Latest Investment Updates

Week in Perspective (November 18, 2011)

Surprise party! Who?s coming?

After a fairly strong October, equity markets seem to have hit the proverbial wall so far in November. Neither the Dow Jones nor S&P 500 have been able to break through their respective resistance levels of 12,200 and 1,280.

Read Article

16 RULES FOR INVESTMENT SUCCESS

"Don't gamble," he said. "Buy some good stock. Hold it till it goes up... and then sell it. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it!"

There is as much wisdom as humor in this remark. Success in the stock market is based on the principle of buying low and selling high.

Read PDF Article

81 Years of Bulls and Bears

Create a plan that's right for you

In the world of investing, a direct relationship has historically existed between the potential for total returns and the amount of risk one is willing to assume. But it doesn?t necessarily follow that you must throw caution to the wind to be a successful investor.

Read PDF Article

GLOBAL MARKETS, JUNE, 2011

GLOBAL MARKETS STRATEGIES VIEW

Current risk aversion in the markets is reaching extremes, according to the latest indicators of the Global Markets Strategies (GMS) team. The team views recent soft economic data as a mid-cycle soft patch in the recovery and not the beginning of a new recession. An expected turn in the data could finally trigger renewed gains in risk assets.

Read PDF Report

GLOBAL MARKETS, MAY, 2011

GLOBAL MARKETS STRATEGIES VIEW

The corrections in risk markets in the past few weeks have brought valuations back down to very compelling levels. Tactical indicators are signaling an imminent rebound and underlying economic fundamentals remain strong. The Global Markets Strategies (GMS) team has been adding to risk exposures and sees further room to do so, given where relative valuations are and expectations that the rally is sustainable well into the third quarter of 2011.

Read PDF Report

ASIA INTELLIGENCE, MARCH, 2011

ASIA MARKETS’ VIEWPOINT

Linda Csellak assesses the outlook for Asian equities focusing on why stock selection will be more important as the market rally matures.

We believe that there are three key markets in Asia which will continue to outperform in 2011. The first of these is South Korea which, despite a significant run-up at the end of 2010, is looking inexpensive compared to other markets. Valuations for Korean small caps are also at the low end of their historical range...

Read PDF Report

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE, JANUARY, 2011

GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

U.S. job recovery expected to kick in soon. Asia should slow versus 2010, but remain global growth driver.

The global expansion continued in the second half of 2010, as advanced economies gained strength while emerging markets slowed. The outlook has improved since the latest round of U.S. stimulus, but the risks remain significant as U.S. employment growth is still anemic and renewed debt market turmoil has raised doubts about the Eurozone’s future.

Read PDF Report

ASSET ALLOCATION VIEW, JANUARY 11, 2011

ASSET ALLOCATION VIEW

The Tactical Asset Allocation Team is cautiously optimistic about the outlook for returns on risk assets in 2011. In the short term*, though, improving fundamental data must be balanced against indicators that markets are overbought and the expectation that the global monetary accommodation that is currently so supportive will begin to be less supportive in the second half of the year. 

Read PDF Report

ASSET ALLOCATION VIEW, DECEMBER 7, 2010

ASSET ALLOCATION VIEW

Our tactical risk indicators continue to support a defensive posture. The global economic cycle remains in a downtrend. U.S. inventories continue to climb, but our view remains that this reflects volume-driven price competition among retailers rather than any solid underlying demand growth.  The latest surveys of households and non-farm payrolls gave us no confidence in a sustainable rebound in employment.

Read PDF Report

ASIA INTELLIGENCE, NOVEMBER, 2010

ASIA MARKET'S VIEW

Stronger than expected earnings in the first half of 2010 have left Asia’s markets fairly valued in our opinion and we continue to believe that investors should brace themselves for 2011 earnings expectations to be pared down. However, our expectation is that this will lead to little more than a healthy pause for Asian markets after a period of volatility this year.

Read PDF Report