As I write this, over 1.8 billion people are currently in lock down.
This includes us, South Africans, as of 26th of March 2020.
And while most of us are twiddling our thumbs at home, we are probably asking the same questions.
1. What can I do with my time?
2. How long will this thing last?
3. Where is a safe place to invest my money?
I might not have the answer to the first two, ... ››› more
Over the last seven days, the crypto market shed around half of its value.
With the entire market cap dropping from $220 billion to $120 billion in less than 24 hours.
Most of the major crypto-currencies dropped 20%, 30% or even more
And surprising enough, these massive price swings weren't crypto related at all.
Here are the real reasons why most crypto-currencies crashed last week... ››› more
Winston Churchill famously said:
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
I love that saying. Except today I'm changing it just a little:
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an investor sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
And that's what my piece is about this week.
Br... ››› more
The JSE All Share Index is down 28.95% since the start of 2020.
The effect of the Corona Virus and its panic has been huge on our, and other markets around the world.
Due to these events you might be wondering “what are the stocks that have dropped the most, and are any of them buys right now?”
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Three Penny Superstar Stocks... ››› more
Unless you live under a rock, you'll know global markets have fallen dramatically over the last few days. Many major indices are now in bear market territory, having fallen more than 20% from highs. Some sectors, like energy, have fallen even further.
It's total carnage out there!
But, if you're a regular reader, you can't say we didn't warn you about this…
Firstly, as many of my reade... ››› more
Yesterday marked the worst day for global markets since the 2008 financial crisis. This is on the back of the collapse in oil prices, down over 30% at one point, as Saudi Arabia notified its clients that it will sell oil at reduced prices from 1 April 2020. This is to protect its market share while demand is low.
This is effectively the second black swan to hit the market after the corona viru... ››› more
The world's eyes are on the United States this month.
Health officials are currently monitoring over 8,400 potential coronavirus cases in the US.
There have been 88 confirmed cases of the US Covid-19 and 2 deaths in Washington.
And last week alone, the Dow Jones Industrial Index (Dow Jones) fell more than 12% in just a few days…
This was the biggest drop for the largest stock exch... ››› more
Buying a stock is only the first part of investing… Selling, and knowing when to sell is an even harder part.
Especially when the markets are in trouble.
And boy did we just have a tough week… with the JSE (and most global stock indices) down 10%+ on the back of the world economy.
But does this mean you should sell your shares and head for the hills?
Probably not… But let's h... ››› more
It's true!
The average investor sells his winners and holds his losers believing they will turn around!
This phenomenon even has a name
It's called the disposition effect.
And they even conducted a study to prove it…
In 1998, two US Finance Professors Brad Barber and Terrance O'Dean conducted a study called The Behaviour of Individual Investors.
They analysed the trading ... ››› more
China is in chaos.
The Coronavirus has just about brought the world's second largest economy to a standstill.
As a nation, the Chinese have been restricted to their homes. The government has cancelled flights… Shut down cities… And tragically nearly 500 people have already lost their lives!
It's a disastrous social crisis, and one which has roiled global markets.
On the economi... ››› more
This is not a drill…
The deadly coronavirus has not only claimed over 170 lives at last count and infected 1000s, it's also had a major impact on world stock markets and economies.
Investors are selling off their positions in equities, and seeking out alternatives like gold, platinum and bonds which have little effect on world markets.
And it looks like we are ... ››› more
Yesterday saw global stock markets retreat, sending the JSE and other emerging markets into a tailspin. This is on the back of the Coronavirus and a missile attack on the US embassy in Bagdad.
But if it wasn't for this, it would have been something else… Investor sentiment has been high, pushing major US indices to all-time highs and others including the JSE to recent highs.
... ››› more
I don't know if you noticed, but last weekend, bitcoin's price soared from around $7,500 to over $9,600 - a +28% gain!
Many cryptocurrency market analysts pointed to comments made by China's president President Xi Jinping that the country should "seize the opportunity" of bitcoin's blockchain technology, as the reason behind bitcoin's sudden rally.
You see, China banned bitcoin and cryptoc... ››› more
In what was one of the largest 24-hour market sell-offs this year, over $30 billion was dumped from crypto assets.
At one stage, the largest crypto, bitcoin, was down around 20% as its price crashed to a three-month low of just over $7,800.
While, many predicted a huge drop to around $8,000, it was still quite a shock to see it happen.
So what caused the crash and what should crypto in... ››› more
Over the past year we've seen a number of factors drag the world economy down.
From the sudden cut in interest rates in September, to the ongoing war with Brexit and with the US-China trade war, to the oil output being decimated by a drone attack in Saudi Arabia…
We are now seeing the aftermath and the ripple effect, unfortunately hit home…
In fact, we had an announcement last week... ››› more
Following on from last week's article where I quoted Sir John Templeton as saying “tell me where there is the most pessimism and I will tell you where to invest”. That describes global equity markets now and more accurately the South African market. Most investors are bearish and pessimism is high. But that doesn't mean you should be buying every stock making 52-week lows or in bargain territo... ››› more
Markets have been incredibly skittish over the last week.
And, while there are many reasons for concern, one of the main issues driving share prices lower is fear over the “inverted yield curve”.
If you skim the financial news, you'll see headlines like:
“Yield curve inversion hammers US small banks”
“Bond market yield curve inverts, signalling Fed may be too slow to cut... ››› more
The rand has collapsed over the last two weeks. It moved from below R13,90/$ to worse than R15,30/$. That's more than 10% weaker in a fortnight. Obviously, many of you are worried you've lost your chance to get money out of SA at a reasonable exchange rate.
The question on everyone's mind: Should you get out now or wait for a better level?
The only way to answer this question is to look f... ››› more
By now, I assume, most investors would agree, having all your money invested in SA is a bad idea.
Our low growth, unstable politics and a volatile currency are important considerations. However, the most important reason to invest offshore, is the local investment universe is simply too small. At less than 0.6% of global GDP, South Africa is simply too small to provide you with enough opportun... ››› more
As Winston Churchill once said “Never let a good crisis go to waste”, we believe investors should be ensuring they have enough exposure to offshore assets that will be a hedge against a “deeper crisis” and should be slowly buying depressed local assets if they have cash on hand. Most investors have been sitting on the sidelines not fully exposed to equities
You can't blame local invest... ››› more
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