The size of the U.S. economy is about $14.66 Trillion. However over 70% of the GDP is based on consumption spending. As a result any recovery is highly dependent on the U.S. consumer whose household debt is still too high by historical standards. This is in sharp contrast to U.S. companies which hold over $1.0 …
Continue reading ‘U.S. Household Debt: A Major Impediment To Any Economic Recovery’ »
Most of the oil and natural gas producers and related players in the energy sector are down year-to-date. In addition to the weakness of economies around the world, the fall in crude oil prices have contributed to this poor performance. The table below lists all the exchange-traded energy ADRs together with their YTD returns: [TABLE=1040] …
Many European markets are down 20% or more so far this year. Some investors are avoiding European stocks entirely. However they may be missing out on some excellent opportunities. Among the various sectors, the utility sector looks attractive for income investors at the current levels. The STOXX TMI Utilities Index which is comprised of 34 …
Continue reading ‘15 European Utilities Look Attractive For Income Investors’ »
The following chart shows public childcare and pre-primary education expenditure across a select few OECD countries: Click to enlarge Public spending on childcare in France, Sweden and the U.K. is in the 0.4% to 0.6% of the GDP which is double that spent by Greece and Korea. The U.S. spends relatively low on childcare than …
Continue reading ‘Comparing Childcare Expenditures Across OECD Countries’ »
A low Price-to-Book(P/B) ratio implies that the stock may be undervalued. This ratio can be used together with other factors in identifying potential investment opportunities. The following five foreign stocks have P/B ratios of ≤ 0.75: 1.Company: Banco Santander SA (SAN) Current Dividend Yield: 9.98% Sector: Banking Country: Spain 2.Company: Brasil Telecom SA (BTM) Current …