Offshore Capitalist

Russia Chart (RTSI) – Marketwatch

October 4, 2009 in Charts, Russia by Roy

The ten-year chart of RTSI Index.
Click the image to see full size, or click below for source.
via RTSI Index Charts – Russia Index Charts.

Russian RTS Index shows the fastest growth in the world in 2009

October 4, 2009 in Charts, Russia by Roy

September 30th 2009. The RTS Index, the leading benchmark of the Russian stock market, has doubled in value since the beginning of the year, making it the best performing major world index for the 9 months of 2009, according to MarketWatch, part of The Wall Street Digital Network.
On Tuesday, September 29, 2009 the RTS Index [...]

Long Term Currency Charts

October 4, 2009 in Charts, Currencies by Roy

You can easily get long term charts of various currency exchange rates from Livecharts.
To go straight to the charts, click these:
GBPUSD (how many dollars in a pound)
EURUSD (how many dollars in a euro)
EURGBP (how many pounds in a euro)

Global Recovery Under Way but Likely to Be Slow, Says IMF

October 4, 2009 in Economics, Reports by Roy

* Global activity now on the rise again, expected to reach 3 percent next year
* Rebound driven mainly by China, India
* Restoring financial sector health, continued macro policy support remain priorities
(Click image to see full size)
After a deep recession, global economic growth has turned positive, driven by wide-ranging, coordinated public intervention that has supported [...]

The Price Of Gold

October 4, 2009 in Charts, Gold by Roy

Gold Futures Contracts
Like all physical commodities, the ‘price’ of gold must take into account the when and where delivery is required. The price of a contract to deliver 1000 ounces of gold tomorrow will be different to the price to deliver it in a month, or two months.
For example COMEX (part of the CME Group [...]

Gold – Backgrounder

October 4, 2009 in Gold by Roy

Perhaps no other market in the world has the universal appeal of the gold market. For centuries, gold has been coveted for its unique blend of rarity, beauty, and near indestructibility. Nations have embraced gold as a store of wealth and a medium of international exchange; individuals have sought to possess gold as insurance against [...]

Gold is the world’s only safe currency

September 30, 2009 in Gold by Roy

Cheviot investment manager William Buckhurst explains why gold is an ultimate store of value and why it is the safest currency in the world.
Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven that benefits during periods of financial dislocation, yet during 2008 it rose by only 6% in US dollar terms whereas other safe-haven assets such [...]

Brazil is the first Latin American country to emerge from recession

September 28, 2009 in Brazil by Roy

Brazil is the first Latin American country to emerge from recession—and one of the earliest among the G-20 countries to have done so—following a 1.9% quarter-on-quarter expansion in economic activity in the April-to-June period. Whereas the global environment remains difficult and the export sector therefore continues to struggle, the strength of domestic demand has propelled [...]

FAO: Increased investment in agricultural research essential

September 28, 2009 in Agriculturals by Roy

Producing more food will largely depend on increasing crop yields, not farming more land – UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

25 September 2009, Rome – Boosting agricultural production to the levels needed to feed an expanded world population will require sharply increased public investment in research and development and widespread adoption of new technologies, farming [...]

Excerpts from a speech by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick

September 28, 2009 in Economics by Roy

WASHINGTON, September 27. 2009 — The following are excerpts from a speech prepared for delivery on Monday by World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. Entitled “After the Crisis?”, the speech will be delivered at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, D.C., in the lead-up [...]

World Bank Provides US$4.3 Billion to Support India’s Economic Stimulus, Infrastructure Investments

September 28, 2009 in India by Roy

WASHINGTON, September 22, 2009 – The World Bank today approved four projects worth US$4.3 billion to India, designed to support the Government’s infrastructure agenda and bolster its economic stimulus program.
After a period of high economic growth — which reached 9.7 percent in 2006-07 — the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008 saw India’s [...]

Why China must do more to rebalance its economy

September 27, 2009 in China by Roy

The data coming out of China suggest a powerful recovery is indeed under way. In the first half of the year, noted the premier, gross domestic product expanded 7.1 per cent. The September consensus forecasts suggest that the Chinese economy will expand 8.3 per cent in 2009 and 9.4 per cent in 2010. The Asian [...]

Sell bonds to hold cash and equities, urges Barclays star

September 27, 2009 in Bonds by Roy

Tim Bond, the Barclays Capital fund manager and head of asset allocation, is warning investors that the market risk is on the upside.
Bond, who in the past two years made the right call on the credit crunch and the equity rally which begun in March, said that even his own overtly bullish expectations are being [...]

Brazil Chart – Yahoo! Finance

September 27, 2009 in Charts by Roy

Current 5-year chart for Brazil IBOVESPA – (Sao Paolo) – with 100-day and 200-day moving averages.
Click image to view full size.

China Chart – Yahoo! Finance

September 27, 2009 in Charts, China by Roy

Update on chart for SSE Composite Index (Shanghai), with 100-day and 200-day moving averages.
Click image to view full size.

India Chart – Yahoo! Finance

September 27, 2009 in Charts, India by Roy

Chart update – 10 years BSE SENSEX – with 100-day and 200-day moving averages.
Click image to view full-size.

Templeton China – Market Commentary

September 26, 2009 in China, Fund Manager Updates by Roy

Extracts from the Templeton China August 2009 fund manager commentary.
• Concerns regarding policy tightening in China dragged regional markets down in August, although Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stated that the government would maintain its current macroeconomic policy to ensure continued growth in the domestic economy.
• We believe the outlook for China remains positive due to [...]

A risky time to dabble in China

September 26, 2009 in China by Roy

Investors have long been told there are riches to be earned from China’s booming stockmarket. But one fund manager believes that there is reason to believe now is a risky time to be investing in the superpower, with the market overdue a pull-back.
James Donald, the head of emerging markets at Lazard Asset Management is a [...]

Walking on egg shells: “Nervous Nelly” investors panicked on the way down last year, and now they are fearful on the way up

September 25, 2009 in Equity Markets by Roy

An article from Morningstar discussing the emotional worries of investors who perhaps lost on the way down but then were too nervous to benefit from the rally over the last six months.
“Nervous Nelly” investors panicked on the way down last year, and now they are fearful and skeptical about the sustainability of the fierce [...]

Best performing sector this year may not be what you think…

September 24, 2009 in Sectors by Roy

As of 23-Sep-09, the top performing sector (as defined by the IMA Investment Management Association) year-to-date was… UK Smaller Companies.

Fidelity EMEA fund manager talks up platinum as alternative hedge to gold

September 24, 2009 in Other Precious Metals by Roy

Investment house Fidelity has been talking up the merits of platinum as an alternative inflation hedge. The group’s EMEA Fund manager, Nick Price, said that an imbalance between supply and demand could make platinum a more attractive proposition to investors than gold and therefore a better inflation hedge.
Both platinum and gold are positively correlated to [...]

Switzerland replaces United States at top of competitiveness rankings

September 24, 2009 in Economics, Sector & Specialist Reports by Roy

Dalian, People’s Republic of China, 8 September 2009 – Switzerland tops the overall ranking in The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010, released today by the World Economic Forum ahead of its Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2009 in Dalian. The United States falls one place to second position, with weakening in its financial markets and [...]

Global Information Technology Report 2009

September 24, 2009 in Economics, Sector & Specialist Reports by Roy

From the World Economic Forum – Published 26 March 2009. The Report stresses the importance of ICT as a catalyst for growth in the current global turmoil. Denmark and Sweden once again lead the rankings for the eighth consecutive year by the World Economic Forum.
The United States follows suit, up one position from last year, [...]

The IMF’s strictly limited gold sales approved

September 22, 2009 in Gold by Roy

On September 18, 2009, the Executive Board approved the sale of 403.3 metric tons of gold (12.97 million ounces), which amounts to one-eighth of the Fund’s total holdings of gold. In accordance with the priority of avoiding disruption of the gold market, the Executive Board adopted modalities for the gold sales consistent with guidelines it [...]

First State Greater China Growth gets ‘Elite’ qualitative rating from Morningstar

September 22, 2009 in China, Funds by Roy

First State Greater China Growth sets the standard for others to follow, according to Morningstar.
There are multiple reasons why we hold this fund in such
high regard, not least its investment team. Lead manager
Martin Lau has a wealth of experience, and has managed
the Irish-domiciled version of the fund since 2002 and this
UK-domiciled offering since its late [...]

Stiglitz Says Bank Problems Bigger Than Pre-Lehman

September 22, 2009 in Economics by Roy

Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize- winning economist, said the U.S. has failed to fix the underlying problems of its banking system after the credit crunch and the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
“In the U.S. and many other countries, the too-big-to-fail banks have become even bigger,” Stiglitz said in an interview yesterday in Paris. “The [...]

Rathbones Economic and Market review – Julian Chillingworth

September 22, 2009 in Fund Manager Updates by Roy

Economic and Market Review - Key points for August 2009

Continuation of ‘office boy rally’
Equity and bond markets hit fresh highs
Interest rates to stay lower for longer
Improved economic data, globally
Bank of England in surprise QE extension

UK
Activity in the UK market mirrored that of most major markets, putting in a very strong performance. Indeed, August saw the FTSE 100 [...]

Asian cities catch up with London

September 22, 2009 in Sector & Specialist Reports by Roy

Asian cities are closing the gap on London and New York in a ranking of competitiveness among the world’s leading financial centres in which they now hold five of the top 10 spots.
The Global Financial Centres Index, compiled twice yearly by the Z/Yen Group think-tank and published by the City of London, combines a survey [...]

Global ETF Assets Under Management Hit All Time

September 22, 2009 in ETFs by Roy

Latest Data From the ETF Research and Implementation Strategy Team at Barclays Global Investors Reveals Global ETF Assets Have Been Pushed to an All Time High of US$891 Bn at End August 2009, Driven by Emerging Market and Fixed Income ETFs
Global ETF assets have hit an all time high of US$891 Bn at the end [...]

Property Global Market View: Back from the Brink… But What Next?

September 22, 2009 in Property, Sector & Specialist Reports by Roy

A report from CB Richard Ellis provides an update on the global property market. In summary, commercial real estate markets remain mixed, with Asia looking good but other regions experiencing ‘muddled recoveries’.
via CB Richard Ellis – Global Reports.

Oil prices risk rebounding above $100, says Total chief Christophe de Margerie

September 22, 2009 in Energy by Roy

Oil prices risk rebounding far above $100 a barrel unless there is greater investment in energy exploration, the head of French oil giant Total said in an interview broadcast on Monday.
But he also told the BBC that oil prices at their current level of about $70 were too low to support long-term investment by his [...]

Video: Why the oil price will rise

September 22, 2009 in Energy, Videos by Roy

Sunday Telegraph Economics columnist Liam Halligan tells Robert Miller that sustained demand from the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries will underpin the recent oil price hikes.

via Video: Why the oil price will rise – Telegraph.

Resilient Asia Poised to Lead Recovery from Global Slowdown, Says ADB

September 22, 2009 in Emerging Markets, Sector & Specialist Reports by Roy

HONG KONG, CHINA – Developing Asia is proving to be more resilient to the global downturn than was initially thought, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says in a new major report.
The Update to ADB’s flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2009, released today, forecasts economic expansion in developing Asia to come in at [...]

Stock market rally driven by ’sentiment’, warns Alliance Trust’s Katherine Garrett-Cox

September 22, 2009 in World Markets by Roy

The recent stock market rally is driven only by “sentiment” according to Katherine Garrett-Cox, the chief executive of fund manager Alliance Trust, who has warned the UK economy remains uncertain.
Katherine Garrett-Cox, chief executive of Alliance Trust, said the recent stock market rally has been driven by sentiment
Ms Garrett-Cox, who took the helm at Alliance last [...]

Shares will rally further – the top managers say