US Federal Debt Since Country’s Founding

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The current outstanding US debt is over $19.8 Trillion or 19,844,586,961,607.12 to be exact as of September 7, 2017 according to US Treasury. The national debt rises during periods of crises such as World War II. Among the major developed countries US is in a unique situation where government expenditures exceed revenues. Since expenditures for entitlement programs such as Social Security, Disability, Medicaid, Medicare and thousands of other programs where the state mails out checks every day are expected to increase in the coming years, US federal debt is projected to reach record levels. Interest payments on outstanding debt also adds to the growing debt mountain.

The graph below shows the historical US federal debt as percentage of GDP since the country’s founding in the 18th century:

Click to enlarge

 

Source: Gold and Bitcoin Surge on North Korea Fears by Frank Holmes, US Funds

Tourist Attractions in Venice: Photos

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Venice is one of the most fascinating and unique cities in the world. Despite being an island, the city is filled with cultural, religious and historic monuments. The city is an art lover’s paradise. While the hoards of modern day tourists invading the island may feel overwhelming it is possible to take in and enjoy the beauty and charm of this wonderful city. Some of the top attractions in Venice are St. Mark’s Basilica, Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco and Bridge of Sighs. The following are a few photos from a recent visit:

Grand Canal:

Click to enlarge

St. Mark’s Basilica and Piazza San Marco:

Canal:

The German Dividend Aristocrats List

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Dividend artiscrtats are established and reputable companies that have paid dividends over many years. A list of such companies exists for the US, Canada, UK, etc. I have never seen for Germany on the internet until now.

The German Dividend Aristocrats List was published by a contributor named rickrack on Seeking Alpha. The The German Dividend Aristocrats List is comprised of 28 firms as of June, 2016.

According to his research there are only 6 firms that have increased their dividends for 10 years or more and 22 companies have maintained their dividends for 10+ years.

The Complete List of The German Dividend Aristocrats are shown in the table below:

Click to enlarge

Notes:

y – Yearly
raised – Number of years dividend was raised
paid –  Number of years dividend was paid

Source: A New Source For Dividend Growth Investors: The German Dividend Aristocrats, Seeking Alpha

Investors looking to invest in German firms can checkout the entire article at the above link.

One of the notable dividend payers in Germany is reinsurer Munich Re (MURGY) has not reduced its dividend payments since 1969. Inlay man’s tems Reinsurance companies provide insure for insurance companies.

Disclosure: No positions

Why Diversify Across Countries: Chart

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One of the ways of diversification is to allocate one’s portfolio assets across countries. Since the economic systems, political systems and wealth of natural resources vary between countries the equity markets also tend to perform differently. For exmaple, when crude oil prices are soarding the Russian equity market performs well as the economy is dependent on oil. Similarly rising copper prices are a boon to the Chilean equity market. So in order to capture the benefits of diversification it is not only important to divesify across asset types or sectors but also across various countries. In today’s globalized world it is simply not wise to invest all assets in one country such as investor’s home country.

The year-to-date return of select equity markets from around the world shows the wide difference in performance:

UK’s FTSE 100: 3.3%
France’s CAC 40: 5.2%
Germany’s DAX Index:7.2%
Spain’s IBEX35 Index: 8.3%
China’s Shanghai Composite: 8.4%
India’s Bombay Sensex: 19.0%
Brzail’s Sao Paulo Bovespa: 21.3%
Russia’s RTS Index: -2.8%
Chile’s Santiago IPSA: 20.0%
Mexico’s IPC All-Share: 9.7%

Meanwhile the S&P 500 Index is up 9.94% YTD.

Source: WSJ

Recently I came across the following chart from Schwab showing the benefits of diversification across borders. Canada was the worst performer in 2015 but was the best performer the following year. Since 2006 the US market was the top market only in 3 years.

Click to enlarge

 

Source: Why Global Diversification Matters by Anthony Davidow, Charles Schwab

The above chart clearly shows that the benefits of global diversification cannot be under estimated.

Six Attractions To Visit In Paris

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Paris, the city of lights is an awesome metropolis. From museums to monuments to palaces the city has so much to offer for a traveler. The following are six tourist attractions:

1.Eiffel Tower

Click to enlarge

2.Louvre Museum

3.Palace of Versailles

4.Arc de Triomphe



5. Notre-Dame Cathedral 




6.Disneyland Paris