By: Theophilos Argitis Bloomberg, Published on Fri Jan 30 2015

OTTAWA —The Bank of Canada’s decision earlier this month to counter falling oil prices with a rate cut was appropriate, the International Monetary Fund said.

The Washington-based fund also said the country’s federal government, which is on track to balance its budget this year, should consider putting future fiscal tightening on pause to promote growth.
“Maintaining monetary accommodation along with gradual fiscal consolidation at the general government level would be conducive to achieving a growth composition with stronger exports and, thereby, investment in the economy,” the IMF said.
Canada’s economy will expand 2.3 per cent this year, little changed from the 2.4 per cent pace in 2014 even with slumping oil prices, as the nation benefits from a stronger U.S. recovery, the IMF projected.

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By Chris Berry of Disruptive Discoveries Journal

Investors in the small cap mining sector are well aware of the “end game” for the junior mining plays - either a take out by a larger company or the mythical “get into production” (which few achieve successfully). Significant structural barriers including strong deflationary headwinds and traditional cyclical issues have altered this line of thinking. I think this mandates that we evaluate the natural resource sector differently.

This is why I continue to believe that those companies with a competitive and disruptive advantage are better placed to survive the current commodity collapse and emerge when global supply and demand forces eventually equilibrate in the future.

That said, if every crisis provides opportunities, the current metals landscape demonstrates significant pockets of value. If that is the case, there are two questions to consider:

Where is the value? And….

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By Rachel Fox of FoxOnStocks.com

Sundance, Dope, and a Blizzard 

No Babies No Bullets finished playing at the Music Lodge at Sundance 2015 a few hours ago, after playing a gig at NAMM two days prior. If you follow Indie music, these venues are an artist’s dream-come-true.

For my band and I, it’s been euphoric playing at these places, and as I’m experiencing it all and walking around, taking it all in, I see all of the big business that surrounds these artistic endeavors. There are sponsors and providers and suppliers — different companies that are present at these events, marketing their wares and such. Naturally, I think of the impact on these companies’ stock prices, as they participate in these world-renown annual events, such as the Sundance Film Festival.

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By Shonn Campbell of Trading Life

  “You will never win the battle if you are having a heart experience in a head fight. What you feel has nothing to do with what you know”
  “I never let emotion come into a business deal”

Those quotes are from Bishop T.D. Jakes and have been instrumental in helping shape my perspective on how trading works. Its profound. Business deals are not emotional. It’s is simply a spreadsheet. Does the business make money? Can it continue to make money with some relative conviction? That is by far the only two things that matter in business. And yet so many times I myself and other traders I believe approach this profession from exactly the opposite perspective.

So why do we bring emotion into it?

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