Cashing in on the international student boom
On 26 June the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the third version of the US Travel Ban, stating the [order] is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices. The decision was immediately followed by a wave of…
Drilling into the top 30 short list
Retail investors confident enough to pick their own stocks are constantly hunting for sources of new investment opportunities. Value investors and bargain hunters monitor the 52-week low and daily top market fall lists. Some ignore another potentially potent source – the Top 30 Short List. Why? It doesn’t take long for a virgin share market…
Best of breed offshore earners
Long-suffering Aussie investors have only to gaze afar in admiration at the outperformance of share markets in other countries. While the ASX 200 has yet to regain its pre-GFC status, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Japan’s Nikkei Index have soared. A March 2018 article appearing in Business Insider Australia looked at a…
Robots and algorithms are likely to automate workplaces at a frenzied pace
Believe it or not, a motion to the European parliament recommends that autonomous robots be deemed “electronic persons”. The motion for resolution suggests that self-learning robots, those that make independent decisions and interact freely, be held to have an “electronic personality”.The proposals in the 2017 motion aren’t as bizarre as it might seem because companies…
Foreign investing: Global Consumer Staple Stocks to Watch
They’re the brands we use every day, they’re the colourful staples that compete for our attention on the supermarket shelves, but they’re also part of an investment sector with major potential. The consumer staples sector captures companies selling everything from toothpaste to chewing gum, from chocolate bars to fish-fingers. Garry Laurence, portfolio manager of the…
Global Strategy: Emerging Markets the Best Bet
At first glance, the current environment remains rather favorable for equity investors. Profitability is strong and continues to rise around the world, interest rates are still very low in most countries and valuations don’t yet look excessive, for the most part. But after an exceptionally positive 2017 and a rip-roaring start to 2018, investors have…
A New Lithium War Is About To Begin
It’s the modern gold rush. Around the world, the most sought-after mineral isn’t a precious metal, nor is it oil and gas…it’s lithium.Lithium, or ‘white petroleum’ as some call it, has become a crucial element in today’s high-tech economy.Demand for lithium is soaring, and producers are frantically searching for new sources of supply. Prices have…
Tuning in to radio stocks
A recent car trip to a nearby suburb took an hour when it normally takes 15 minutes. Traffic congestion was horrible, despite being outside peak hour. It’s no surprise that population growth is becoming a big political issue as congestion reduces living quality. As my car crawled along busy roads, an interesting radio program provided…
Are share buybacks a positive or negative sign?
I have mixed feelings on share buybacks. The good: they suggest a company believes its shares are undervalued. The bad: the company is running out of growth options and relying on capital-management initiatives to prop up the share price. As a follower of small- and mid-cap companies, I like high-growth companies that reinvest profit, to…
