With yesterday’s explanation of exchange rates, we can now examine investment opportunities resulting from a Chinese yuan increase. My focus will be on Chinese company stocks. The easy conclusion is that the yuan’s appreciation means we can earn a bonus return by owning Chinese securities. However, “easy” in investing usually means everyone is already... »
Expected Chinese yuan improvement could provide us with an investment opportunity. However, before going there, I thought a review of challenging exchange rate math would help ensure full understanding. To start, if I said I just bought gasoline for $3.00 a gallon, you’d know exactly what I meant. And if you saw that gas... »
Early Release of Monday, March 8, Write-up This week’s news reports have been filled with better-than-expected news about the economy, industries and companies. Importantly, this good news has made its way beyond the “leading” indicators to the “coincident” ones, confirming the economy’s recuperation is on track. The risks we are used to hearing about... »
Last week, once again, US investors placed most of their equity mutual fund purchases into international stocks. They love the growth going on elsewhere, especially in emerging markets. But wait! The news out of China is that it is investing in US stocks and real estate (“China’s investments in U.S. up sharply – The... »
When a product or service goes bad, there are three natural reactions: To punish those responsible, to help those harmed and to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I want to address the third item, which typically involves congress and government agencies ramping up protection for users. During such periods, we need to keep our... »
Avatar and Up nominated for Best Picture Academy Award? A science fiction movie and a cartoon? Just shows you that Hollywood is… well, what? Answering that “what?” actually gives us a window into the future stock market winners – and that future, delayed a bit by the economy’s recent turmoil, now is closing in... »
Consumer borrowing remains a concern for many investors. The thought is that people went on a borrowing binge and now the excess has to be undone. In the midst of economic hard times, the argument goes, this can only mean more bad news to come. However, all is not dark This concern has been... »
Ever buy a stock and then marvel at how the price immediately started down? After making such a trade, you are faced with two mental challenges: Questioning the wisdom of having bought Wondering if you should sell now to minimize the loss (See Ennui Risk, below) If you do hang on and then see... »
