- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
Macro View: Investing in Russia
Time Magazine chose Vladimir Putin as Person of the Year 2007. Their choice brought controversy, particularly on the heels of the latest Russian election results.
While investing in Russia might be warranted, the first job for investors and traders is to step back from the ‘talk’ and evaluate opportunities and risks. There is no need to rush in, particularly in light of previous debacles: remember August 17th 1998?
Douglas Helfer, manager of the HSBC GIF Russia Equity Fund, wrote:
Insight:Investing in Russia brings risks and rewards
Russian equities have underperformed most global emerging market peers by a wide [...]
Which ETFs are the hot money chasing?
Nothing attracts buying like skyrocketing price. Here are the top 30 exchange traded funds that investors are chasing right now, listed in order of recent performance.
[TABLE=10]
We rank and sort our database of the top 300 ETFs on a daily basis and provide exact buy and sell signals for our clients.
Wednesday Media Digest
5 Myths About the Poor Middle Class
The American middle class is fighting for its life — or at least that’s what Lou Dobbs would have you believe. The CNN anchor’s rants about “the war on the middle class” are probably the most prominent examples of such economic doom-saying, but he isn’t alone. Democratic presidential candidates pepper their debates with references to the assault; leading liberal thinkers argue that supply-side conservatives captured the Republican Party during the Reagan administration and implemented policies that continue to privilege the super rich today. They tell a compelling tale of middle-class decline. Pity it [...]
For Kids: NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center
Having delivered presents across Australia and Asia, Santa is currently flying over Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Kids young and old can track Santa at the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center as he flies toward North America.
The Evolution of Screen Resolution
2008 will mark our tenth year on the internet. IntelligentSpeculator.com was my first website, and back in the day, web standards meant designing for 640 x 480 x 16 web-safe colors.
Tens years on, we can see from Google Analytics that 68.8 percent of our visitors are using screen resolutions higher than 1024 x 768. This new layout is in keeping with the increase in resolution, and if it doesn’t look quite right on your screen, my suggestion is to try bumping up the display.
I use two 17″ monitors, both set on 1280 x 1024. [...]
The Flood of Money into Agricultural Sector Investments
The news seems to be filled with stories about droughts, leading many to expect higher crop prices next year. The Peter Lynch response would be to do some research agribusiness companies.
One way is to use an exchange traded fund such as the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF [MOO] which invests in best-of-breed companies around the world. Canadians can check out the Claymore Global Agriculture ETF [COW:TSX].
Looking at performance against the S&P 500 index since September, we see that ADM has caught up to MOO. Investors are taking concentrated bets, making Archer Daniels Midland a one-decision [...]
Weekend Media Digest
Managing Mega-Caps
Portfolio Manager Nikos Monoyios on the benefits of investing in mega-cap stocks.
Economic Diary Week Ahead: German CPI, U.K. House Prices
Germany releases preliminary inflation figures for December, the Nationwide Building Society publishes U.K. house price data and Japan reports on industrial production. Bloomberg’s Lucy Meakin and Richard Dean preview the economic calendar for the week of Dec. 24. David Stubbs, senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, also comments.
Distressed Debt Hedge Funds: Wait Til 2008
Corporate defaults at quarter-century lows have dashed the high hopes of early-bird distressed hedge funds, but observers are telling them, wait ‘til next [...]
Update: Coal is Smokin’
DJ Wilshire U.S. Coal Index Outperformance
On December 10, we surveyed Jim Cramer’s “rotate out of coal into natural gas” recommendation.
While there may be a “green” argument for natural gas on a fundamental level, the fact is that coal is powering … China. As a trader, I told our clients:
To recap, Cramer said to rotate out of coal and into natural gas, but so far, coal is still the strongest relative momentum sector here. The smart money must follow the dumb money until sell signals flash. Still, there is nothing wrong with a little diversification, especially if [...]
Ethanol: Is Archer Daniels Midland a Double Threat?
U.S. President Bush signed into law Wednesday legislation “that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it “a major step” toward energy independence and easing global warming.” This news gives hope to those holding onto battered ethanol stocks.
Not long ago, this sector had a major run to the upside. It was only a year ago that Ethanol was touted as the saviour from “$100-a-barrel crude oil.” Ethanol stocks were riding at an incredible wave of optimism, a sentiment cycle high: high prices accompanied by fundamentals that [...]
Weekend Reading: ECB Financial Stability Report
Everywhere I look, central bankers have been made the whipping boy for not responding “correctly” in the latest financial crisis. Criticism has been shrill to say the least, particularly against Greenie.
This really bothers me. I mean, do the critics really think that central banks have that much power? Can monetary policy unwind imbalances caused by irresponsible fiscal policy? Is it their duty to take away the punch bowl, a.k.a. legislate against stupidity?
Hell no. They do what they can. And it might not be much.
The European Central Bank has just published their December [...]
Answers to The Season’s Vexing Questions
There will be countless lumps of coal stuffed into stockings this year. Santa sure knows that the investment industry has been much more naughty than nice.
Still, it might be easier to explain (and potentially redeem oneself after taking) multi-billion dollar writedowns than:
Answer a young daughter’s question so to why Zoey 101 might be cancelled, or,
Answer a young son’s questions about Santa’s authenticity: Was there a real Saint Nick? When did gift-giving begin?
So as we head off to make the rounds this holiday season, remember, spirit counts for more than anything:
As you may recall in years past [...]
Press Digest for Thursday
Why is the gold standard crazy?
In short, you don’t get anything out of a gold standard that you didn’t bring with you. If your government is a credible steward of the money supply, you don’t need it; and if it isn’t, it won’t be able to stay on it long anyway. (See Argentina’s dollar peg). Meanwhile, the limitations on the government’s ability to respond to fiscal crises, the necessity of defending against speculative attacks in times of crises, and the possibility of independent changes in the relative price of gold, make your economy more unstable. It’s a terrible idea, [...]
Twitter.com/smarterstops
