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U.S. tech stocks have gotten extremely expensive. The big-name tech companies (i.e., , , and are all trading well North of 30 times earnings, while some smaller ones like ( ) are at 60 times I’m not saying that U.S. tech stocks are necessarily overvalued today. However, the further their prices rise, the lesser the odds that they will continue to rise further. We are currently in the midst of a two-year bull market in tech stocks that shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, you could argue that we are in a 16-year bull market in tech stocks, one that was interrupted very briefly in 2018, 2020, and 2022 but never seriously challenged as a long-term trend. The periods just referred to were technically “bear markets,” but they didn’t last long. The 16-year trend is clear. You have to wonder how long this party can go on for — the U.S. tech sector is currently valued at an amount approaching that of U.S. GDP. That doesn’t mean a bear market is a near-term certainty, but on a long-term basis, these valuations could cause some problems. In this article, I will explore why U.S. tech stocks have gotten so expensive and why “this time isn’t different.” 46 times cash flow According to CSI Market, the U.S. tech sector is currently trading at 46 times cash flow. The company’s report does not state whether it is talking about operating cash flow or free cash flow, but the multiple is extremely high regardless of which cash flow metric you look at. 46 times cash flow multiples tend not to last long. The U.S. tech stocks are growing, so the multiple could come down because of that. However, these companies’ growth rates are, in many cases, not that high. Also, the growth could reverse, like it did in 2022. The incredible story of Palantir’s nosebleed valuation One company that serves to illustrate the priciness of U.S. tech stocks is Palantir. Trading at 200 times adjusted earnings, 354 times reported earnings, and 60 times sales, it is one of the most expensive large cap stocks of all time. The company’s stock got expensive thanks in no small part to an army of retail investors who “pumped” it on X (the social media app formerly known as Twitter). If history is any indication, PLTR will come crashing down like the meme stocks of yesteryear. Some alternatives to consider If you’re worried about overvaluation in the U.S. tech sector, you could move your money into non-U.S. stocks or bonds. Non-U.S. stocks are than U.S. stocks on average, despite, in many cases, performing as well in fundamental terms. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) of Canadian stocks would make a lot of sense here. The are more heavily concentrated in value sectors like banking, energy, and utilities compared to the U.S. markets. So, investing in a TSX index fund could be one way to diversify your portfolio away from the 60-times-sales wonders dominating the U.S. markets. Consider ( ), for example. It’s an ETF based on the S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index — the 240 biggest Canadian stocks by market cap. The fund actually holds 220 of the 240 stocks, meaning that it represents its benchmark fairly well. Why would an investor consider taking a position in a fund like XIC? First, it’s very diversified, which reduces the risk in its holdings. Second, its holdings are fairly modestly valued. Third, its management fee is only 0.05%, so you don’t need to worry about paying most of your return out to the fund managers. It all adds up to a very sensible fund that could diversify your portfolio away from the unbelievably expensive U.S. tech sector.

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Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega and his wife are set to assume absolute power after loyalist lawmakers Friday approved a constitutional amendment elevating her to the position of “co-president” and boosting the pair’s joint control over the state. Under sanctions for human rights abuses, Ortega himself had proposed the change, which also increases the Central American country’s presidential term from five to six years. Nicaragua’s National Assembly is under control of Ortega’s ruling FSLN party, and parliament chief Gustavo Porras said Friday the measure was approved “unanimously.” It is all but guaranteed to pass a second reading in January. Ortega, 79, has engaged in increasingly authoritarian practices, tightening control of all sectors of the state with the aid of his powerful wife, 73-year-old Vice President Rosario Murillo in what critics describe as a nepotistic dictatorship. The ex-guerrilla had first served as president from 1985 to 1990, returning to power in 2007. Nicaragua has jailed hundreds of opponents, real and perceived, since then. Ortega’s government has targeted critics, shutting down more than 5,000 NGOs since 2018 mass protests in which the United Nations estimates more than 300 people died. Thousands of Nicaraguans have fled into exile, and the regime is under US and EU sanctions. Most independent and opposition media now operate from abroad. The constitutional amendment stipulates that “traitors to the homeland” can be stripped of their citizenship, as the Ortega government has already done with hundreds of politicians, journalists, intellectuals and activists, among others perceived as critical. Ortega and Murillo accuse the Church, journalists and NGOs of having supported an attempted coup d’etat, as they describe the 2018 protests. The change also allows for stricter control over the media and the Church, so they are not subject to “foreign interests.” And it gives the co-presidents the power to coordinate all “legislative, judicial, electoral, control and supervisory bodies, regional and municipal” — formerly independent under the constitution. – Guarantees succession – Manuel Orozco, a Nicaraguan analyst for the Inter-American Dialogue, told AFP the reform “guarantees the presidential succession” of Murillo and the pair’s son, Laureano Ortega. The Geneva-based UN human rights office (OHCHR) in its annual report on Nicaragua warned in September of a “serious” deterioration in human rights under Ortega. The report cited violations such as arbitrary arrests of opponents, torture, ill-treatment in detention, increased violence against Indigenous people and attacks on religious freedom. The revised constitution will define Nicaragua as a “revolutionary” and socialist state and include the red-and-black flag of the FSLN — a guerrilla group-turned political party that overthrew a US-backed dictator in 1979 — among its national symbols. Constitutional law expert Azahalea Solis said this change excludes other political ideologies, while Salvador Marenco, a human rights lawyer exiled in Costa Rica, said it will end political pluralism and the doctrine of separation of powers. “Everything in the reform is what has actually been happening in Nicaragua: a de facto dictatorship,” Dora Maria Tellez, a former comrade in arms of Ortega turned critic, told AFP from exile in the United States. When it was proposed by Ortega earlier this week, Organization of American States secretary general Luis Almagro described the amendment as “an aberrant form of institutionalizing the marital dictatorship.” He also labeled the initiative an “aggression against the democratic rule of law.” With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.