European stocks were average to poor performers last year.However they can be good bets for this year for many reasons including upcoming elections in countries such as Greece, Ireland, Spain and the UK and more importantly yesterday’s major announcement from European Central Bank. From a Bloomberg article: Mario Draghi led the European Central Bank into …
Diversification is one of the simple and effective way to reduce risk and increase potential returns. Putting all eggs in one basket is a recipe for disaster.It is important to diversify not only among asset classes, but also between sectors when investing in stocks, between countries, regions, etc. The first decade of the 21st century …
Crude oil (Brent) closed at $48.23 a barrel yesterday on the NYMEX for March delivery. The fall in oil prices in recent months is benefiting some industries and hurting others. For example, convention wisdom says big consumers of oil such as chemical companies, transportation firms, etc. are bound to benefit while oil producers, oil distributors and other related-companies in the industry …
Continue reading ‘Which Sectors are Winners and Which are Losers from Lower Oil Prices ?’ »
Last week crude oil fell below $50 per barrel for the first time in over five years. The dramatic decline in oil prices since the middle of last year has been shocking to many investors.On Friday Brent for March delivery closed at $49.90 on the NYMEX. This is not the first time that oil has plunged …
Continue reading ‘The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns 2005 To 2014’ »
Volatility is back with a vengeance in the US equity markets. In the first two weeks of this year stocks have been extremely volatile with the Dow taking investors on a wild ride.In times of such high volatility patience is a very important factor that differentiates successful investors from others. Panic selling and market timing does …
Continue reading ‘Why Panic Selling is Never a Good Strategy’ »