As is tradition here, a team from the mighty Dakeryn joined almost 50,000 other runners yesterday in the 29th Annual Sun Run. It was one of those brisk but sunny Vancouver mornings. All that fresh air, with crystal clear views to snow-capped mountains, seemed to make the 10K race more invigorating than exhausting. Soon after the finish line, we all met for a great Italian lunch on Commercial Drive. While we dined, ominous dark clouds suddenly rolled in, which soon gave way to an intense downpour. Change in the weather. One couldn’t help but draw parallels to markets of late.

Last week I overheard a guy talking on BNN, the Business and Financial News Channel. Not sure who he was, but he said something which triggered a thought related to wholesale lumber trading. He said that in his business he thinks of volatility as a tool, not a risk… which is something analogous to how wholesale lumber traders make a living – by creatively interpreting market change to advantage. Of course it seems like these days the variables that contribute to market supply/demand are more intense and more international than ever. And more of these variables are at play at any given time – more chaotic, more rapid in impact. As a fellow lumber wholesaler told me in the midst of chaotic markets last week, “This business is not for the faint of heart!”