The US spends the most on private health insurance of the total current health expenditures next only to South Africa. Compared to the OECD average rate of 6.3% the USA’s private health insurance rate is 35% – nearly six times more than the average. This is because unlike other countries such as France or Germany or …
Emerging equity markets have outperformed developed markets so far this year. Major emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, etc. are up by double digit percentage points. China is a laggard with the Shanghai Composite down by 13% as of Sept 9th. Despite the strong returns year-to-date emerging markets are still attractive on a valuation basis …
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Is Facebook an emerging markets play? Or put it another way is investing in Facebook a good way to gain exposure to emerging markets? In my view, Facebook is not an emerging markets play. Here is an excerpt from a recent Bloomberg article on this topic: With Facebook Inc.’s user growth in developing countries soaring, mutual funds …
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The percentage of fiber optic connections in total broadband subscriptions in OECD countries is shown in the chart below. Japan, Korea and Lativa top the ranking. Click to enlarge Source: OECD Compared to the top three countries and Scandinavian countries the US has a long way to go in terms of fiber optic penetration.
Health stocks: beyond politics (Fidelity) Emerging-Market Small Caps: A Distinct Growth Opportunity (Franklin Templeton) Five things investors need to worry about for the rest of 2016 (Financial Post) The great American make-work programme (FT Alphaville) Germany’s massive CA surplus set to decline (DB Research) Dividend sustainability: companies cannot squeeze the lemon forever (Money Observer) Top earners: Why did …