From April 2009 a time of still madness in Basketball, and on the Stock Markets, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,
For basketball at least, things are settled. The men are OK. The NCAA Women's final is tonight. However, the madness on the stock market continues on.
The Bank of Canada is considering "printing" more Canadian money. This action would dilute the value of the Canadian dollar. It would also assure runaway inflation very shortly. Interesting idea, hope they don't follow through on that one.
The TSX index was down again yesterday, but who knows what might come of today's training.
Mortgage Rates Drop
Across the board, Canadian banks have been dropping mortgage rates. This is good for borrowers who are getting new mortgages. It is also beneficial for those who are about to renew their mortgages. I am on a variable rate mortgage (ok a line of credit) so it does not affect (effect?) me, but still a good thing to see.
18 Canadian Billionaires
I didn't know that but there are 18 Billionaires in Canada (according to the CBC). Surprisingly I don't personally know any of them, and no I am not on the list either. Wonder how much tax they pay?
In 2025 there are over 70 Canadian Billionaires. Holy Cow! Are we calling them Robber Barons, or Oligarchs? Those are some Rich hosers, eh?
The Madness Ends (2025 Edition)
Or does it ever really end?
Back in April 2009, I wrote a short post titled “The Madness Ends”. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to March Madness. It also reflected the wild state of the stock market and the broader economic insanity we were all living through.
The post was optimistic. Maybe a little too optimistic.
Now it’s 2025. And looking back, I have to ask:
Did the madness actually end? Or did it just change form?
? From Bracket Busters to Bank Bailouts
In 2009, markets were reeling. The word “recession” was trending. The Bank of Canada was tinkering with interest rates. There were whispers of printing money (Quantitative Easing hadn’t gone mainstream yet), and homebuyers were nervously watching mortgage rates.
Fast forward a decade—and then another five years—and we’ve seen:
- A global pandemic - COVID, remember?
- Supply chain collapses
- Skyrocketing inflation - print money and find out
- A rapid rise in interest rates - what to do after printing lots of money
- Tech layoffs, then rebounds - AI and Robots come to fruition
- And yet… record stock market highs - and then catastrophic falls.
Madness didn’t end. It just evolved.
? The New Normal: Perma-Madness?
In 2009, the worry was about how fragile the system was.
In 2025, the worry is about how volatile and fast-moving it has become. Try to day-trade against AI and find out.
One day inflation is the enemy. The next, it’s AI disruption. Then it’s the central bank policy gone wacko. Markets now react to tweets, algorithms, and economic data within minutes. Just look at what the Tariff Trade War is doing, eh?
And regular folks?
We’re just trying to keep up—with our mortgages, savings, TFSAs, and sanity intact.
? What I’ve Learned Since 2009
- The market never really “calms down.”
- Predicting economic calm is like predicting March Madness winners: fun, but foolish.
- Personal finance still matters more than macroeconomics. Macroeconomics affects it however.
- And building a solid financial base (emergency fund, diversified investments, no panic-selling) is the antidote to madness. OK, maybe a panacea?
? So… Has the Madness Ended?
No.
But we’ve gotten better at living with it?
And just like in 2009, we still find ways to laugh. We continue to save, adjust, and move forward. We take it one month (and market cycle) at a time.
Strap in kids, this is going to be wild.
