Recently, we have seen a lot of press coverage on the Indian and the US stock markets, both of which have been booming. In fairness, the Japanese stock market recently hit an all-time high, but this was after 34 years and in real terms, it is much different.
The old Oracle of Omaha has done it again, spotting an arbitrage opportunity when the Japanese stock market began to show signs of life. While this man has built his entire fortune on value, value and better value, this is the first such arbitrage situation to emerge in Japan for many years. With a mixture of improved performance and investor perceptions, Warren Buffett is now sitting on a significant return.
It is easy to discount ongoing demographic changes as something for the economists, governments and regulators to worry about. In reality, changing demographics can have a significant impact on investment markets and investment trends. We know that an ever-strengthening APAC economy impacts various areas of everyday life and, ultimately, long-term investment.
Expectations that interest rates will begin to fall relatively soon have seen some emerging markets experiencing an easing of the financial constraints in the bond markets. We thought it would be interesting to look at some of the leading APAC and emerging countries, noting their current S & P credit ratings and recent movements.
In bull markets, investors tend to focus on equities and the potential for long-term capital growth and an increase in income. When markets turn downwards, or there is a degree of volatility and uncertainty, non-traditional investments, known as alternative investments, will often come into play. They offer a different angle and investment strategy; in some cases, they can provide a degree of protection.
While overall, it has been a challenging year for investment markets across the globe, the last couple of years have been particularly difficult for the cryptocurrency sector, beset by many challenges. As we enter 2024, there are high hopes that the cryptocurrency market will improve with some very ambitious predictions!
As we approach the New Year, you will often hear mention of the “New Year rally”, which has seen stock markets perform relatively well in the first four weeks of the New Year. Is this one of those issues that have become self-fulfilling? Is it true, or is it simply a myth?
As investors start to look towards 2024, we thought it might be interesting to look at the IMF economic forecasts for 2024 for the top 10 APAC economies. We have also added the forecast for 2023 to put the 2024 forecasts in context.
Looking from afar, from Europe or America, it is very easy to label the Far East as an “Asian market” for investment. They might appear to have the same culture, businesses, and approach to investment, but is this really the case on the ground?
It’s important to understand the concept before looking at specific examples of systematic and unsystematic risk. Systematic risk is a non-diversifiable risk, otherwise known as market risk. Unsystematic risk is diversifiable risk often referred to as investment-specific risk