China's exports soar (yay!) but so do housing prices (groan!)
So far yesterday’s China leakers are one for one. Yesterday Reuters reported that according to three unnamed people a government official had told an investment conference that May consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 3.1%, exports jumped 50% in the month, and...And this is what a good year for the airline industry looks like
How bad a business is an airline? Stunningly bad. Especially if we’re talking about an airline serving one or more of the world’s developed economies. All you have to do is look at what a recovery in the industry looks like. The International Air Transport Association...Leaked numbers enough to diminish fears about China's growth–for a day or two
If only this leak is correct. Reuters is citing three unnamed people who report that a government official told an investment conference that May consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 3.1%, exports jumped 50% in the month, and new loans totaled $92 billion. If...Is this the Son of Bounce?
Here’s one read of the stock market action of the last two days. Essentially what we’re seeing today and what we saw on Tuesday, June 8, is a resumption of the bounce that was demolished by the horribly disappointing U.S. jobs report on Friday, June 4. Before those...Inflation drops (a bit) in Brazil bringing an end to central bank rate increases just a little closer
Inflation dropped in Brazil in May. For the 12 months ended in May consumer prices rose at a 5.22% annual rate. That’s a drop for the 5.26% annual rate recorded in April. This is the first decline in Brazil’s inflation rate in seven months. The slowing of the pace of...The rising level of pessimism is making me optimistic
I love these poll results from Bloomberg. If you’re a contrarian, you’ll be licking your chops. The pessimism about the global economy is so thick you can cut it with a spoon. And so many investors say they’re shunning emerging stock markets such as China, Brazil, and...And now the spill in the Gulf is changing oil drilling in Norway–the effects really are global
The ripples from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico have reached Norway. Norwegian opponents to opening the fragile ecosystems around the Lofoten Island with their critical spawning grounds for cod to oil drilling are arguing that Norway needs to...Want to know when greed will start to outweigh fear again? Watch the price of copper
Got to wonder when the bargain hunters will emerge in the commodities market. Especially in the market for base metals such as copper, zinc, and nickel. Copper is down 24% from its April high. Zinc is down 38% and nickel 34%. Selling has been driven by fear that the...While you're waiting for the market to bottom, you should be working on your watch list. Here's an overhaul of mine
Many investors figure the smartest thing they can do now is nothing. They’ve raised the cash they need to raise and they don’t feel compelled to sell anything in a hurry. And they certainly don’t feel like there’s any rush to buy anything. Yep, doing nothing strikes...3 industry dominators that you've never heard of–but that you'll want for your portfolio when the dust settles
You’ve heard of these dominant companies. You probably even own some. And why not, a company that dominates a market segment makes more money than the #2 or #3 company struggling in its dust. For example, Cisco Systems (CSCO) owns 70% of the market for Ethernet...Is the global economic recovery about to go into reverse? Watch Germany's proposed spending cuts to see
In gauging the dimensions of a crisis, you have to make certain assumptions. One thing I’ve assumed about the current euro debt crisis is that no politician there would do something unusually stupid. Venial. Short-sighted. Duplicitous. Sure. But not something so...When to buy China's stocks? My leading indicator still looks positive for July but the reading is foggier
In my June 3 post “Think China’s bear market is a buying opportunity? Here’s one way to tell when to get in” https://jubakpicks.com/2010/06/03/think-chinas-bear-market-is-a-buying-opportunity-heres-one-way-to-tell-when-to-get-in/ I said watch the proposed $30 billion...Somebody in Hungary is lying and the euro pays the price
Now it’s Hungary that’s talking about default? Why does Europe remind me so much of the amusement park game Whac-a-Mole these days? This morning, June 4, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said that the economy is in a very grave situation. “I don’t...May jobs number is so bad it revives fears that the U.S. economic recovery will stall
The headline jobs number was a big disappointment. This morning, June 4, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 431,000 jobs in May. The consensus among economists called for 500,000 jobs. And the disappointment only increased when Wall...The Gulf oil spill is so bad that maybe, just maybe, energy legislation is alive again
You knew this was coming once BP (BP) admitted that the top kill effort to stop the flow of oil in the Gulf of Mexico had failed. On Tuesday June 1 U.S. Attorney General announced that the Justice Department has opened a civil and criminal investigation into BP and...Unemployment in China? Yes, if you're a college grad
Question: True or false? Workers’ pay is rising in China Answer: It depends on which workers. For blue collar manufacturing workers in China’s export industries, the answer is True. Foxconn, the subsidiary of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision that assembles Apple’s iPod,...The economic numbers that really move U.S. stocks are due tomorrow
Get ready for a flood of U.S. economic data tomorrow, June 4. U.S. stock markets opened ahead this morning on positive economic numbers and, more importantly, on anticipation that tomorrow’s numbers will clearly show that growth in the United States remains on track....Think China's bear market is a buying opportunity? Here's one way to tell when to get in
Have I got a China indicator for you. Like a lot of investors I think the selloff in Chinese stocks marks a buying opportunity—sometime in 2010. The Shanghai Composite Index is down 22% in 2010 and the market is deep into bear market territory. But that doesn’t mean...U.S. markets up, almost everybody else down
U.S. stocks are up. Almost every other stock market is down. Strange day. True, U.S. economic data was sort of good this morning. April pending home sales increased by 6%, way above the consensus of 4.3% growth. Revised March numbers showed a 7.1% increase instead of...Add rising political risk from Japan and Spain to the global toxic brew
Political risk moves stock markets. Investors are getting a reminder of that today from Japan where the resignation of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has sent the yen falling against all but one of the world’s most traded currencies. The Nikkei 225 stock index is down...Want to tag along as the smart money buys bank shares? Here are three stocks stocks that fit the strategy
The “smart” money is buying U.S. bank stocks. William Ackerman, who runs hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, recently bought 150 million shares of Citigroup (C). John Paulson, the manager of hedge fund Paulson & Co., added 11% to his already huge...Real estate sales fall by 70% in Beijing and Shanghai on China property tax fears
Shanghai has submitted a plan to begin China’s first property tax on residential real estate to the Beijing government for review. The plan is rumored to include a tax on people without residence permits and on those who haven’t filed an income tax return in three...New rules to lower already low yields on money market funds
Talk about terrible timing. New rules from the Securities & Exchange Commission that require money market funds to hold at least 10% of their assets in cash or in highly liquid investments such as U.S Treasuries that can be converted to cash in one day will reduce...Move over Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff–China is running history's largest financial scam
Maybe it isn’t precisely a Ponzi scheme but China’s banking policy sure comes close. And it sure isn’t monetary policy. China has made headlines by raising the reserve requirements for its banks repeatedly this year to a current high of 17%. The move has raised fears...Good news for the global economy: China is letting wages rise in an effort to rebalance its growth
Workers struck Honda’s transmission factory in Foshan, China, ten days ago. The most amazing thing about the strike, which forced Honda to suspend production at its four joint-venture assembly plants in China, is that we know about it at all. Most strikes in China...Projections for an active hurricane season helped drive yesterday's commodities rally
Who says you can’t do anything about the weather? When the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced yesterday, May 27, that it was projecting one of the most active hurricane seasons on record for the June 1 to November 30, 2010 season,...The selloff has created big bargains in dividend stocks–I'm adding two to my income portfolio
Once upon a time, I worked in an office beneath a sign that read: “We’re a non-profit company…but we didn’t plan it that way.” I feel a similar emotion as I write today about all the wonderful buys this market correction has created for dividend income investors. I’m...Is it real or is it just a bounce? Only your crystal ball knows for sure
So where does the stock market go from here? U.S. stocks are bouncing off the February 2010 low near 1040 on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index. Good news for anyone with money in the stock market. But what does it mean? Two possibilities Possibility #1: We’re...U.S. GDP revised lower but I think that's old news
We’ll see exactly what the fear level is today when U.S. stocks get a chance to react to this morning’s revision of first quarter U.S. GDP growth. Economists had projected that the Bureau of Economic Analysis would raise its estimate on first quarter GDP on its first...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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