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Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (34093)	5/21/2003 12:42:28 AM
From: EL KABONG!!!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Hi Jay, Emerging Markets comes quickly to mind as almost a perennial dandelion on somebody’s lawn; Collectibles are always fun; and then there are always those 18% yield Treasury Bills, after that, Fixer-upper Nothing-down Houses, followed by Private Islands. The most recent one I've heard of involves investing (read: buying) in uncut precious gemstones which will "explode" in value at some future point. Right, like I know how to evaluate or appraise uncut diamonds or sapphires... But, I suppose that there's someone out there that thinks s/he knows better than the guys hawking these schemes... KJC

To: TobagoJack who wrote (34093)	5/21/2003 1:01:43 AM
From: LLCF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

ROFLMAO!!! <By the time we get to the treasury bill episode, Maurice's Q should be worth exactly 3 tins of cat food ...> That's funny too... except with gold tickling 3k per oz, cat food is likely to be several dollars a can! DAK

To: TobagoJack who wrote (34093)	5/21/2003 1:11:03 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Gold continues to surge as dollar stays weak By Kevin Morrison and Nerma Jelacic in London Published: May 20 2003 12:11 \| Last Updated: May 20 2003 12:11 Gold prices jumped to $370 a troy ounce for the first time since falling from a six-year high three months ago, as the US dollar hovers around four-year lows against the euro. The precious metal has benefited from the continued depreciation of the dollar, which is also near its lowest trade weighted level since early 1997 against a basket of currencies. There seems to be no sign of any halt to the slide, although the decline did stall on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan was suspected of covertly buying dollars for yen. The weak dollar has prompted analysts to forecast gold to return to near its high of $388.50 reached on February 4. news.ft.com

To: TobagoJack who wrote (34093)	5/21/2003 1:14:33 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

Soros sells USD and criticize US currency exchange policy. Like the Thais say: UI! Soros says to CNBC he's following Snow's advice and selling USD. He bets in valuation of CAN dollar Kiwi dollar Aussie dollar and (Jay is going to have an orgasm now) gold. He says USD down and Euro up won't help the US economy and will weaken Euroland. He says Snow's policy is a mistake.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (34093)	5/21/2003 3:30:11 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

<<Emerging Markets comes quickly to mind>> Indeed! Latin American bulls lift Spain By Vicente Varo in Madrid and Deborah Hargreaves in London Published: May 20 2003 16:18 \| Last Updated: May 20 2003 16:18 Spain's market regulator flexed its muscles on Tuesday to enforce new takeover rules which came into effect in April. The National Securities Market Commission forced a small property company to bid for additional shares in a rival. The move highlights Spain's attempt to tighten the regulation of its stock market as international investors take an increasing interest in the Iberian peninsula. Merrill Lynch is recommending an overweight position for international investors in Spain as Europe's core economies risk sinking into deflation. "We have preferred the "inflationary periphery" of the eurozone for some time because of growth, momentum and not having to worry about the threat of deflation," said Michael Hartnett, director of European equity strategy at Merrill. This is reflected in the stock market performance of countries such as Spain where share prices are buoyed by aresilient economy and improving conditions in Latin America. Madrid's benchmark Ibex 35 index has risen by 4.9 per cent in the year to date, outperforming the rest of Europe, which is down 6 per cent, even after rallying 10.6 per cent in April. "The great momentum of the Spanish stock market comes as a consequence of several circumstances that has turned it into a safe haven for investors", says Javier Mazarredo, who manages the mutual fund SCH Acciones Espaolas Plus. The main reason for the outperformance has been the improving outlook for the Latin American economies, as Argentina and Brazil have bounced back from collapse. Spain's largest companies obtain a big portion of their earnings in the region. Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications operator, receives a third of its revenue from Latin America, and Banco Santander Hispano and BBVA, the two biggest Spanish banks, obtain about 35 per cent of their profits from the region. Latin America has been home to the best performing emerging market this year and funds invested in the region were the best performers in the first quarter. The Brazilian real, the currency of the biggest Latin American economy, has rallied nearly 25 per cent since its October low, as investors have been reassured about the policies of the country's new prime minister. Spain is also benefiting from a stronger economy where eurozone interest rates are not stifling economic growth as in Germany. Spanish gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 2 per cent last year in comparison with the 1.1 per cent growth in the European Union. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the Spanish economy to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2003, much stronger than the 0.9 per cent growth analysts have forecast for the eurozone. At the other end of the scale is Germany, where economic growth has stalled and brought about a desperate need for further interest rate cuts. Most analysts expect further rate cuts to come, which would boost growth in Spain further. Mr Hartnett argues that Spanish equities are still cheap compared with other European countries. Based on last year's earnings Spain's leading index trades on a price/earnings ratio of 11.7 compared with 13.7 for the pan-European market. Even on consensus forecast earnings for this year, the Spanish market is still relatively attractive on a p/e ratio of 10.5 compared with 12.4 for the whole of Europe. Another key factor to explain the performance of Spanish equities, which is also related to Latin America, is the high weighting in the benchmark index of Telefonica, a top performing Spanish blue-chip this year. The telecoms operator, which has climbed more than 13 per cent since the start of the year, makes up more than a fifth of the Ibex 35, a weighting much heavier than other European big caps in their respective indices. Its subsidiaries Terra and TPI also have benefited from the better perspective for Latin America dependent businesses.