Fifty Words For Snow | September 2021

“There is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words.” Thomas Reid Most Canadians are familiar with the trope about how ‘the Inuit have more than 50 words for snow.’  A claim that was originated by anthropologist Franz Boas...

The Free Lunch Experiment | August 2021

“Free lunches don’t come cheap.” Charles Petzold In the nineteenth century, taverns and saloons would offer their drinking patrons a ‘free lunch’.  These inexpensive and salty meals kept the customers staying longer and consuming more of the high-margin alcoholic...

Inflation Conflation| July 2021

“Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair.” Sam Ewing Every now and then it would be nice to have a crystal ball.  As complete and utter bond nerds, one of the questions we would be asking...

The Bonds Must Be Crazy | June 2021

“Since becoming a central banker, I have learned to mumble with great incoherence. If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.” Alan Greenspan Summer has officially arrived and brought with it a healthy dose of optimism.  The sunshine and...

The Best Time To Buy A Home | May 2021

“The best time to buy a home is always five years ago.” Ray Brown This time last year, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation predicted that house prices would fall 9 – 18%. They got the magnitude about right, just the direction wrong. Over the past year,...

The Paradox of Experience | April 2021

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Oscar Wilde Experience is a great teacher and an invaluable commodity.  There is no substitute for it.  Or at least that’s what we tell anyone younger than us. The theory being that the more you see and do,...