Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - AI vs Software Software is a code or set of instructions, that tells a computer what to do and how to do it. For decades software companies have had the wind at their backs. As more and more sophisticated technology got developed, better software was needed for it to communicate with everything else out there. The threat to all this … is AI. Investors worry that artificial intelligence will make software companies redundant by doing their job much cheaper and faster. As a result, many software stocks have seen huge drops in price. Is this the time to jump in and go bargain hunting? That is a tough question, because opinions are all over the map. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Gold Backed Reserve Crypto One of the reasons gold has had such an incredible run, is the growing belief among financial types, that cryptocurrency backed by the yellow metal, could eventually replace the US dollar, as the world’s reserve currency. Its creation would be outside government control, allow borderless monetary transactions and importantly, would not be backed by any debt choked fiat currency. This is certainly not something that will happen tomorrow. But as the world becomes more and more sceptical about US foreign policy, and its rapidly deteriorating financial situation, the need to develop a financial infrastructure to eventually replace it, becomes more urgent. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - When Risk Gets Riskier Bull markets follow a predictable pattern. In their early stages, money flows into high quality investments. As they become overvalued, investors look at the next rung down for things that haven’t yet participated in the rise. These are usually lower quality and higher risk. This self reinforcing loop continues until even the most volatile, risky assets have been discovered and become fully valued. When the good times end, these risky, volatile assets, are the first to drop and also experience the biggest slide. As this bull market gets long in the tooth, it is important for investors to do an inventory of their holdings. Nobody wants to get caught being overexposed to risk … when markets tumble. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Valuing Bitcoin Bitcoin has traded between a high of $123,000 and a low of $63,000 over the last 12 months. The question is, how do you value whether it is cheap, and time to buy, or expensive, and time to sell. Bitcoin has no physical assets, no sales, no profits or patents. Nothing that gives us a set of metrics, or way to calculate its worth. Its value, is whatever the majority of buyers and sellers think it is at any given time, and that number can change dramatically over even short periods. This makes Bitcoin a very controversial investment. Because there is no conventional way to gauge its worth, your guess as to a fair price, is probably as good as anyone else’s. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Gold’s Golden Era These are very exciting times for holders of gold stocks. Four years ago, the spread between a gold miners production costs, and what they could sell their product for, left them with a profit of about $600 US per ounce. Today with gold around $5000, their profits have ballooned to $$3500 per ounce - almost 6 times higher. These are the biggest profit margins in modern history and leave gold miners with extra cash to raise dividends, buy back stock, pay down debt and grow production. All of which are shareholder friendly. For miners of the yellow metal, this is truly a golden era. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Estate Sale Bargains Virtually every time I go shopping on Amazon or at a retail store, I came away with sticker shock, shaking my head in disbelief at how fast prices have climbed in the last few years. This unaffordability, has caused a resurgence in discount, next to new, and second hand transactions, as people look for ways to stretch their dollars. One area that shouldn’t be overlooked are estate sales. As boomers pass on or downsize, an enormous amount of items are coming up for sale. Boomers, or the kids who inherit this pile of stuff, just want to get rid of the clutter, and are incentivized to move it - often at bargain prices. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - The Seven Trillion Dollar Question To make Artificial Intelligence a functioning global reality, requires enormous resources. The cost for all the AI programs, data centres, computers, semiconductors and electrical generating infrastructure is expected to reach 7 trillion dollars over the next decade. What no one seems to be asking, is where are the profits going to come from to pay for all of this. Even a profit margin of 10%, which is less than 1/2 of what tech companies normally expect, would mean these assets need to generate 700 billion in profits annually - an enormous sum. Can they do it? Investors are betting 7 trillion dollars the answer is yes. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or .CFCW.com

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - USMCA Will Be A Grind Canadian’s have pushed stock markets ever higher. Pricing them to perfection and assuming that nothing could happen to disrupt their rosy economic outlook. People for the moment are ignoring the very difficult round of trade negotiations with Mexico and the US, starting in less than four months. Trump has made numerous derogatory remarks about Canada and our Prime Minister has made comments about the US that have further escalated things. Markets don’t like the tough, the grinding, the brutal - but that is exactly what these talks are expected to be. Investors might want to temper their bullish enthusiasm until they get a clearer understanding of how these trade negotiations are likely to turn out. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - USMCA & Opportunity Under the USMCA trade agreement, the U.S., Canada and Mexico must meet on July 1, 2026, to determine whether to extend the treaty for another 16 years, negotiate changes or withdraw. If they cannot reach consensus, the agreement continues with annual reviews until its scheduled sunset in 2036. Expect there to be a lot of sharp disagreement as Trump has already declared that he is looking for major concessions before he commits to its renewal. It is in these times, investors want to have cash available on the sidelines. Critical meetings with lots of drama, often provide the best buying opportunities of the decade. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - The US Policy Uncertainty Index It might be tempting to seek safety when markets get rattled, but high levels of uncertainty can actually be positive for stocks. There is an index which tracks how investors feel about out the economic times they are in called the U.S. Economic Policy Uncertainty Composite Index. Research over a 40 year period between 1985 and 2025, has shown when levels of uncertainty are high the S&P 500 rises 19% on average. The rest of the time the S&P 500 returns 11.6% annually. Typically, when bad news is commonly known, it is already priced into the markets. This gives investors an opportunity to shop for bargains when prices are down. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Who Is Right? The best descriptor I have heard summarizing the investment outlook for 2026 - is a dumpster fire. The world seems to have gone crazy. Trade friction, a global arms race, regime change in Venezuela, threats of it in Iran, and endless wars in Ukraine and Gaza, have made the world an uncertain place. Even though the year has gotten off to a chaotic start, you would never know it by looking at the markets. Stocks just shrug off the negativity and keep moving from new high to new high. Aggressive investors either know something the rest of us don’t, or they will eventually pay the price. Time will tell. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Incomes Need To Catch Up The government has put the brakes on record numbers of people immigrating into Canada. Fewer bodies have lowered demand for everything from health care to groceries. Slower population growth has the effect of reducing inflation and increasing affordability. The good news, is this decision has helped Canadian rents fall 5 months in a row, bringing them down 5.4% over the last two years. The bad news is they are still 14.1% higher than they were in 2019. We need lower inflation and stable prices to continue for a while, so wages and incomes can eventually catch up. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Silver Demand Silvers dramatic price moves are a classic example of supply exceeding demand. Silver has few peers when it comes to conducting electricity. Its use in electric cars, solar panels and data centres, means that industrial products are now by far the biggest driver of demand. On the supply side there has been little incentive to produce more, because 72% of silver inventories come as a byproduct of zinc and copper mining not from primary producers. As a result, even when you include recycling, the demand for silver has outstripped its production for the last five years. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Copper Miner Reluctance If copper usage is expected to increase dramatically, why aren’t miners doubling or tripling their efforts to find and develop the resources necessary to keep up with demand. The answer is simply profit. Miners need the price of copper to stay above $11,000 a tonne on a sustained basis to break even on new mines. Currently the orange metal is trading at 20% above that, but miners worry how sustainable that level is. Copper is notorious for its volatility. Soaring prices seldom stick. Copper miners need higher prices for longer before being convinced to invest billions of dollars on what could be a losing bet. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CWCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Federal Debt Last year Canada enjoyed hitting a number of financial records. The stock market, residential real estate and household wealth reached all time highs. The one crown we shouldn’t be proud of, is our Federal Debt. That wall of red ink, according to the Fraser Institute, climbed to an inflation adjusted 2.35 trillion dollars last year. This is the highest level of Federal debt in our history, increasing 4.2% over the previous year. In dollar terms, this works out to $56,432 of Federal debt per person . Next time you talk to someone younger, thank them in advance for paying for something they didn’t create or benefit from. For more information listen to my Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Recycled Silver Investors are continually bombarded with stories that metal production is not meeting demand and as a result, big shortages and skyrocketing prices are the future. Silver is a good example. The amount of product coming out of the mines has not kept up with demand for the last 5 years. The problem with these numbers, is they conveniently leave out the heavy influence that recycled silver has on the supply/demand equation. It accounts for 20% of total supply. As prices rise, more and more people are pulling out grandma’s old silverware and cashing them in at the local scrapyard. When you include recycling in the equation, metal shortages are less bullish for prices than often portrayed. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Beyond the Magnificent Seven All investors want to talk about is Artificial intelligence, data centres and computer chips. It is like nothing else exists….but it does. European banks, for example, have outperformed America’s Magnificent Seven over not just one, but the last five years. Many markets in Asia, Europe and even South America beat the US last year. People think American technology is the centre of the known universe and limit themselves to a very small investment pool of securities. There are lots of unnoticed global companies that have done extraordinarily well, and are far less expensive than the Magnificent Seven. They are worth a look. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Silver Profits If you want to understand why silver stocks have gone crazy, just look at the math. Last year silver prices averaged about $28 an ounce, and it cost about $20 an ounce to pull the metal out of the ground. At those prices, silver miners were making money, but no one was getting rich. Fast forward one year, and we find that production costs haven’t changed much, but the selling price of silver has tripled. Companies who kept their costs in line, have seen profit margins increase by 9 times. This is an industry that has gone from so so - to printing money … and silver mining stocks have moved right along with them. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Sport Betting Fraud One of the risks of sports betting is fraud, and it has just raised its ugly head. The US recently charged 20 people for operating a betting ring that fixed US College and Chinese Professional basketball games. This group bribed players between $10,000 and $30,000 to deliberately underperform in order for their teams to lose and for fraudulent bets to pay off. This point-shaving scheme involved 17 NCAA Division I programs, 39 players, and 29 games that prosecutors say were fixed or attempted to be fixed from 2022 through 2025. If you sports bet, fraud is always a risk. For more information listen to our Making Money Podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Gambling Is Not Investing The lines between gambling and investing are becoming more and more blurred. In the US there are now platforms that let you bet on the outcome of a football game and then with the proceeds turn around and trade your favorite stock - all on one site. Yet gambling and investing are very different activities. Betting on who will win the next election or whether the Oilers become Stanley Cup champions is entertainment. Investing is putting money into wealth building assets that generate cashflow and profit over the longer term. Mixing the two and blurring their distinction is a very bad idea. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.