Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - AI’s Big Promises

Our current bull market is effectively one gigantic bet on Artificial Intelligence. Since Chat-GPT was launched in November 2022, AI-related stocks have accounted for 75% of market gains, 80% of market profits, and 95% of capital expenditures in the US. The single most important issue determining whether this bull market will continue, is based upon the answer to a simple question. Will Artificial Intelligence, or the AI revolution, be able to deliver on its optimistic promises of boosting productivity and reducing costs? If so - all is well. If not - investors could be in for a world of hurt.

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 - Boomers & Home Prices

If you are thinking that your dream home is beyond reach - that could change given time. Demand for mid to higher end homes is likely to be lower as demographics shift. Baby boomers are aging, younger generations are smaller in number, birthrates are low, and policy changes have thinned immigration. This will bring a lot of housing units onto the market, as baby boomers, which are the largest home owning generation ever, make their exit. This could create a glut of middle and higher end homes. When supply is greater than demand, prices drop, and that is when dreams can become reality.

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 - Tech Spending & Growth

Massive investments in technology were the major driver of US economic growth in 2025. Harvard economist Jason Furman, calculated that technology investments accounted for 92% of Gross Domestic Product growth last year. Other research suggests that AI data center buildouts contributed more to the economy than all consumer spending in America combined in 2025. The huge flows of capital, concentrating on the the buildout of data centres and artificial intelligence capability, mask how weak the rest of the US economy currently is. I just hope that this capital investment can provide all the efficiency and economic growth the tech companies are promising, or there will be some unpleasant surprises ahead.

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 - Alberta’s Tax Freedom Day

We certainly pay a lot of taxes. Even in Alberta where the burden is less than most other provinces, tax freedom day didn’t come this year until May 25th. If the average Canadian family had to pay their taxes first each year, before keeping any for themselves, tax freedom day would be the date on the calendar you would actually start doing that. The average Alberta family pays $64,566 annually in taxes, which works out to 37% of total income. If you wonder where it all goes, 67.3% is passed on to the Fed’s, 26.3% stays with the province and only 6.4% trickles down to municipalities. As tax freedom day demonstrates, Canada doesn’t have an income crisis - but a spending one.

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 - New Issue Profitability

The new issue market is heating up again. Lots of companies are deciding that the timing is right to transition from private to publicly owned. Coming to the market for the first time and issuing shares is exciting because it gives investors the ability to participate in new opportunities. The important question - “Will these new issues make money for investors?” Between 1980 and 2024, companies that were profitable before they went public saw their shares over the next three years increase by 33.6%. Companies that weren’t profitable before going public actually saw their shares decline by 1/2 a percent over the same period. If you buy new issues that are already profitable - it is more likely, so will you.

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 - Canada’s Poor Economic Performance

Canada has become a world leader. Unfortunately it is in the areas you don’t want to be ranked. Our nations finances have deteriorated faster than any country in the G7 over the last decade. And if we expand this comparison to a larger group of the 40 most advanced economies worldwide, the results are very similar. Canada experienced the 2nd highest increase in its size of government and the 3rd highest increase in its overall debt burden, from 2014 to 2024. Canada’s fiscal discipline used to be the envy of the world - today as we sit in recession…not so much.

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 - Battery Storage

Companies that specialized in making lithium ion batteries have had sluggish sales growth the last few years. The problem is both from the batteries high cost and their limited capacity. But that is changing. As costs have come down and storage capacity gone up, batteries have found a whole new market besides electric cars. It has become economic for producers of renewable energy, like wind and solar, to store their surplus power in battery units for later use. Energy storage made up only 2% of percent of battery sales five years ago. China's CATL, the world's biggest battery maker, expects energy storage to account for half of its global output by 2030. This presents investors with a whole new avenue of growth.

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 - Trump - Mid Term Lame Duck

It appears that peace talks between Iran and the US are going nowhere. This also seems to be true regarding Canada’s free trade negotiations with the United States. One of the reasons both are stalled could be the American mid term elections in November. If current polling of voter preferences is even remotely accurate, the Democrats are expected to gain a majority in the House of Representatives replacing Trump’s Republicans. If this happens, it is going to be much harder for Trump to push through legislation. Dealing with a lame duck president might be a better situation for both Iran and Canada than they are facing right now - so why not wait.

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 - Dividend Aristocrats & Kings

One of the ways to measure how durable a companies profits are, is to look at its dividend history. Dividends are the portion of a companies earnings that get paid out to shareholders in cash. The premise, is, that unless profits are going up, the company eventually runs out of money to increase the dividend. In the US, there are 57 companies currently which have increased their dividends annually for at least 50 years. They are often referred to as Dividend Kings. In Canada, which is a smaller market, we only have two companies that meet this criteria, but there are another 11 that have hiked their dividends every year for the last 30. If you want to build a quality portfolio, looking at companies with long histories of dividend increases is a great place to start.

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 - Tariffs & China

America’s annual trade deficit with China today stands at roughly $202 billion US dollars. That is down from its peak only four years ago of twice that much. For Europe the numbers are going the other way. Their current $360 billion dollar trade imbalance with China has grown by 89% over the last decade. Europe, used to ridicule America for the tariffs and restrictions it used to put the brakes on Chinese imports. Now that Europe’s trade numbers have swung sharply in China’s favor, Europe is actively looking to do the same thing. The world is moving from free to managed trade. It has to, when dealing with countries like China, who don’t honour patents, heavily subsidize state owned business and restrict imports.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.