One of the best performing markets of the past century is read hot again this century. Warren Buffett said, “The 19th century belonged to England, the 20th century belonged to the U.S., and the 21st century belongs to China. Invest accordingly.” Maybe so, but this… Read More

The road to a greener future has been a bumpy one for investors. The entire spectrum of clean energy stocks have risen and fallen in tandem with changing government policies and wildly swinging fossil fuel prices. Yet the industry has made considerable inroads as industry revenue for solar, wind and… Read More

In many races, the fabled tortoise always beats the hare. That’s the lesson learned by diversified miner Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO), which tried to race ahead, stumbled badly, and is now running the race at a more moderate and safer pace. At the height of the commodities… Read More

Emerging markets have certainly been the place to be. In the past 10 years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) has returned an astounding average of +21.5% a year, compared to +5.1% for the S&P 500. However, this outperformance has been lost on many dividend investors who have likely considered emerging markets an exotic indulgence of growth investors. But emerging markets are an increasing force on the world stage that can’t be ignored — even by income investors. Read More

Emerging markets have certainly been the place to be. In the past 10 years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) has returned an astounding average of +21.5% a year, compared to +5.1% for the S&P 500. However, this outperformance has been lost on many dividend investors who have likely considered emerging markets an exotic indulgence of growth investors. But emerging markets are an increasing force on the world stage that can’t be ignored — even by income investors. These nations represent 40% of the world’s population and already control two thirds of its industrial output. And their influence is growing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says emerging markets accounted for nearly all of the world’s growth last year, and they’re forecasted to grow at nearly three times the pace of the rest of the world in 2010. Investors don’t normally associate dividends with emerging markets. Many companies in these fast growing economies have used excess cash to fund expansions rather than pay dividends in the past. But things… Read More

I have a little quiz for you. I’ll describe one of the most lucrative commodity plays I’ve ever seen, and you tell me which one I’m talking about. Ready? This commodity is one of the most versatile on the planet. It… Read More

One of the most interesting indicators used in the financial markets is the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). The index, created and maintained by the London-based Baltic Exchange, measures the price of shipping raw materials such as iron ore, coal and grains around… Read More

Before the economic crisis took hold, the U.S. dollar began a steady downward drift as global investors started to realize that economic growth would be more robust elsewhere in the world. The dollar’s slump was also due to never-ending trade deficits, which had long been expected to weaken the greenback, and finally did so beginning in late 2004. During the next 30 months, the U.S. dollar, compared to the euro, fell from 0.86 euros to 0.63 — a -25% drop. With concerns about the global economic crisis receding, the dollar is… Read More

Before the economic crisis took hold, the U.S. dollar began a steady downward drift as global investors started to realize that economic growth would be more robust elsewhere in the world. The dollar’s slump was also due to never-ending trade deficits, which had long been expected to weaken the greenback, and finally did so beginning in late 2004. During the next 30 months, the U.S. dollar, compared to the euro, fell from 0.86 euros to 0.63 — a -25% drop. With concerns about the global economic crisis receding, the dollar is back on a downward path. As I noted recently, the dollar “now stands at all-time lows against the Australian dollar and the Swiss franc, a 15-year low against the Japanese yen, and more recent lows against the euro.” [What the Global Currency Wars Mean for Your Portfolio] That recent downward move should have an almost immediate impact: export-related profits are bound to come in higher than forecasts in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 as those earnings get repatriated back into dollars. Yet it’s the long-term… Read More

I feel the same way about gold right now as I did about tech stocks in the late 1990s — that it’s far too late to get in. Just the fact that no one can agree if there’s a gold bubble is enough to turn me off to the yellow… Read More

It’s little secret that China is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. It already boasts the world’s largest population of nearly 1.4 billion citizens, and through the first half of this year, its economy grew by +11.1%, which comes despite a global… Read More

Interest rates near zero and record-low U.S. Treasury yields make finding good income investments a bit harder these days. Don’t get me wrong — it’s still possible to find attractive yields, but you need… Read More