$1.6M
Secure Energy Services IncSES	Long	3.6%	+54.71%	$1.5M
Storm Resources LtdSRX	Long	3.6%	0.00%	$1.5M
Parkland Fuel CorpPKI	Long	3.2%	+22.27%	$1.3M
Tourmaline Oil CorpTOU	Long	3.1%	+2.75%	$1.3M
Canadian Natural Resources LtdCNQ	Long	3.0%	0.00%	$1.2M
PrairieSky Royalty LtdPSK	Long	2.9%	+15.50%	$1.2M

Bot VIAB @$71.1

simply too itchy to sit  still, bot VIAB @ 71.1

Viacom Inc. (Viacom) is an entertainment content company that connects with audiences in over 160 countries and territories and creates compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form video, applications, games, consumer products, social media and other entertainment content. The Company operates through two segments: Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment. Viacom Media Networks’ program services reached approximately 700 million households in over 160 countries. Viacom Media Networks operates the international extensions of the multimedia brands MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET, as well as certain program services. The Company’s Filmed Entertainment segment produces, finances, acquires and distributes motion pictures and other entertainment content. under the Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies brands.

bot 30 shares of CNR.to @81.1

I have 30 shares of CNR shares bot @78, today's shares is additional shares to increase my weigh in industrial sector. this is not momentum buy, it is more on the buy and hold side.

my ECA.to bot couple days ago is doing really well, as of today, it $14.56, its up 7% since I bot on Monday. only wish I bot more at the first place.

sold 100 shares of NPR.UN for 5% gain

I have 200 shares of NPR.UN, sold 100 shares bot at $23.88, the profit is 5.3%.

I still have 100 shares left, to continue my dividend collection

Sold BMO.to @78.5 for 2% gain

Sold BMO.to @78.5, its a small 2% gain as I already have RY, BNS and TD. Too much bank stock so reduce a bit.

Bot ECA.to @14.56 today

Bot 100 shares of ECA.to @14.56 today, 1 penny above the lowest price.
with PE 2.x, the stock is insanely cheap.yield is 2.4%, annual dividend is $0.28.

The purchase adds $28 to my yearly dividend income.

In the mean time, EMR is started to rock up 2% today. the timing is perfect.

Portfolio Update - Latest holding

Financial:   BNS.to, TD.to, BMO.to, RY.to, SLF.to, MFC.to
Telecom:  BCE.to T.to, RCI.B.to
Utility: IPL.to,  TRP.to, PPL.to
REIT: NPR.UN
Energy: SU.to, NOV, FCX
Industrial: CNR.to, EMR
Consumer:  UL, SBUX
Tecknology: GOOGL
Healthcare: JNJ
Total: 23 stocks
Total value: $57012
Yearly dividend: around $2049