Thursday, July 28, 2011

THE ONGOING RECOVERY - NOT!

As the US Government is negotiating to raise the US Debt Ceiling, Central Bank Governors around the world are struggling to keep the fragile economic recovery intact while tackling inflation concerns at the same time.

Below are some magazine covers, that you would not expect to see at this stage of a economic recovery!





Tuesday, July 19, 2011

US ADJUSTED MONETARY BASE - Chart from St Louis FED

Clearly there's more stimulus to come, as the never ending recovery from those dark days in 2008 continues. The FED really has a tough job on its hands.
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Talks of a possible QE3 could add more fuel to rising commodity prices, while a cancellation of a proposed plan for QE3, will not go down well in these jittery markets!

Below are two Charts of the Adjusted US Monetary Base. (5year + Long Term)
2011 has seen the graph spike sharply updards, a trend that is clearly not sustainale !












Meanwhile the Precious Metals sector has had quite a rally over the past week, with Gold prices topping $1600, and Silver just about getting over the $40 level. Perhaps, the Gold market is pricing in a possible QE3 further down the line.
I continue to be cautiously optimistic on the precious metals sector over the next month and a half; i.e. until the end of August 2011. These summer months have traditionally been seasonally weak for the PM sector.

Friday, July 15, 2011

INDIAN EQUITIES - AN UPDATE

Here's an article titled - 'A Two - Tier Market' by Akash Prakash from the Business Standard Newspaper dated 8th of July 2011 - Mumbai edition..


He addresses the issue overvaluation of the consumer-staples sector and highlights the difficulties of buying high-quality companies at a reasonable price in the Indian Stock Market.
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Currently, many consumer staple stock trade with PE ratios of 30-35!
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On the other hand, investors continue to shy away from industries that are in need of capital, mainly due to concerns of poor earning visibility. Many infrastructure companies are facing great difficulty in raising capital.



The article is a fantastic read.