Every year Callan Associates publishes their famous Callan Period Table of Investment Returns. Recently they updated the table with data for the year 2012. The Callan Periodic Table of Investment Returns for 2012 is shown below: Click to enlarge Source: Callan Associates Some interesting observations from the table are: In 2012, the emerging markets beat U.S. …

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The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 7.9% in January this year. This rate has not changed much since September of 2012. Based on this official figure, currently there 12.3 million unemployed individuals in the country. The actual unemployment rate is much higher since the official rate drops out many unemployed persons such as those that …

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Here is an interesting chart showing the yield on long government bonds of US and UK. In the 1970s and 80s, British bonds yielded over 12% while US bonds over 7% and 10% respectively. Since then the yields have fallen dramatically for both country bonds. At the end of last year 20 year government bonds …

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Every year Credit Suisse publishes the Global Investment Yearbook which contains a wealth of data on many markets. From the 2013 edition here are two charts related to the US markets. The Cumulative Real Returns from 1900 to 2012 & the Annualized Real Returns of Major Asset Classes(%): Click to enlage     Source: Credit Suisse Global …

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Consumer staples stocks traditionally have paid moderate dividends and offered slow and steady growth. Utility stocks on the other hand, have high dividend yields and are considered to have higher growth rates. When it comes to choosing a sector for investment investors are faced with this question: Should I go with consumer staples which pay …

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