Feature Article #1
Two Ways to Profit as China and Japan Quietly Forge the Most Powerful Trading Alliance in the World
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yauo Fukuda met recently and signed some modest cooperation agreements. That doesn’t sound much to get excited about, until you consider how well the Chinese and Japanese economies fit together.
Think of it this way: With China’s boundless supply of low-cost labor and Japan’s superb education system - and an ability to work together that’s clearly founded on considerable commonality of thinking - these two countries, as a pair, will be world-beaters.
In fact, they’ll be world leaders.
The Past has Passed
The summit - while modest - marked an important policy change from the mutual…
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Money Morning | May 16th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #2
Music Downloads: Profit without iTunes
It’s a concensus: Being in the music business sucks, right now.
Despite the music industry’s best attempts to vilify file sharing, the prosecution of 12 year olds for downloading music has only resulted in the vilification of the major labels in the eyes of the public. Even after the music biz managed to gut Napster, online file sharing has continued, though on a smaller, more furtive scale.
And while iTunes may have figured out a way to prevent listeners from playing each other’s downloaded music (if you try, the program will inform you that your computer is not “authorized” to play the…
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Stephanie Grimmett | May 14th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #3
Fixing the economy: Listen to Hanoi Jane
It is not too often Jane Fonda’s name gets a mention when discussing patriotism and improving the country. But if we want to succeed and continue as an economic powerhouse, we must follow the liberal lady’s exercise advice: No pain, no gain.
For some reason, this country hates pain, even if it leads to monumental improvements. The average American waistline is a great example.
Another fine example is our addiction to crude. We have known for decades that our dependency on foreign oil would eventually cripple this country. Whether we have reached that point or not is moot. The fact that very few…
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Andrew Snyder | May 13th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #4
Iranian Energy Sector a Political Pitfall for Some, New Opportunity for Others
Iran’s energy sector has again proved to be a point of controversy as both Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Spain’s Repsol YPF SA (REP) have withdrawn from one of Iran’s largest natural gas projects after being pelted with political pressure from the United States.
Shell and Repsol will no longer aid Iran in the development of phase 13 of the country’s South Pars, the world’s biggest gas field, the Financial Times reported. They did, however, leave open the possibility of working with Iran to develop phases 20 and 21, but it may be 10 years before those blocks are operational.…
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Money Morning | May 13th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #5
Soaring Oil and Gasoline Prices Worry Cost Conscious U.S. Consumers
The effects of soaring oil prices are finally trickling down to the pump and consumers are feeling the pinch.
On Friday, oil futures hit a new record of over $126 per barrel. Prices jumped 7.4% last week, with crude oil for June delivery trading as high at $126.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Oil is a safe haven because of the weak dollar and how badly the financial sector has been doing,” Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts, told Bloomberg News. “There are also geopolitical concerns about places like Nigeria and Venezuela that are propping…
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Money Morning | May 12th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #6
Weak Dollar Narrows Trade Deficit, but Inflation Blunts Consumer Demand
The trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of March, as developing markets took advantage of a weak dollar and stocked up on American goods.
The gap shrank 5.7% from a revised $61.7 billion in February to $58.2 billion, the Commerce Department reported. Imports decreased 2.9% as the country experienced sluggish growth over the past six months, and according to some, slipped into a recession. It was the biggest drop in imports since December 2001.
Exports dropped by 1.7%, but that decline followed February’s record high export total of $151.1 billion. March’s export total of $148.5 billion was the second biggest…
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Money Morning | May 12th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #7
A Currency Conundrum: Beware of the U.S. Dollar’s “Head Fake” Rally
Don’t mistake the U.S. dollar’s recent rally for strength. If anything, it’s a head fake of legendary proportions.
In fact, the dollar’s recent run-up is actually a warning that risks are escalating.
To better understand what I mean here, let’s look at the greenback’s recent performance against the euro. After bottoming at an all-time low of $1.6019 versus the euro on April 22, the dollar has soared nearly 4% and was trading at $1.5428 per euro early yesterday (Wednesday).
Now many of the Wall Street types expect that rally to continue. Just yesterday, UBS AG (UBS) predicted the greenback would rise to $1.47…
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Money Morning | May 8th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #8
10 Global Trends to Follow for the Next 18 Months
There’s an old Wall Street adage that tells us that “the trend is your friend.”
And there’s a witty bit of wisdom we’ve developed here at Money Morning to help guide our readers and us that says: “Go global or go home.”
Combine those two and you’ll discover that you’ve got yourself one very strong investing strategy - if you choose the right trends, that is.
Surprisingly, that’s nowhere near as difficult as most investors think. All you have to do is to look around you, and study the forces that are at work in the markets each day. If you do that on…
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Money Morning | May 7th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #9
Profit Alert: How to Play Small Cap Stocks
Smart Profits Report - Small caps are one area you absolutely want to be the first guy in the door, so you can grab the most money.
For months now, I’ve been trying to analyze the current small cap stock market conditions. Often times, I show up early to the party.
But you know what? That just means more profits while the others catch up. Let me give you some examples - and show you the next best place for profiting from small cap stocks…
Jump In Early And Get The Pick Of The Small Cap Stock Profits
While every investor dreams about uncovering “the…
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Smart Profits Report | May 6th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #10
Election 2008: As Democratic Primary Hits a New Pinnacle Today, Obamanomics Emerges as Clear Front-Runner for Investors
With contests in both Indiana and North Carolina, today (Tuesday) probably marks the last of the crucial Democratic presidential primary election contests between senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
Unless the cynical premise of Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos” is realized, and the Democrat presidential wingding continues to move forward at an increasingly vitriolic level through that party’s national convention in Denver in late August, whomever wins the Democratic nomination is pretty likely to be our next President. So, as investors - whether Democrat or Republican - which of the two candidates should we be rooting for?
The Case for Clinton
Our initial reaction would…
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Money Morning | May 6th, 2008 | Continued
