The OECD has released a report arguing against UK’s exit from the European Union. The report states that exiting the EU would lead to a decline in British GDP in the future with economic growth stunted. From the report: Membership of the European Union has contributed to the economic prosperity of the United Kingdom. Uncertainty …
Swedish retailer IKEA is the world’s largest furniture chain. Similar to successful global retail chains such as Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, etc. IKEA has a loyal following in the countries it operates. Here is a neat chart that shows some key facts about IKEA: Click to enlarge Source: IKEA’s India Bet Runs Into Thicket of Rules, …
Continue reading ‘Chart: IKEA – Number of Stores and Top Countries for Sales’ »
The Indian equity market is under-performing so far this year. The benchmark S&P Sensex index is down 2% year-to-date compared to S&P 500’s gain of 1.05%. Among emerging markets China is down much higher than India but Brazil is up by about 24% as Brazilian equities are recovering due to clarity on the political crisis …
Continue reading ‘On The Current Valuation of India Stock Market’ »
A country’s economic growth as measured by GDP and stock market returns are not positively related to each other. Economic growth figures show what happened with the economy during a period and is a lagging indicator. On the other hand, stock returns are driven by a variety of factors including expectations of future earnings of …
Continue reading ‘On The Relationship Between Chinese Economic Growth And Stock Market Returns’ »
Countries in the Middle East have deep sectarian religious divisions. Many people in the western world are not aware that Saudi Arabia for example is mostly Sunni Islam while most in Iran follow the Shia faith of Islam.These two groups do not get along very well. Hence Saudi Arabia opposes the spread of Iranian influence and …
Continue reading ‘Infographic: Religion and Oil in Middle Eastern Countries’ »