Should the U.S. Lower the Corporate and Income Tax Rates ?

As the U.S. election campaign picks up momentum one of the favorite topics that will be discussed by politicians from both the parties will be taxes. By default Republicans favor lowering taxes while the Democrats do not. However both parties may be wrong with their beliefs. In general, where does the U.S. stand in terms …

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Another Take on Why Dividend Matters

Dividend yield should be one of the important factors when selecting a stock for investment. Dividend payments come out of a company’s earnings and is usually a strong barometer of a firm’s financial health. Unlike other metrics cash dividends are not susceptible to accounting or other manipulations. Hence consistent dividend payers and growers are excellent …

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Single Country Periodic Table of Investment Returns: Emerging Markets 2001 – 2010

The chart below shows the Periodic Table of Investment Returns for individual countries in the emerging world from 2001 to 2010. The returns are based on the MSCI and S&P data: Click to enlarge Source: iShares Some observations: The frontier market of Peru was the best performing market in terms of 10-year annualized returns beating …

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Single Country Periodic Table of Investment Returns: Developed Markets 2001 – 2010

The chart below shows the Periodic Table of Investment Returns for individual countries in the developed world from 2001 to 2010. The returns are based on the MSCI and Standard & Poor’s data. Click to enlarge Source: iShares A few interesting observations: Australia was one of the best performing markets for the period shown with …

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