Real Inflation Rate

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Canada is the index used to show the general inflation rate. This is occasionally publicized to show how the cost of living is increasing. This index is also used as the guide for increases in inflation adjusted payments such as the Canada Pension Plan. There is thus an incentive for the government to minimize the true inflation rate to reduce pension payout increases.

Since 1986, The Economist magazine has used a method they developed to compare the relative cost of living in countries around the world based on the cost of a McDonald's Big Mac hamburger. The thinking behind this is that the cost of a Big Mac incorporates all the costs involved in producing a product: raw materials, labour, real estate, regulations and taxes. The cost of living in a given country could then be arrived at by looking at the cost of a Big Mac.

I thought of using this method to arrive at the true inflation rate in a country (specifically Canada) compared to the government stated CPI. This will not be as accurate as the comparison among the world's countries which takes place in the same year. My method looks at the price changes over many years and doesn't consider changes in the production of the Big Mac, such as a change (i.e., reduction) in size, and increases in productivity. But this difference would, if anything, understate the rise in the price of the Big Mac.

The chart below compares the cost of a Big Mac in Canada compared to the government provided CPI data for the years 2000 to 2024. The numbers converge at the 2000 starting year by factoring the CPI to match the cost of the Big Mac in that year.

I used the website Social Science Statisctics to generate the slope to even out the data and provide a more accurate estimation of the true rise by removing the effects of those points outside the general slope of the data set.

Based on the government supplied information, the CPI rose 56.1% from 2000 to 2024. Based on the cost of the Big Mac, the price increase for the same period was 166.7%, almost triple the stated CPI!

See the raw data here.

Billionaire Picks

For Q2 2026, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management fund has these as his top holdings.

Uber for its coming autonomous vehicles. – 12.7% [down from 15.7%]

Brookfield Inc. (TSE: BN) – For future infrastructure buildup Brookfield will partake in many private firms. 12.6% of portfolio. [down from 17.6%]

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) – 11.9%. [down from 15.3%]

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) – For its AWS which powers cloud computing world wide. 11.5%. [down from 17.4%]

Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) – 10.2% [up from 5-6%]

Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) – consistent fees from franchisees. 8.6% [down from 12.2%]

Meta Platforms (NYSE: META) – 7.8%

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) – ~4.8%

S&P Global (NASDAQ: SPGI) – ~3.6%

Visa (NYSE: V) – ~3.5%

Note that Ackman sold most of his Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) holding - reducing it from 6.1m to 312K shares! The reason is thought to be for the new large purchase of Amazon.

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Warren Buffett added Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) to Bershire Hathaway's holdings just prior to stepping down as chairman.

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Seth Klarman of The Baupost Group is a cautious value investor. This information is from the Q2, 2026 filing.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) – increased his holding by 47% in the latest quarter, so it is now the largest holding – 16.5% of portfolio.

Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) – 9.1% of portfolio

Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) – 9.0% of portfolio

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) increased position to 9.0%.

Ferguson Enterprises (NYSE: FERG) – 6.4%.

Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) – 6.1%

Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) – 6.0%

Visa (NYSE: V) – new purchase - sold three other fintech companies to buy this. 4.4%

WESCO International (NYSE: WCC) – 4.2%

Aon plc (NASDAQ: AON) – new purchase worth about $250m. An insurance advisory company. 4.2%

Norwegian Cruise Lines (NASDAQ: NCLH) – about $67m worth. Bought when price had declined.

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Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Capital holdings from their Q@, 2026 filing:

Natera Inc (NASDAQ: NTRA) – largest holding at 16.6%. A drug company current specializing in cancer screening tests.

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) – 5.4%

ST Microelectronics (NYSE: STM) – 4.5%

Invesco S P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSE: RSP) – 3.4% [down from 4.7%]

Insmed Inc (NASDAQ: INSM) – 2.9%

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: YPF) – 2.7% [down from 4.4%]

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) – 2.5%

BBB Foods (NYSE: TBBB) – 2.3% [down from 3.3%]

Other holdings: Alcoa (NYSE: AA); NewAmsterdam Pharma (NYSE: NAMS); Sea Ltd. (NYSE: SE); Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO)

International Brokerages

Researching on the way to have investments held in foreign country that is not subject to taxation on dividends or capital gains. Two possible countries to open an account are Switzerland and Singapore.

In Switzerland, BVC Bank in Lausanne has a trading arm.

Singapore seems to a popular choice and this WISE article details the criteria on selecting an international brokerage there. For Singapore they list DBS Vickers, Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Syfe Trade, Tiger Brokers, Moomoo, and Saxo Markets. For Singapore (and Hong Kong) Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is often the first one recommended on other websites. It is reliable and has been around about 50 years! But there are complaints about the complexity of the trading platform and with customer service, and they seem to be geared more toward active traders. Also, the parent company is from the U.S. so an IRS form W-8 is required to open an account. 

Here is a MoneySmart article on Singapore brokerages.

On a Google search I found KGI Securities (Singapore) Ltd. which is a subsidiary of KGI Financial Holding Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese company. They trade on the Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, NYSE and NASDAQ exchanges. They also note that an account can be opened without a visit to Singapore.

Saxo Markets is only open to residents of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia.

DBS Vickers commissions are typically 0.12-0.15%.

DBS Vickers trades on the following exchanges:
Singapore: Singapore Exchange (Main Board, Catalist, Global Quote)
United States: NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX & OTC
Canada: TSX & TSX Venture Exchange
United Kingdom: LSE
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Main Board & Growth Enterprise Market (GEM)
Australia: ASX
Japan: Tokyo Stock Exchange

To open an account at DBS Vickers (and probably other brokerages) are the following:

• Canadian passport.
• Proof of residential address.
• Proof of tax residency (or tax identification number, if applicable).
• Information about the source of your funds and expected trading activity, as part of standard AML/KYC checks.

You will also probably need to have a bank account in Singapore. 

 

Warren Buffett Investing Criteria

This chart shows some of the criteria that Warren Buffett uses in selecting investments. SG&A stands for Selling, General, and Administrative expenses. It is a major line item on a company's income statement that covers all the day-to-day, indirect overhead costs required to run a business, excluding direct production costs like the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).

Eric Nuttall

Investment manager for Nine Point Partners, Eric Nuttall has in-depth knowledge of the oil and gas business particularly in North America.

On his September 8, 2026 appearance on BNN Bloomberg, he provided his views on many of the top oil and gas companies. He sees that anticipated demand for natural gas (for data centers, etc.) has spurred increased production without an increase demand which has depressed prices. He doesn't see a natural gas price appreciation until late 2027 or 2028.

He favours Canadian oil companies as the best in the world to hold. Our companies still roughly trdae at par with U.S. counterparts whereas we should trade at a premium.

▲ Freehold Royalties (FRU; $17.53) – Dividend is safe down to the mid $50 oil price. Has good holdings. But Eric prefers Cardinal Energy as a good high yield stock that also has growth potential.

▼ Tamarack Valley (TVE; $13.73) – A well run company that they have made a lot of money on, but is fully valued. He would add to his position on a meaningful pull-back from this price.

▲ Athabasca Oil (ATH; $10.95) – A slow and steady grower worth holding, and still undervalued at $70 oil. They are looking at at 50% upside.

▲ Cardinal Energy (CJ; $11.94) – They hold in their income fund and he owns personally. High yield and good exposure to oil, a and higher oil would substantially increase stock price: $80 oil would make it a $17 stock!

▼ Baytex (BTE; $6.80) – Good company that they hold own, but it is almost fairly valued. Eric's fund holds a small position in the company. He is waiting to add if new CEO proves himself.

▲ Topaz (TPZ; $31.58) – A slow and steady grower worth holding, but fully valued at current price. Still a good buy for the dividend.

▲ Whitecap (WCP; $18.16) – A pass pick that he would still add to his top picks if it was allowed. Has a 25% upside. Insiders are buying stock. One of the best oil stock to own.

▼ Greenfire Resources (GFR; $6.20) –Too small and not a good quality purchase.

▼ Birchcliff Energy (BIR; $6.52) –Canadian natural gas and not a market to be in. Would not buy!

▲ Ovintiv (OVV; $87.89) – Excellent CEO and concentrated on lean production. Still trades at a discount. Would be a decent buy here. At $80 oil they see a $91 stock price.

▼ Kelt Exploration (KEL; $10.36) – A very small company but a possible takeover target. A speculative buy that he avoids and is fairly valued now.

▲ Enbridge (ENB; $69.20) – A good buy at this price (they just bought some more at $70 for their income fund).

▲ Tenaz Energy Corp (TNZ; $65.51) – A very good company but they cannot buy because of small available float. A pretty good value at current price and good potential on European gas demand.

His Top Picks:

Cenovus (CVE; $45.56) – Very excited about this company. Increasing share buy-backs. 30-40% upside from here.

Strathcona Resources Ltd. (SCR; $44.50) – One of Eric's larger holdings. Anticipating large special dividends in the near future. 61% upside at $80 oil.

Suncor (SU; $93.00) – Best integrated oil company in Canada, especially diesel price. Decades of inventory. 30-50% upside on $80 oil.

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See data from Eric's past appearances on BNN here.

Dividend Income

Most dividends received from companies located outside of Canada are not paid in full to stockholders. Most countries have a withholding tax on dividends though in some cases the tax can be partially reimbursed if there is a trx treaty between Canada and that country. But there are a few countries that do not have a withholding tax. This list includes prominent companies in each country.

• Brazil (Petrobras, Vale, Itau, Unibanco and B3)
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Hungary
• Estonia
• Latvia
• United Arab Emirates
• Qatar
• Malaysia
• United Kingdom (Shell, British American Tobacco, BP, HSBC, Barclays, Rio Tinto, Imperial Brands, AstraZeneca, Anglo American, Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline)
• Vietnam

Taxes

Minimizing taxes is important, but it is essential to use all the legitimate methods to avoid underpaying or being guilty of evasion.

Methods to reduce taxes:

1. Donating to a registered charity or political party.
2. Offset capital gains with any available capital losses.
3. Moving a stock from a cash account to a registered account may generate a capital gain or loss. Use this wisely: use any unused capital loss to offset a capital gain, or generate a capital loss to offset current or future gains.
4. As much as possible, have income from savings come in the form of dividends rather than bank interest, including GICs. One way to achieve this with minimal volatility is with minimum rate reset preferred shares.
5. Keep high yielding Canadian dividend stocks out of registered plans to take advantage of the dividend tax credit.
6. Keep U.S. listed dividend paying stocks in an RRSP or RRIF. This allows receiving the full dividend without U.S. withholding tax (due to a tax treaty).

I've used StudioTax, a paid software, in the past and found it very good; the amount of tax that I had to pay was exactly as the software had calculated. Wealthsimple provides a free tax filing service.

The website TaxTips.ca has a page showing the tax rates in Ontario for various types of income. Note that the percentages below do not include the addition of the Ontario Health Premium which can increase the tax rates by up to 25%!