In North America and Europe, investors love utility companies. The companies have long term horizons, they tend to capital intensive which helps stop competition, they are regulated by the government which tends to mean price increases every year, if you examine the economy of the area many people and companies use the product which tends to mean good cash flows and the companies are well managed. There is a lot to love above the investor-owned utility. In addition, the demand from big data and AI is a good thing for utilities. All the wonderful things investors like about utilities makes them vulnerable to wartime attacks.

In an article by Eric Reguly of the Globe and Mail, Ukraine’s largest private power producer is called DTEK and before the war with Russia generated 25% of Ukraine’s electricity. CEO Maxim Timchenko announced emergency power cuts in Kyiv and the Dinpro and Donetsk regions. The Russians have been sending drones with missiles to target Ukraine’s generation and transmission systems in an effort to freeze the people of Ukraine. DTEK has 8 coal-burning power plants. At the beginning of the war, Russia targeted the transmission systems, but now it targets the coal plants. In April of this year, 90% of the plants were damaged or destroyed. However, with foreign funding and surplus parts from Europe, over half the power was restored.

In November and December, Russia launched 700 missiles and drones and 210 went through most of the targeting the infrastructure system which had been repaired. DTEK is repairing once again.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, no utility company wants to go through the war outside of nature’s natural disasters, but a war can teach how to get operations up faster and continue the process to earn cash flow. If you own utility stocks, which many have done well, it is important to ask what lessons have they learnt from the ability of Ukraine’s utility to bounce back.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

In the past, what politicians say is important, now days it seems what they actually mean is subject to interpretation. No politician identifies this more that President Trump. After he says something, then his advisors interpret the words, and they tend to mean something else. President Trump could have good reasons, but as he moves into his Presidency, we will see how the words reflect affect reality.

In an article by Gram Slattery of Reuters, President Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal accusing the Canal authority of charging too high of rates for ships to cross to connect the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The Panama Canal was started by the French but they could not complete it. The zone was taken over by President Teddy Roosevelt era and they had a 100-year lease. In 1997, the US and Panama signed a treaty that reverted the Canal to the government of Panama and in 1999 the Panama government took full control. The Canal initially provided a quicker way to move goods from the East Coast to California during the gold rush era. With the rise of container ships, the canal has increased in size to accommodate larger ships carrying goods from China to the US.

The President of Panama Jose Raul Mulino said every square inch belongs to Panama and we are keeping control for us. For the US to gain control, it would tend to mean a war, not just a monetary buyout or acquisition.

Linking to dividend paying companies, if you pay attention to the messages of corporate Presidents, the words have been written and vetted by senior management. If the numbers are positive, what the President says can mean less, because the company is profitable. However, the words will be analyzed by many investors to see what is says and does not say. President Trump maybe an exception, but words matter and resources are allocated based on words.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Where you are born, you tend to be concerned about that country. For those who move away to another country for better opportunities, you are concerned with that country as you move about being a citizen. For the rest of the population, when a country changes or stabilizes from the past it is a good thing, however as an investor you have to narrow your alternatives.

In an article by Patricia Cohen of the New York Times News Service, for most people in the world the changing of the government in Syria is a good thing. The past Bashar Assad’s government sent half the population outside the country and the rest was essentially a war zone. The infrastructure needs to be replaced and 90% of the population is living in poverty. However the country does have assets.

Before the war, Syria produced 383,000 barrels of oil a day, at present that is down to 90,000 according to the World Bank. The country has been importing more oil than it exports and the pipelines to deliver oil and gas to Iraq, Jordan and Egypt need repairs.

In terms of the government, Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of the rebel coalition has taken power. However, the US government has a $10 million bounty for his head due to his previous links to al-Qaida. Will the US take off the bounty and over sanctions to Syria? Some of the other sanctions were financial, to try to slow down financial abilities of the Assad’s government. These sanctions do not allow people to send money to family in Syria. Will banks be allowed to send money?

In every war, the middle income people move with their feet or flee the country. In Syria more than 8 million fled the country, will they come back? will some of them want to come back?

To the north of Syria is Turkey. The country has more than 3 million refugees, will they go back to Syria. At the moment, one method to capitalize on the country’s infrastructure needs is Turkish companies are expected to win some contracts. On the Turkish exchange, stocks in steel and cement companies have risen. However, with all construction projects, they take time to bid on the contract, win the contract and do the work. How the safety and security of the country will depend if the companies do any work.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, there is always hope for more, but more tends to mean better supply systems and the country seemingly normal in operations. You may or may not like the government, but if there is reasonable peace and security, money can be made in the country. Ideally, profitable companies have evaluated many countries in the past and will continue to evaluate them which allows them to move forward with plans knowing the returns will meet expectations. If it is good for the company to move into the market, perhaps it is good for you to look at alternatives.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

In every economy there are choices or allocation of resources and comparison to other countries. Every time the economy grows, there can be surpluses which can mean one of 2 things – either collect less or do more. In every country there are people are less well off than others so doing more is always an option, the big problem is the turnout at the election box tends to be less. The other choice is collect less by cutting taxes and that is an option because those that pay more in taxes vote in higher percentage. What should politicians do? If you think back before the holidays, the US congress had a vote on deficits and eventually the bill passed. The US deficit to GDP is about 6.5%.

In an article from Reuters, the second biggest economy in the world is China. For the past 2 decades China’s economy was in a growth state and running surpluses or it was the envy of the world’s economy. Then COVID happened the economy was shutdown by government regulations and property prices fell, along with high local government debt and slowing consumer demand which led to a weakening economy which led to deficits. The Chinese government and the US government are in the same position – the debt to deficit is rising with China’s number to come in around 4%.

The Chinese government is projecting growth by 5% which is a long way from the double digit growth of the past. In China the press looks to the Politburo. The government had been projecting a 3% deficit but has increased it to 4% which translates into an extra $255 billion in spending.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in most things in life including with investing there are alternatives or choices. With all alternatives there are positive and negatives with each but one needs to be selected. The hope is with increased data analysis and a helping of AI, the expected outcomes can be narrowed or can be switched before too much time has elapsed. There are always choices or alternatives, and the idea is to have looked at the alternatives before you make a decision, not to justify it afterwards. The is always homework to do, benchmarks to make and be ready to know when your idea did not work. Often times investing in profitable companies gives you the luxury of time to make your decision.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

If you are involved in politics besides voting, but belonging to a party and being active in it, you will quickly realize that when you are in opposition you will not like something the party in power is doing. When tides shift as they often do, your party will be in power and they will have to govern. The first thing the party in power will do is to change the regulations they do not like. It does not matter if the regulations make the world better, the party in power does not like them and they will be changed. Eventually the party will have to govern and often later will deal with the consequences of changing the regulations.

The classic example is pollution laws or environmental laws. A plant makes a product, the plant generates jobs which is good for the local economy. The downsize is the plant’s process dumps garbage into the river which someone downstream has to drink. Overtime whatever is in the river gets into people, they get sick and sue the company. The company has to change the process but what about the people? If they have good lawyers, they find the company knew that someone was going to get sick and the company will need to pay compensation in the cost-benefit equation. Often times to pay compensation, companies will be reorganized to limit the overall effect to the company. What is better for the plant to produce the item or to produce the item and protect the environment? There have been many lawsuits in the past, and likely will be in the future.

In an article by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Kirkham of Reuters, the Republican transition team is recommending sweeping changes to cut off support for electric vehicles and charging systems and to block lower cost electric vehicles from coming into the US from China according to documents seen by Reuters.

It is well known, President-elect Trump besides being friends with Elon Musk does not like electric cars or the charging systems need to ensure electric cars are run. He likes vehicles that run on fossil fuels and wants to promote them with the slogan Drill Baby Drill.

In the US, electric vehicles are expensive, although in China the cost can be less than $10,000. The more expensive vehicles have received a $7,500 tax credit for vehicle EV purchase, the Trump team wants to clean up the tax code and eliminate the deduction.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies benefit from the government in power, sometimes it is easier to see and sometimes governments make it more difficult, but governments play a role. Sometimes regulations make it difficult to compete, which has the effect of helping existing companies, sometimes regulations allow in the competition, there is a balancing act. Governments will change as people change, as an investor you love stability to make profits.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Every company does social media as that how to reach an audience. Every company has the same idea that reaching out to people will drive demand of their products and services. Given the spending on social media, every company hopes they are successful, but what happens when they are successful? Companies want demand, but not exceptional demand.

In an article by Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times News Service, one of the oldest breweries in the world Guinness is having a wonderful problem. There is too much demand for their dark beer. Guinness was seen as an old-timer’s beer, but it has been a Gen Z darling thanks to a savvy marketing, celebrity endorsements and a viral drinking challenge.

The viral drinking challenge is called split the G, this entails drinking enough in one chug to leave the foam scything the first letter of the branded glasses.

Guinness was the top beer in Britain by volume sales in the year to November, according to CGA by NIQ hospitality data consultancy. From July to October, sales were up 21% while beer sales nationally were flat.

If you went into a British pub and there was no Guinness you could try some Irish alternatives, but for Irish pubs or themed pubs not having Guinness means it is not an authentic Irish pub.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, every month and maybe day there are marketing campaigns to encourage people to spend money. It is wonderful if the campaign works, however if it works exceptionally well and there is a shortage of products, people look for alternatives. Once they have tried the alternatives, they may or may not go back. Every day as an investor you read about software programs using AI to help manage inventory and the supply system, there is limited reasons for shortages.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

If you only followed the Nippon Steel company acquisition of US Steel you would see and hear politicians decry the lost of the ownership of the domestic steel industry. The cry would be that Nippon Steel should not be able to buy US Steel because ….. and both President Biden and President-elect Trump have agreed with no purchase. You may think that there is no industry that is ok for Japanese companies to buy. You would be wrong.

In an article by Anton Bridge of Reuters, Nippon Life Insurance is in the final stages of buying Resolution Life Holdings Inc. The deal is worth $8.2 billion and is the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese insurer.

Nippon Life would purchase the shares it does not own from Blackstone Group LP and others and make Resolution Life a wholly owned subsidiary in the second half of 2025. The insurer would pay for the shares with cash in hand.

The desire for the deal is to buy growth as the Japanese market is shrinking and the population is aging.

This is the second purchase of an insurance company, Nippon Life paid $3.8 billion for a 20% share in Cambridge Financial.

In other insurance companies news, property and casualty insurer Tokio Marine Holdings bought specialty insurer HCC Insurance of $7.5 billion in 2015; in 2011 bought Delphi Financial and in 2008 bought Philadelphia Consolidated for $4.7 billion.

Resolution Insurance based in Bermuda is a closed-book insurer that purchases existing insurance policies from insurers in the US and other countries. Nippon Life has owned a 23% stake in the firm from 2019 with a purchase of $1.68 billion.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in all industries there are international competition but in some markets particularly financial as long as the largest players are domestically controlled, there is plenty of acquisitions that can happen without the political input. With your investments for companies that compete globally, but based in the US how does the government help or protect the interests of the company?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

All industries have associations both domestically and internationally, these associations examine the macro approach to the industry. Most of the time there is a positive spin because they are designed to be optimistic if certain conditions apply. However somewhere in the reports are the overall trends or outlook for the industry. It is helpful as an investor you examine the trends in the industry to keep abreast of the outlook and how often the associations update the outlooks.

In an article by Emma Farge and Joanna Plucinska of Reuters, global airlines body International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast industry-wide 2025 revenue at more than $1 trillion and record passenger numbers. Chief of the IATA Willie Walsh said there were some difficult headwinds such as supply chain problems.

Both Boeing and Airbus are behind in delivering more fuel efficient planes. Engine makers had a series of setbacks, however the aerospace industry says it will gradually return to normal but not before the summer of 2025.

The net profit for the industry is expected to be $36.6 billion up from $31.5 billion in 2024, with a record 5.2 billion passengers flying. (in comparison the airlines lost $140 billion during the pandemic in 2020.

Which airlines will make the money is why the investor needs to do their homework.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, everyone is trying to pick the next great stock, but in the long run buying profit companies which can pay dividends but helps protect you and can make you wealthier. Start with the big picture or the macro and move down to the micro by sticking to best in breed companies.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Most politicians love simple slogans and with them people can form an opinion of what that means. Often the slogan is something that embraces the candidate for he or she has a track record connected to the slogan. Political slogans such as change or moving forward to the future imply the other party wants to keep things the way they are or is not looking forward to the future. And very often the implications have bearing in truth. The President-elect slogan is Make America Great Again and he seems to want to go back to a time when manufacturing jobs were unionized and there was an abundance of them in the US. The big problem his party has encouraged business not to be unionized and given the high cost of labor, the supply chains have moved operations to lower cost labor areas of the world. Similar to lower prices, there is always a lower price somewhere and somewhere in the world there are always lower labor costs. As long the infrastructure can move the goods along, those countries are competing for low wage manufacturing jobs.

In an article by Keith Bradsher of New York Times News Service, while President-elect Trump wants to impose tariffs on countries similar to China, the country of China is suggesting it will impose restrictions on products going to the US. Beijing’s decision to order a trade embargo on the export of 4 critical minerals to the US. The concern is a provision extending the ban to companies in other countries that transfer minerals to US firms after acquiring them from China. This is called the transshipment on exports.

The ban threatens to divide global supply chains by forcing companies to choose where products with certain materials and components can be supplied only to the US market or only to the Chinese market.

On December 3, the same day the Ministry of Commerce published the ban, 4 government linked trade associations directed companies to avoid buying American computer chips. 2 days later, the Ministry of Finance unveiled a draft plan to overhaul the bidding on government contracts, heavily favoring companies that product in China. (Former White House advisor on economic issues Stephen Moore said recently the US could impose tariffs at the same time as offering incentives to American companies to do more manufacturing in the US, although President-elect Trump has said nothing about the idea, he only wants tariffs)

Governments have a right to impose tariffs if they want to, however when it is your top trading partners, the other countries have a right to do something that will hurt the US in the short term. Similar to most things in life, they are not as simple as a slogan, unless the government wants to subsidize parts of the economy. Right now there are desires to cut the budget, not subsidize.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, some of these companies are the large heavy weight companies that have made and benefited from the existing supply chains. To change it may mean less profits, which means they will lobby to ensure their company is left alone to do its thing. As you examine your investments how does the supply system work?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.