Last October, enthusiasm for Brazil had reached epic proportions. And why not? Not only had the iShares MSCI Brazil Fund (EWZ) risen 175% off its November 2008 lows, but the country constitutes one of the essential building blocks in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China, India) fortress. Indeed, the country boasts the world’s 7th largest economy, a consumption-oriented middle [...] Continue Reading...
The motion picture, “Contagion,” tracks the movement of a lethal virus that kills millions in a matter of days. Will the worldwide community come up with a cure? Or will the pandemic spread, annihilating every creature in its path? I don’t know the answer… I haven’t seen the movie. In fact, I don’t even plan to see the film because I [...] Continue Reading...
The Federal Reserve’s Fed Funds Rate is a target interest rate at which banks may lend money to each other overnight. For years, the U.S. central bank has targeted the rate at a paltry 0.00%-0.25%. And based on Bernanke’s comments one week ago, expect the bulls-eye to remain at 0.00%-0.25% for several more years. Economists generally acknowledge that lowering rates for [...] Continue Reading...
How confident should you be about Democrats and Republicans reaching an accord on raising the debt ceiling? Confident enough. Don’t get me wrong. I always have my stop-limit orders protecting key ETF positions. It’s just that the bond market as well as the stock market both agree… a deal will get done. 10-year treasury yields are still offering a [...] Continue Reading...
The minute the Fed floated “QE3″ on 7/13/11, I added more to my positions in funds like WisdomTree Asia Local Debt (ALD) and WisdomTree Emerging Market Local Debt (ELD). Both bond funds are unhedged for currency fluctuations, giving shareholders an opportunity to benefit from a reasonable yield AND gains against the greenback. Granted, when the entire [...] Continue Reading...
Less than a year ago, China eclipsed Japan as the world’s 2nd largest economy. And there’s little doubt that China will uproot the U.S. as “numero uno,” though the anticipated hand-over date may be a decade more in the making. Drilling down by region, however, the Asia Pacific ex-Japan designation should supplant the U.S. midway through the next presidential [...] Continue Reading...
Can you name the developed country that hasn’t experienced a recession in close to 20 years? It’s Australia. And not only did the land “down under” weather the dot-com disaster that ushered in the 21st century, the nation also made it through the global credit collapse of 2008. Equally worthy of note, Australia was the first developed world sovereignty to raise [...] Continue Reading...
Until recently, scores of gurus had questioned the sector rotation into non-cyclical sectors. April jobs numbers were “phenomenal” and corporate earnings were sensational. Why should investors sell in May and go away? Yet telecom, health care and consumer staples (e.g., toothpaste, peanut butter, etc.) were rocketing up the relative strength percentile rankings. And many analysts explained that the April-May [...] Continue Reading...
Demand for foreign bonds in foreign currencies have obliterated analyst expectations. For instance, Wisdom Tree Emerging Market Local Debt (ELD) swelled to nearly $1 billion in net assets in 9 months time. By way of comparison, the dollar-denominated PowerShares Emerging Market Sovereign Debt Fund (PCY) began nearly 3+ years before ELD, though both PCY and ELD have roughly the [...] Continue Reading...
I want to believe that I am still a capable basketball player. I am 6′ 2″ with an ample frame. I’ve got a fair amount of skill with my left hand. And I genuinely enjoy the half-court offense. (Translation: I’m “bulky,” left-handed and I don’t particularly like to run.) The reality may be even more dismal. [...] Continue Reading...
