About.com

Will Malaysia Continue to Outperform?

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:37:14 +0000

Malaysia has been one of the world's top growth markets for a long time. The iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund (EWM) is trading up 8.28% year-to-date and more than 160% over the past ten years. Those figures are sharply higher than the 23% ten-year return in the S&P 500, while the Malaysian ETF also has a lower beta coefficient of just 0.81. But will it continue?

...

Read Full Post

Will Greece's Austerity Measures Work?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:55:30 +0000

Austerity measures are a peculiar animal. Advocates believe they are necessary in order to de-leverage economies and promote long-term growth. But critics insist that they are self-defeating in that they reduce economic growth and exacerbate the problem.

...

Read Full Post

Tips for Analyzing Foreign Stocks

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:07:53 +0000

Analyzing U.S. stocks can be difficult, much less foreign companies that may not even follow U.S. GAAP principles. So, how do you find investor information on foreign companies?

Here are some basic tips for analyzing foreign stocks:

...

Read Full Post

Greek Austerity Deal Faces Headwinds

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:21:35 +0000

The Greek government reached an agreement with European leaders to implement austerity plans that it hopes will secure a bailout and help the nation avoid bankruptcy. But not everything is progressing all that smoothly.

...

Read Full Post

IMF Warns China on Potential European Contagion

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:58:06 +0000

China's economic growth could slow sharply if the European sovereign debt crisis pushes the global economy into a recession, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A recent report suggests that the country's growth could fall by around 4% if the tail risk of financial volatility emanating from Europe were realized.

...

Read Full Post

How to Build BRICs into Your Portfolio

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:34:14 +0000

There's little question that the so-called BRIC economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China - are on track to replace the G7 over time. But, how much exposure should investors have to these emerging markets and what's the best way to build them into a portfolio?

...

Read Full Post

Putin Throws Investors a Bone

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:05:25 +0000

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - who is on the campaign trail for a run at presidency in March - shocked investors this week when he offered to buyout "mom and pop" investors in a dreadful 2007 initial public offering of state-owned bank VTB at the offering price.

...

Read Full Post

IMF to Review Chinese Currency Valuation

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:11:22 +0000

Many politicians in the U.S. like to think that China's currency is significantly undervalued. The theory is that this valuation gap has led to the enormous trade deficit between the countries and many of the problems faced by U.S. industries.

...

Read Full Post

Greek Tragedy May Face a Tough Ending

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:44:02 +0000

Greece edged closer to default this week after disputes over voluntary debt exchanges make financing its operations increasingly unlikely. Meanwhile, E.U. policy makers are starting to warm to the idea of paying out on credit default swaps (CDS) in the event of a default.

...

Read Full Post

Bernanke Comments Spur Emerging Markets

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:31:32 +0000

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the case for buying more bonds this week after lowering its growth forecasts and pushing back its rate increase horizon. The move means that investors will increasingly look towards riskier assets rather than holding T-Bills.

...

Read Full Post