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• Why India’s Stocks Deserve Your Attention (Part 1) - Editor, 19 October 2007 - No Comments yet

South-East Asia has awoken decisively from centuries of colonial obligation. Large domestic populations, nuclear arsenals, and physical proximity to China, and suspected bases of insurgent activities, make South-East Asia a politically sensitive part of the world. Big business often follows geo-politics, and South-East Asia has not been an exception to this phenomenon. Some countries in this area enjoyed spectacular GDP growths towards the end of the 20th century, but their blazing trails were catastrophically short-lived as international investors suddenly abandoned stocks in these countries.

• Why India’s Stocks Deserve Your Attention (Part 2) - Editor, 19 October 2007 - No Comments yet

Why India’s Stocks Deserve Your Attention (Part 1)

How the Best Investors View India’s Stocks

The World Bank has a global view with some of the best economists available. How does this august body view India? India and the World Bank have a special relationship that goes back decades. India has been one of the largest beneficiaries of financial assistance at negligible interest rates. This is because the World Bank has been enamored of the country’s long term stabilities and the governmental policies which promote sustained and all-round development.

• Conundrums of Media Stocks (Part 1) - Editor, 18 October 2007 - No Comments yet

High profile media stocks are so coveted by their owners that all investors must want to own some! Is media a high profit and growth sector? Why do entrepreneurs prefer this sector to other avenues of application for their funds? It is common knowledge that the mainstream media is a pillar of democratic functioning, with sizeable influences on social and political trends. The media is also a reservoir of big business: newspapers account for revenues of over $50 billion a year in the United States alone. Advertising campaigns on television run in to millions of dollars. Information and entertainment are so integral to modern living that media appears to have essential roles in our lives. However, discerning investors may still shy away from media stocks, harboring doubts that the sector will not be able to maintain past trends of financial success.

• Conundrums of Media Stocks (Part 2) - Editor, 18 October 2007 - No Comments yet

Conundrums of Media Stocks (Part 1)

Go Beyond the Numbers to Spot Winning Media Stocks

Records of past financial performances are not reliable for picking the right media stocks. Human information and entertainment needs will not go away, so a portfolio without at least a modicum of media stocks in likely to lose out needlessly on profit and growth opportunities. That does mean that all media companies will succeed, and investors must examine business plans, models, and processes in detail to buy the right stocks from this sector.

• Stocks for Secure Retirement (Part 1) - Editor, 17 October 2007 - No Comments yet

The days when one could work diligently, retire at 65, and look forward to living well on steady returns on accumulated savings and on pensions, is gone forever! The new situation makes investing in stocks more important than it has been in the past. Which factors have contributed to this new trend?

• Stocks for Secure Retirement (Part 2) - Editor, 17 October 2007 - No Comments yet

Though some categories of consumption expenditure reduce or even disappear after retirement, others especially the health related ones tend to rise inexorably. Most health insurance benefits involve co-payments, and respond with alacrity if there are large outflows in a particular year. The situation is even worse in emerging economies without viable social security and infrastructure.

• Have You Joined the Bandwagon of Hedge Fund Stocks? (Part 1) - Editor, 16 October 2007 - No Comments yet

Hedge funds, compared to conventional stocks, attract extra regulatory attention. Their focus is generally short-term compared to stocks of established corporations, and large movements in and out of Exchanges can cause great turbulence. Further, all countries do not have uniform and comprehensive controls on the identities and backgrounds of individual entities behind hedge funds. The field tends to be murky, with periodic allegations that illegal capital is siphoned in to hedge funds.