Brazil: One of the Top Performing Stock Market So Far This Year

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Brazil is the top performing market in the world so far this year. The Bovespa has shot up by 41% year-to-date,

The Olympics and more importantly the ousting of the Dilma Roussef government a while ago by a more pro-growth conservative administration made foreign investors turn their attention to Brazilian equities again.

Bovespa year-to-date return chart:

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bovespa-1-year-returns

Source: Google Finance

The iShares Brazil ETF(EWZ) is a simple way to invest in Brazil. For investors looking to invest directly in individual companies a list of ADRs trading on the markets can be found here.

Disclosure: No Positions

Infographics: Building Wealth in Equity Investing Needs Patience

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Timing the market never works. Investors looking to earn higher than average returns and build wealth by investing in stocks need patience. This involves the ability to stay put and not sell out when markets crash. Holding high-quality stocks for the long-term measured in decades and sitting tight during bull and bear markets is a successful strategy to build wealth.

The following infographics from Schwab demonstrates this concept:

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infographics-patience-wins-in-stock-market-investing

Source: When Markets Dip, Don’t drop Out, Charles Schwab

Long-Term Investors Can Consider U.S. Utility Stocks Now

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Utility stocks were the top performers in the first half of this year rising 21%. However they have declined substantially since June 20th with a loss of 10%. Overall the Dow Jones Utility Average Index-is up only 12.01% year-to-date.

Fear of rising interest rates led investors to dump income stocks such as utilities.While short-term volatility is understandable investors willing to take a long-term approach of 5 years or more can consider adding them in a phased manner. Even when interest rates increase, yield hungry investors will continue to look for income producing equities and utilities fit the bill. Unlike the chaotic European utility industry, US utilities are highly regulated and many are a monopoly in the markets they operate.

The following are ten US electric utilities with their current dividend yields:

1.Company: Duke Energy Corporation (DUK)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.51%

2.Company: NextEra Energy Inc (NEE)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.87%

3.Company: Dominion Resources, Inc. (D)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.91%

4.Company: Southern Company (SO)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.53%

5.Company: Exelon Corporation (EXC)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.96%

6.Company: American Electric Power Co. (AEP)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.65%

7.Company: PG&E Corporation (PCG)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.33%

8.Company: PPL Corporation (PPL)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.72%

9.Company: Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.04%

10.Company: Edison International (EIX)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.77%

Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of Oct 12, 2016. Data is known to be accurate from sources used.Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure: Long NEE

Infographics: The US Stock market and Election Cycles

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The US Presidential Election is in full swing with both the candidates trying hard to gain voters.The equity market does not care whether a Republican or a Democrat ends up in The White House. To that end, Charles Schwab published the following infographic showing the performance of stock markets during presidential election cycles.

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the-us-stock-market-and-election-cycles

Source: The Stock Market and Election Cycles, Charles Schwab, Oct 12, 2016

Infographics: Health Gadgets

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The development of health-tracking technologies is changing the way people monitor their health and perform physical activities such as exercise, jogging, running, weight-lifting, yoga, etc.

I came cross the following cool infographics that shows how health gadgets are changing our lives:

Click to enlarge

health-gadgets

Source: Sputnik