Market Watch
Three Out of Four Ain’t Bad |
By Charles Delvalle Dear Reader, The market’s been up, and it’s been down. But the one thing that remains constant is that there are a lot of big investors out there scamming the little guys. Over the past few weeks, many readers have sent in stories and really good resources that can help the little guy figure out what’s going on. |
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| Three Out of Four Ain’t Bad |
| Tuesday, 06 November 2007 | ||||||||
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Now that Thursday’s 362-point drop is a few days behind us, let’s pause a second and try to see the big picture. Though it may not feel like it, three of our major asset classes are up for the year: stocks, bonds, and commodities. Only the dollar is down. The best performer so far this year is commodities. Gold is hitting 28-year highs, and industrial commodities such as copper and steel are still going strong. Add it all up, and the CRB commodities index is the best-performing investment segment of the four majors represented in the chart below. And though the stock market is still up, I can’t help but think there are some more steep ups and downs in store for us between now and the end of the year. Black Friday toward the end of November, the Fed’s meeting in mid-December, and more housing and credit crunch news could occasion some sharp movement. As for an end-of-the-year rally, I wouldn’t count on it. Retailers are setting up to absorb two body blows - lower volume and smaller margins. Apart from the weakness in financials, manufacturing is down. Energy companies are also having trouble maintaining their margins. And long-term bond prices look vulnerable from inflation threats. But a lower dollar and 9-11 percent annual growth in China should keep commodity prices rising. Asia, global growth, and commodities are shaping up as the most promising investment classes as we approach the end of the year. Source : IDE
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