What a year! Sometimes luck helps…
What a year! Sometimes luck helps… WHAT A YEAR! Dividends included, the US market went up 32%, the euro index went up 22.5% and the Tokyo market went up 54% (although 26% in USD). The emerging markets in general have not done as well though (some markets are actually down for the year). Many economists […]
Volatility: a long time friend
Volatility: a long time friend Looking at financial markets over the first 6 months of the year, so far, we can definitely call 2013 the year of extremes: Some reasons for the upside, The US Federal Reserve has been buying US $85 billion in bonds per month; Not to be outdone, the Bank of […]
What is an investment? … A refresher course.
What is an investment? … A refresher course. The first quarter of 2013 was fairly spectacular for the U.S. (up 11%), Switzerland (up 10%) and Japan (up 9%) and some smaller markets like Sweden, Mexico and Turkey. Unfortunately, for Canada, the SPTSX was down about 3%, due to weakness in the materials and utilities sectors. […]
Wisdom from legendary investors
Wisdom from legendary investors The year 2012 was a good year for everybody and an exceptional one for Germany (up 31.4% in USD terms). The S&P 500 was up 13.4% but the SPTSX (Canada) only increased by 7%. As most of the media center their attention on Euro zone problems, currency crises, China’s economic slowdown, […]