Some Global Stock Indices Are Up Big YTD

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The S&P; 500 is down 2.67% year-to-date (YTD). Within the index some sectors such as financials, energy, industrials, telecom services are down more than 10%. The IT sector components are up nearly 20%. Among the international stock indices, some indices are up significantly so far this year.

The stock indices that are up by more than 10% YTD are:

Sao Paulo Bovespa (Brazil) – 31.1%
Caracas General (Venezuela) – 27.4%
Tel Aviv (Israel) – 30.1%
SX All Share (Sweden) – 16.4%
Shanghai Composite (China) – 71.0%
Hang Seng (Hong Kong) – 23.1%
Bombay Sensex (India) – 40.0%
Straits Times (Singapore) – 31.0%
Kospi (South Korea) – 27.0%
Weighted (Taiwan) – 47.5%

Source: WSJ Market Data Group

The Shanghai Composite Index is the top-performing index. The emerging markets of China, Brazil and India are showing strength while the developed market indices are performing poorly. Like the S&P; 500, the CAC 40 (France), FTSE 100 (UK) and DAX (Germany) are also down under 10% .

Despite being heavily dependent on contract manufacturing of electronic products, Taiwan is up nearly 50% YTD. This could be due to the strong demand for electronic items such as semiconductor chips, computer peripherals from emerging markets. The makers of these products such as Cisco Systems (CSCO), Broadcom Inc (BRCM), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) , Apple Inc (APPL) , Dell Inc (DELL), etc. are benefiting nicely from overseas demand. Incidentally these stocks were once hi-fliers during the dot com boom but had fallen hard after the dot com collapse. Due to the strong performance of the IT sector companies, the IT components in the S&P; 500 are up 19.70% while the overall index is down. Singapore also has a growing electronic components industry. But most of the economy is dependent on global trade. As global trade returns to normal levels Singapore’s economy will benefit.

Emerging markets and select developed markets are likely to be the winners by the end of the year based on their performance YTD. The performance of the emerging markets suggests that they are becoming less dependent on exports to the developed world and are relying more on the domestic economy.

Canadian Unemployment Rate Is Less Than The U.S. Rate

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The unemployment rate in Canada for the month of June stood at 8.6% in June. This rate is 0.9% lower the rate in the U.S. for June when it was 9.5%.

Unemployment Rate in Canada for June,2009

Unemployment Rate in Canada

via The Star

It is interesting to note that the current US unemployment rate equals or exceeds the rate in some European countries. And now it is higher than the rate in Canada. Hard-hit sectors in Canada include construction, manufacturing and tourism. Due to the recession in the US lesser number of Americans are visiting Canada.

Daily Wisdom: Mr.William White Edition

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1.Global Banking Economist Warned of Coming Crisis
William White predicted the approaching financial crisis years before 2007’s subprime meltdown. But central bankers preferred to listen to his great rival Alan Greenspan instead, with devastating consequences for the global economy.

2.Obama Jobless Safety Net Torn by New Normal’s 48-Year-Old Rebecca Alvarez
Rebecca Alvarez says she’s “barely hanging on.”

Without a job for seven months, the 48-year-old computer- network administrator said she’s stopped dining out, cut back cable-television services and put off paying a photography class bill from her 14-year-old son’s school in Monrovia, California. She is among more than 4 million Americans who have been looking for work for more than 26 weeks, representing 29 percent of the unemployed, the most since records began in 1948.

3.The global economy is beginning to pull out of a recession unprecedented in the post–World War II era and risks to the global financial system have moderated, but stabilization is uneven and the recovery is expected to be sluggish, according to the IMF’s latest forecast.Recession Loosens Grip But Weak Recovery Ahead

4.South Africa’s banking sector has so far proved resilient to the country’s worst recession in 17 years, but faced with soaring unemployment and high levels of consumer debt, the biggest challenges lie ahead.Leaning against the wind

5.The US government may attempt to substitute for household spending but it never quite works, no matter how many public works projects the government sponsors. The fundamentals point to deflation, not inflation.Down – not up

ADRs in the OTC market with Dividend Yields > 5%

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The OTC market is often overlooked by investors. Some of the large foreign companies are listed in the OTC markets.

When I ran my screen with the conditions:
Market Cap >= $25B
Dividend yield >=5%

the following five stocks stocks appeared in the result.

E.On AG (EONGY)
Market Cap = $63.4 B
Dividend Yield = 5.84%

RWE AG (RWEOY)
Market Cap = $40.7 B
Dividend Yield = 7.20%

BASF SE (BASFY)
Market Cap = $37.7 B
Dividend Yield = 6.03%

Telstra Corporation (TLSYY)
Market Cap = $33.0 B
Dividend Yield = 7.48%

National Australia Bank (NABZY)
Market Cap = $32.4 B
Dividend Yield = 6.17%

It is interesting to see that the top 3 companies the above list are German companies and the other two are Australian.EON and RWE are two of the largest utilities there. Of course BASF is one of the largest and well-known global chemical giant. Australia-based Telstra is a telecom services provider. National Australia Bank is one of the largest banking groups in Australia.