How’s China’s economic restart looking? And what does it mean for investors?
As troubling as these developments are, it’s important not to lose sight of the good that appears to be taking place right now. Investors that focus only on the negative tend to miss out on the opportunities.
In order to sustain this population and our growing demand for resource-intensive animal-based foods, the World Resources Institute estimates that crop production will need to increase by 56% from a 2010 baseline.
As we look at emerging from the coronavirus pandemic, it is now becoming clear that there may be some long-lasting impacts to the world that will affect politics, economics and investments. Are we heading towards a world of two asset classes: the U.S. and China?
Tensions between the US and China are flaring up again. With pressure mounting on Chinese stocks listed in the US, including those widely held in emerging-market portfolios, investors need to consider how to prepare for the mounting risks.
Chinese stocks have been resilient this year because of relatively modest earnings downgrades amid an early recovery from the virus-induced shock.
How has the coronavirus shock changed medium-term fundamentals? And how does that change our long-term asset views?
Great investment opportunities are lonely. History shows us the crowd behaviors to avoid and the investment market circumstances to capitalize on. We believe we are at one of the great junctures, where the crowd thinks they unequivocally know the future.
Against this backdrop of anything-goes spending, the idea of having a national currency backed by a real asset like gold seems less and less crazy to some. Doing so, it’s believed, would force lawmakers to practice fiscal discipline, reign in inflation and normalize international trade.
China's economy looks to be well on its way to recovering from the coronavirus-imposed lockdown with consumer spending, manufacturing and investment bouncing back. But can we trust China's macro numbers?
Neil Howe foresaw a global crisis that would upend society. He didn’t know it would be a pandemic, but, throughout his career, he has been predicting a “fourth turning” – an event that would reshape societal norms and usher in a new generation of leaders.
Ben Powell writes that China may change policy at the delayed National People’s Congress in three key areas: the GDP target, household registration reform, and – crucially for markets – fiscal stimulus.
The economic calendar is light with a focus on housing reports. These are becoming interesting again since we are getting a look at data that reflects the crisis effects. The reopening of the economy will continue as the leading story. What will be the safeguards in reopening businesses and the precautions taken by those venturing out?
There has been so much coverage of COVID-19 that some of the language of epidemiological models used to forecast the virus’s evolution is now familiar to us. But for those who do not fully grasp how those models work, here is a little primer.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the renowned investment firm Tweedy Browne. The firm was originally a broker, and one of its clients was Benjamin Graham. I interviewed six members of Tweedy, Browne’s investment committee.
Our Head of Equities Stephen Dover gives his take on the new globalization, how the US Midwest may be the next emerging market, and what he thinks it means for strategic industries and supply chains.
I knew this letter’s topic months ago. It was going to be a review of the Strategic Investment Conference, which would have just concluded fabulously in sunny Scottsdale.
U.S. investors are helping Australia’s exchange-trade funds withstand one of the roughest periods for financial markets.
Asian businesses are gradually rebooting after governments quelled the initial wave of the pandemic. Conditions may be improving for regional value stocks that were beaten down before and during the pandemic.
The First Eagle Overseas fund (SGOVX) has an exceptional 27-year history. Since its inception, it has returned 9.15% versus 4.03% for the MSCI EAFE index. It was originally managed by the legendary Jean-Marie Eveillard. I spoke with its current management team about how the fund has performed during the coronavirus crisis and why financial professionals should look to diversify outside the U.S. markets.
For more than a couple of months now, I’ve said that gold mining companies will have a strong first (and second) quarter thanks to higher metal prices. Stock prices, as you know, are largely driven by revenues and free cash flow (FCF).
As of 27 April 2020, eighteen times more people have died from coronavirus per million of the population in developed countries (DMs) than in Emerging Markets (EM). This is partly due to measurement problems, but there may also be genuine structural reasons for expecting slower spread, less overall incidence, and lower mortality rates in EM countries than in DMs.
Many investors are looking for emerging signs of a return to normalcy from the coronavirus crisis. While there are many indicators to choose from, we’ve assembled a group of signals, with the help of big data, that may point the way.
With the S&P 500 up more than 25% from its March low, pension funds and other investors are asking if they should buy portfolio insurance via protective puts and, if so, whether it’s cost effective.
While an oft-cited risk of expansionary monetary policy is runaway inflation, Global X’s CIO team reminds that policies only become inflationary if stimulus extends beyond the required period of need.
Advisor Perspectives has announced its Venerated Voices™ awards for commentaries published in Q1 2020.
In a turbulent period for the markets, Calamos has been hosting a Calamos CIO Conference Call series for investment professionals.
All three major U.S. equity indices saw double-digit recovery in April, though most levels are still far from pre-coronavirus highs.
In today’s uncertain investing world, I believe it is extremely important to first and foremost focus on safety and quality. Since my primary investment focus is now on dividends and dividend growth, safety to me is primarily about valuation along with dividend coverage and predictability.
I was invited to travel to Mumbai, India in January this year to speak at an investment conference. It was my first trip to India and, in fact, my first trip to Asia. It was a great experience and an opportunity to learn a lot about India’s history, economy and culture. But the India I visited four months ago is very different from today – at least from an economic and investment perspective. Here to talk with me about the investment opportunities in India are two fund managers from Wasatch Global Investors with deep experience in that part of the world.
A lot has happened in the month following global stocks’ low on March 23, as represented by the MSCI All Country World Index. Nearly every major country seems to have put the peak in new COVID-19 cases behind them by several weeks and the discussion has now turned to the timing and staging of re-openings.
Getting factories to reopen is one thing. Persuading consumers to go out to shop, eat, travel or watch sports is another.
Physical gold continued to catch a bid this week, trading above $1,760 an ounce, on a host of head-spinning economic news, from millions more Americans filing jobless claims to record money-printing to negative oil prices.
Global stock markets have been struck by a triple shock; global pandemic, energy price war and market rout from full valuation levels in developed markets. Each of these types of shocks has been seen, and recovered from, previously.
Scott explains why we have downgraded emerging market local debt to neutral even as its valuation has cheapened.
The health of our planet depends on responsible investing. On Earth Day and every day, it has our full support.
President Donald Trump unveiled guidelines for “Opening Up America Again,” a three-phase approach to be executed by state and local officials. Some governors have already expressed interest in easing restrictions sooner rather than later.
China's economy was the first to suffer the consequences of fighting the novel coronavirus and is the first on the road to recovery. After an initial cover-up and more than 3,000 deaths, China appears to have brought COVID-19 under control and laid the foundation for a gradual economic recovery, although normal activity levels may not be reached until 2021.
Downturns of this magnitude are so dramatic that they inevitably produce a “new world order” with a very uneven distribution of winners and losers, he maintains.
The COVID-19 pandemic could devastate parts of the developing world. But with a concerted, cooperative, and holistic approach, the international community can avoid a large-scale humanitarian tragedy in vulnerable regions – and protect the rest of the world from destabilizing blowback.
The entirety of the financial media and many on Wall Street believe a V-shaped economic recovery is in our future. While I hope they are right, it would be foolish to take such analysis and, quite frankly, unwarranted optimism, at face value.
Some 6.6 million additional workers filed for jobless claims this week, but it’s always darkest before the dawn. There’s ample reason to keep hope alive that conditions will be improving sooner than expected.
With recent data showing a coronavirus-driven recession in the United States appears inevitable, the question for many investors is how long it will last. Sonal Desai, Chief Investment Officer, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income, weighs in on the differences between this one and other recessionary periods—and whether policymakers can engineer a recovery.
While the US economy continues to suffer the wrath of the coronavirus, a recovery will eventually come. Franklin Equity Group's Grant Bowers provides his latest update on the US equity market, and what he and his team have an eye on with a long-term investment view.
A head-spinning 6.6 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits this week bringing the two-week total to 10 million. That’s more than the combined populations of Los Angeles and Chicago.
Matt provides a framework that he and his team use to make sense of the headlines and the price bids flashing on their monitors. His realistic, yet hopeful outlook provides a roadmap for successfully navigating this universal crisis together.
To say that a lot has changed in the last month is a tremendous understatement. The markets are playing a weak supporting role to the worst healthcare challenge in our generation, as well as the worst economic problem since 2008.
