Friday the 13th

Contrary to common belief, Friday the 13th is not that scary for the markets.

DJIA returns on friday the 13th

 

Source- Bespoke Investment 

Leaders and Laggards of 2010

YTD performance of various assest classes. perhaps one of the best years for commodities overall

Believe it or Not

Now believe it or Not US stocks were the best performers compared to all emerging market. so all the hullabaloo over US perishing and EM frenzy is far from reality. The above graphic shows the dollar adjusted returns

S&P 500 returns in 2010

Gold - A Perspective

History suggests that gold still has reasons to rally. QE 2 is around the corner as BoJ has already taken the steps towards QE.Technically also 1270 can be a very crucial level for gold and the rally should continue unless 1270 level is broken

Overbought Markets

China Vs India

Bottoms up versus top down

India is a bottoms up story, while China is a more top down story. GDP figures can hide more than they reveal, nonetheless provide useful pointers. GDP growth rate in China has been driven by centrally commanded infrastructure spending, while the Indian GDP growth is driven by robust domestic aggregate non-commanded demand fueled by rising incomes. An additional interesting factor is that the India growth story is driven by rural and non-main urban centers, a factor which will be explored in this article subsequently.

The Indian growth process is chaotic with a garrulous democracy arguably slowing down progress. The Chinese growth story appears orderly and disciplined – the country resembling a well run machine. To quote from an article Contest of the Century in The Economist,

“Autocrats in Beijing are contemptuous of India for its messy, indecisive democracy. But they must see it as a serious long-term rival—especially if it continues to tilt towards America.”