Knowledge is Power: Gold Illusion and Oil Empire Edition

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THE FLIP SIDE OF GOLD –The illusion of gold mining profits. Like rabbits in strong headlights, equity investors with a gold bent continue to chase increasingly challenging cash margin compression.

A group of leading financial analysts quiz Britain’s top regulator on what went wrong and how to sort it out.How to tame global finance

The $19-billion merger of Calgary-based oil-industry pioneers Suncor and Petro-Canada creates a giant.  Oil industry: Empire of the sun

An accident shows how China treats consumers.On a cold January day in Pennsylvania, I arranged to meet a man who one day could be worth millions. The Italian restaurant he suggested in the town of New Castle was scruffy and a bit down at heel, but it served good old-fashioned food. That’s important, because Robert Silverman can’t splash money around – not yet, anyway.

Areas that tasted the excesses of the housing boom are suffering as the influx of people moving from the Rust Belt has slowed.Construction That Fueled Growth in the Sun Belt Slows

Key Points from the latest FDIC’s Quaterly Banking Profile

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The FDIC released the Quarterly Banking Profile for second quarter,2009 yesterday. Some of the key points and charts from this report are presented below.

  • More Than One in Four Institutions Are Unprofitable
  • Charge-Offs and Noncurrent Loans Continue to Rise
  • Net Charge-offs:

“Net charge-offs of credit card loans were $4.6 billion (84.5 percent) higher than a year earlier, and the annualized net charge-off rate on credit card loans reached a record 9.95 percent in the second quarter. Net charge-offs of real estate construction and development loans were up by $4.2 billion (117.0 percent), and charge-offs of loans secured by 1-4 family residential properties were $4.0 billion (41.1 percent) higher than a year ago.”

Charts:

Problem-banks

Loan-losses

Download: FDIC’s Quarterly Banking Profile Second Quarter, 2009

Top Oil Producing Countries in 2008 and The World’s Largest Oil Fields

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150 years ago this week Colonel Edwin Drake struck oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Ever since oil has become the most important commodity in the world.Despite the hype about green technologies and other alternative sources of energy, crude oil will continue to be the major source of energy for many years to come.

In this post lets take a quick review at the largest oil producers in 2008 and oil fields.

Top Oil Producing Countries 2008  (in million barrels per day)

Top-oil-producers-2008

World’s Largest Oil Fields

Top-oil-fields

Source: IHS CERA

The Best and Worst Performing Market Indices in Half Year 2008

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The best performing market index in the first six months of 2008 was the IGBVL index of Lima Stock Exchange in Peru. This index grew by 85.3% in local currency. The second and third posts went to Shenzen and Shanghai stock exchanges in China which had growth of 73.9% and 62.5% respectively.

The worst performing stock markets were the indices of Bermuda, Iceland and Malta.

Click to expand

Best-Worst-Stocks-Markets-2008-first-half

Source: Market highlights for first half-year 2009, World Federation of Exchanges

This year it appears that emerging markets may handily beat the developed markets. Most of the best performing indices in the first half are from the developing world.

New Zealand ADRs List

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The only New Zealand ADR listed in the NYSE is Telecom New Zealand (NZTCY). Currently NZTCY pays a dividend yield of 8.66%. For US investors, there is no country-specific ETF or other funds for investing there.New Zealand stocks generally have excellent yields and the country was not impacted adversely by the credit crisis.The average dividend yield of NZX 50 index is about 5%. In mid 2008 it averaged about 8%. The banking system is sound and there are many high quality companies that reward long-term investors handsomely.

Many of the companies of New Zealand recently listed their stocks in the OTC markets. Since these stocks are new to the US markets they are very thinly traded. The following is the complete list of all New Zealand ADRs traded in the OTC markets either in the sponsored or unsponsored category:

Air New Zealand ANZFY
Travel & Leisure

Auckland International Airport ACKDY
Travel & Leisure

Cavalier CVLRY
Construct.&Materials;

Contact Energy COENY
Electricity

Fisher & Paykel Appliances FPAHY
HouseGoods&HomeConst;

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare FSPKY
HealthCareEquip.&Ser;

Fletcher Building FRCEY
Construct.&Materials;

Freightways FTWYY
Support Services

GuocoLeisure GUORY
Travel & Leisure

Hallenstein Glasson HLSTY
General Retailers

Hellaby HLYHY
Financial Services

Mainfreight MFGHY
IndustrialTransport.

Methven MTHVY
HouseGoods&HomeConst;

Michael Hill International MXRHY
General Retailers

New Zealand Oil and Gas NZEOY
Oil & Gas Producers

Nuplex Industries NPXIY
Construct.&Materials;

NZ Farming Systems Uruguay NZFSY
Food Producers

PGG Wrightson PGWFY
Financial Services

Port of Tauranga PTAUY
IndustrialTransport.

Property for Industry PYIYY
RealEstateInv.Trust

Pumpkin Patch PUPKY
General Retailers

Rakon RAKNY
Mobile Telecom.

Sanford SARDY
Food Producers

Skellerup Holdings SKLUY
Construct.&Materials;

Sky City Entertainment Group SKYZY
Media

Sky Network Television SKKTY
Media

The New Zealand Refining NZRFY
Oil & Gas Producers

Windflow Technology WFLWY
Industrial Engineering

Some of the above stocks are part of NZX 50 Index, the main stock market index. For more details on this index, go here.