Feature Article #1
Germany: Warren Buffett Likes It, And So Do We
Investors have been watching Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) Chairman Warren Buffett’s moves for years to see which investments are going to take off next.
Back in October, the Oracle of Omaha’s trip to South Korea encouraged our own bullishness on that country’s stock market.
And now Buffett has decided to have a look at Germany.
On a recent trip to Europe, Buffett made stops in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. But his first priority was to meet with leaders of the German mittelstand - the family-owned, medium-sized companies that are the backbone of the German economy.
“We would like…
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Money Morning | May 21st, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #2
Hong Kong Gaining Prominence as Leading Global Financial Center
At a time when Europe and the United States are shedding jobs in the financial sector, one financial center is only adding to its ranks: Hong Kong.
Though it currently holds third place behind London and New York, Hong Kong’s presence as a world financial center is growing by the day. Credit Suisse Group (CS) is the latest financial firm to move a top executive to the Asian city.
Vikram Gandhi, the Swiss bank’s head of global financial institutions group, will relocate to Hong Kong from New York this summer to tap growth in Asia, Bloomberg News reported.
“As part of our ongoing commitment…
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Money Morning | May 21st, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #3
Cashing in on Commodities: The Short- and Long-Term Solutions to the Growing Global Energy Crisis
Crude oil is grabbing the headlines but it’s coal and uranium that together provide nearly half the world’s power.
So it follows that as worldwide demand for electricity skyrockets - as it will - the shares of companies that provide these two key fuels also will take flight.
And they make for almost-perfect partners.
That’s because coal represents the world’s short-term solution to the problem of a rapidly climbing global demand for power. It’s plentiful, it’s cheaper than other available alternatives, and a big percentage of the world’s power plants are set up to burn this fossil fuel.
Uranium, on the other hand,…
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Money Morning | May 20th, 2008 | Continued
Feature Article #4
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 #5
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 #6
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 #7
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 #8
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 #9
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 #10
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
