Some countries win and other countries lose. While the fortunes of a certain geographic area of the world certainly can change over times, there are some areas in the world that are doomed to poverty forever. One of those areas is Pakistan. (more…)
The week ending July 4th, 2008 was a bloodbath for world equity markets. Of the major indexes, only 2 were positive for the week overall: Austria, which gained 1%, and the Czech Republic which skyrocketed 7%, despite the financial stress in the system globally. The worst performing markets got crushed, with the Pacific Rim containing 6 of the bottom 10 performing equity markets for the week overall. Outside of Asia, Ireland, Brazil, and Chile were the worst performers, dropping between 6-8% each, with Turkey putting up the worst numbers, dropping an outrageous 10% in a single week. (more…)
Stocks throughout Asia have been getting hammered recently, as the worldwide financial crisis worsens, and has reached virtually every country on the planet. The Japanese stock market index has now been on a consecutive losing streak of 12 days, its longest such streak in 5 decades. (more…)
Benazir Bhutto’s death in Pakistan this morning is a huge blow to the global political infrastructure. While her reign in office was marked by corruption and poor policy decisions, political stability and law and order are essential to the progress of developing countries such as Pakistan. Her death has caused (more…)
The International Herald Tribune had a fantastic article today on how the growth of China is causing monumental changes throughout all of Southeast Asia. In particular, they profile the plight of Loatian farmers who previously collected crops and transported them by foot (more…)
PetroChina’s (NYSE: PTR) IPO today in Shanghai made the Chinese oil and gas producer the most valuable company in the world, more than doubling the market capitalization of its closest competitor.
The NY Times has a great article on the huge amount of currency speculation going on in Japan currently. A subculture of housewives turned currency speculators has turned a predominantly male preoccupation (more…)
Shinzo Abe’s resignation as the Japanese PM yesterday ended a tumultous year in politics for Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party. After taking over from the highly controversial, but very successful Mr. Koizuimi (more…)
(Reprint from July 28, 2006)
Few nations in history have shown the remarkeable progress that Singapore has achieved over the past 40 years. In such a short period of time, the city-state of Singapore has gone from swamp land to one of the wealthiest nations in the world, making Lee Kuan Yew perhaps the most brilliant politican that has ever lived. By implementing the correct policies from the start, the example of Singapore (more…)
(Reprint from Nov. 28, 2005)
After nearly a decade and a half of floundering in the economic environment, Junichiro Koizumi has taken Japan on its back and revitalized the land of the rising sun into one of the promising investing environments on the planet today. Year to date, the Nikkei index is up over 50%, making it one of the best (more…)