Rodney Dangerfield said it best in the movie “Caddyshack” when he was talking to his broker while playing golf.  #-ad_banner-#”Buy, buy, buy! Oh, everyone’s buying? Then sell, sell, sell!”  The quick lesson from this is many times it is best to not follow the crowd. Instead, do the opposite — and history shows that times of crisis have proven to be some of the best times to invest.  Right now, the market everyone is selling is Russia, driven by its incursions in Ukraine. Some of the hardest-hit stocks include VimpelCom (Nasdaq: VIP), Yandex (Nasdaq:… Read More

Rodney Dangerfield said it best in the movie “Caddyshack” when he was talking to his broker while playing golf.  #-ad_banner-#”Buy, buy, buy! Oh, everyone’s buying? Then sell, sell, sell!”  The quick lesson from this is many times it is best to not follow the crowd. Instead, do the opposite — and history shows that times of crisis have proven to be some of the best times to invest.  Right now, the market everyone is selling is Russia, driven by its incursions in Ukraine. Some of the hardest-hit stocks include VimpelCom (Nasdaq: VIP), Yandex (Nasdaq: YNDX) and Gazprom (OTC: OGZPY).  VimpelCom is down 36% year to date. Yandex is down 24% and Gazprom is down almost 5%. Are they worth buying on this pullback? Let’s take a closer look The Best Russian Telecom To Own VimpelCom is a leading telecom in Russia, Ukraine and many other parts of the former Soviet Union. In Russia, VimpelCom owns the #3 carrier, and in Ukraine, it owns the largest, Kyivstar. In total, the company has more than 218 million mobile subscribers.  Over the last four years, VimpelCom has sought to lessen its reliance on Russia as it… Read More

I love it when perception differs from reality… that’s when you can really make money in the stock market. Take emerging markets for instance. If you read the news regularly, you’d think emerging markets were the last place you’d want to put your money. Almost every day there’s a headline decrying how the economies in these developing nations are on the verge of collapse. In 2010 it was Greece… in 2012 Egypt… last year it was Syria… and today it’s Ukraine. The problem with following all this bad news is that sometimes it leads us to miss out on the… Read More

I love it when perception differs from reality… that’s when you can really make money in the stock market. Take emerging markets for instance. If you read the news regularly, you’d think emerging markets were the last place you’d want to put your money. Almost every day there’s a headline decrying how the economies in these developing nations are on the verge of collapse. In 2010 it was Greece… in 2012 Egypt… last year it was Syria… and today it’s Ukraine. The problem with following all this bad news is that sometimes it leads us to miss out on the good things… like how stocks in India and South Africa recently touched new 12-month highs or how Irish companies rebounded 45.6% in 2013. Unfortunately, most investors didn’t see a dime in profits from these incredible rallies. They succumbed to the headlines, avoided emerging markets and instead settled for the good, but lower returns offered by U.S. stocks over the same period. The good news is that the opportunity to earn explosive profits from emerging markets is far from over. While India and South Africa might be doing better, the rest of the world’s emerging markets have been absolutely crushed lately,… Read More

As the crow flies, it’s 4,400 miles from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Barranquilla, Colombia.  #-ad_banner-#The two cities flank the southern and northern ends of western South America, and from end to end, you’ll find the most dynamic economies in the Western Hemisphere. And the remarkable economic strength seen in those countries, in contrast to the more challenged economies in the eastern part of South America, explains why you can’t simply paint the notion of emerging markets with a broad brush.  Make no mistake, a rising tide has lifted many boats in South America.  Brazil has witnessed a remarkable economic renaissance,… Read More

As the crow flies, it’s 4,400 miles from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Barranquilla, Colombia.  #-ad_banner-#The two cities flank the southern and northern ends of western South America, and from end to end, you’ll find the most dynamic economies in the Western Hemisphere. And the remarkable economic strength seen in those countries, in contrast to the more challenged economies in the eastern part of South America, explains why you can’t simply paint the notion of emerging markets with a broad brush.  Make no mistake, a rising tide has lifted many boats in South America.  Brazil has witnessed a remarkable economic renaissance, and is now the world’s seventh-largest economy. To the south, Argentina remains blessed with an impressive set of natural resources, and a well-educated middle class. But these countries are also beset by deep-rooted structural challenges, and are increasingly being run with a dubious government hand. Investors need to brace for inflation scares, GDP slumps, social unrest and currency swings, and the higher risk doesn’t necessarily yield greater returns.  Yet if you pivot west, you’ll find a completely different economic environment. Chile, Peru and Colombia, which are often referred to as the Andean nations, possess all the key virtues that emerging-market… Read More

I talk to a variety of investors on a daily basis — and most everyone is stuck in a rut. #-ad_banner-#Successful or not, they invest the same way over and over again. Most don’t look beyond what they are already comfortable with, no matter what. The ability to think outside the box is often what differentiates outstanding investors. Venturing beyond your comfort zone into different strategies and types of investments can make the difference between another average year and your best year ever. This is particularly true when it comes to looking for dividend yield. The majority of… Read More

I talk to a variety of investors on a daily basis — and most everyone is stuck in a rut. #-ad_banner-#Successful or not, they invest the same way over and over again. Most don’t look beyond what they are already comfortable with, no matter what. The ability to think outside the box is often what differentiates outstanding investors. Venturing beyond your comfort zone into different strategies and types of investments can make the difference between another average year and your best year ever. This is particularly true when it comes to looking for dividend yield. The majority of income investors are focused only on U.S. stocks — which means they’re missing out on the massive opportunities available beyond America’s borders. In a recent study, mutual fund research firm Lipper found that U.S. stock income funds have $359 billion in assets — with just $13 billion allocated to international stock income funds.  Perhaps even more interesting, of the $1 trillion in dividends paid worldwide in 2013, U.S. companies accounted for 37%. This means that nearly two-thirds of the world’s dividend payouts — 63% — comes from international stocks.  In other words, most American stock investors are missing out… Read More

Interest rates are near zero. Savings accounts pay next to nothing. 10-Year Treasury yields are at their lowest level since 1956 — when Dwight Eisenhower was president. And the average yield for all stocks in the S&P 500 is just 2%. That makes us one of the lowest-yielding markets in the world. But compare that to what I’m seeing in international markets. #-ad_banner-#The U.K.’s average dividend yield is 3.8%… Sweden’s average yield is 4.0%… Canada yields 3.0%… Brazil’s average yield is 4.4%… New Zealand pays 4.5%… Belgium pays 4.7%… Australia yields 4.3%… And remember, these figures are just the averages,… Read More

Interest rates are near zero. Savings accounts pay next to nothing. 10-Year Treasury yields are at their lowest level since 1956 — when Dwight Eisenhower was president. And the average yield for all stocks in the S&P 500 is just 2%. That makes us one of the lowest-yielding markets in the world. But compare that to what I’m seeing in international markets. #-ad_banner-#The U.K.’s average dividend yield is 3.8%… Sweden’s average yield is 4.0%… Canada yields 3.0%… Brazil’s average yield is 4.4%… New Zealand pays 4.5%… Belgium pays 4.7%… Australia yields 4.3%… And remember, these figures are just the averages, weighed down by large numbers of stocks that don’t yield a cent. I’ve been telling readers this for months… The simple fact is that when you start looking abroad, high yielders are practically a dime a dozen in comparison to the United States. As Judy Sarayan, a fund manager at mega-investment firm Eaton Vance explained, “There’s a much stronger dividend culture abroad… Individual investors play a larger role in those markets, and they have always demanded more dividends.” That difference is more dramatic when you start looking at some individual examples of higher yields abroad. Take banks, for instance. Here… Read More

Several decades ago, mutual fund managers such as Fidelity’s Peter Lynch and Legg Mason’s Bill Miller garnered a great deal of attention from investors and the financial media. #-ad_banner-#These days, it’s the hotshot hedge fund managers, with their epic battles against companies such as Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR), that get all the buzz. Proxy fights and bold short sale claims can be entertaining to watch and sometimes even create value for investors.  Yet investing shouldn’t be about drama.  Those now-obscure mutual fund managers deserve a lot more attention than they deserve, even if they rarely… Read More

Several decades ago, mutual fund managers such as Fidelity’s Peter Lynch and Legg Mason’s Bill Miller garnered a great deal of attention from investors and the financial media. #-ad_banner-#These days, it’s the hotshot hedge fund managers, with their epic battles against companies such as Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR), that get all the buzz. Proxy fights and bold short sale claims can be entertaining to watch and sometimes even create value for investors.  Yet investing shouldn’t be about drama.  Those now-obscure mutual fund managers deserve a lot more attention than they deserve, even if they rarely enjoy being in the spotlight. Thankfully, the mutual fund analysts at Morningstar single out the best and brightest mutual fund managers every year, helping steer investors toward the savviest stock pickers in the field.  A current favorite: Los Angeles-based First Pacific Advisors (FPA). Morningstar anointed Steve Romick, the fund manager behind the FPA Crescent Fund (Nasdaq: FPACX), as the “2013 Asset Allocation Manager of the Year.” That five-star fund gets a “gold” rating from Morningstar.  As Morningstar notes, “Romick seeks securities trading at a substantial discount to what he believes they’re worth. When opportunities are scarce, he will let cash… Read More

After underperforming the S&P 500 for the past several years, emerging markets represent relative bargains, especially in terms of P/E ratios and dividend yields. Then again, it’s easy to conclude that investing in still-developing economies provides limited rewards for too much risk.  #-ad_banner-#Frankly, this is a debate that pops up almost every decade. Back in 1997, Asian markets crashed on the backs of a currency crisis, and investors soon realized that they could do just fine staying close to home: While emerging markets sought to regain their footing in 1998 and 1999, U.S. stocks soared.  But over the next decade,… Read More

After underperforming the S&P 500 for the past several years, emerging markets represent relative bargains, especially in terms of P/E ratios and dividend yields. Then again, it’s easy to conclude that investing in still-developing economies provides limited rewards for too much risk.  #-ad_banner-#Frankly, this is a debate that pops up almost every decade. Back in 1997, Asian markets crashed on the backs of a currency crisis, and investors soon realized that they could do just fine staying close to home: While emerging markets sought to regain their footing in 1998 and 1999, U.S. stocks soared.  But over the next decade, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (NYSE: EEM) rose 10.9% annually, compared with a 1.3% annualized gain for developed markets. Perhaps a longer view is warranted. If you are building a retirement portfolio, you’re more likely to be concerned about what kinds of markets can deliver upside over the course of a generation.  Well, a pair of strategists at Credit Suisse have gone a step further… and sought to answer that question with a century-long view. These strategists looked at the returns delivered by various markets going back to 1900 — and came up with some… Read More

It’s something that hasn’t been done in almost two decades. #-ad_banner-#In an attempt to ease the economic hemorrhaging from a recession that’s lasted nearly eight years, Puerto Rico passed a balanced budget earlier this month. The rare feat was a sign of hope for the U.S. protectorate as it attempts to whittle down its $70 billion in public debt, lower an unemployment rate hovering near 15% and stave off a “brain drain” that’s seen over 450,000 people flee the tiny Caribbean island. What does this all mean?  Simply put, it means Puerto Rico is setting up to be an incredible… Read More

It’s something that hasn’t been done in almost two decades. #-ad_banner-#In an attempt to ease the economic hemorrhaging from a recession that’s lasted nearly eight years, Puerto Rico passed a balanced budget earlier this month. The rare feat was a sign of hope for the U.S. protectorate as it attempts to whittle down its $70 billion in public debt, lower an unemployment rate hovering near 15% and stave off a “brain drain” that’s seen over 450,000 people flee the tiny Caribbean island. What does this all mean?  Simply put, it means Puerto Rico is setting up to be an incredible investment opportunity and tax haven for U.S. citizens. Let me explain… Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson — known for his $15 billion bet against subprime mortgages as the financial crisis hit — says Puerto Rico could be the next “Singapore of the Caribbean” (Singapore took similar steps to attract foreign investment and is now known as one of the wealthiest and most business friendly countries on the planet). His firm, Paulson & Co., is investing $260 million this year in two upscale beachfront hotels in San Juan, the commonwealth’s capital. All told, Paulson is expected to invest up to $1… Read More

The crisis in Ukraine has gone on far longer than anyone thought it would and shows little sign of ending. While Russia has pulled its troops back from the border, there is good reason to believe that tensions will persist and rhetoric will continue to heat up on both sides. #-ad_banner-#It could get real ugly real fast — if not for the fact that both sides desperately want to avoid an escalation. The eurozone sends 7.4% of its exports to Russia and receives 12% of its total imports, mostly in energy products. Russia sells more than half (53%)… Read More

The crisis in Ukraine has gone on far longer than anyone thought it would and shows little sign of ending. While Russia has pulled its troops back from the border, there is good reason to believe that tensions will persist and rhetoric will continue to heat up on both sides. #-ad_banner-#It could get real ugly real fast — if not for the fact that both sides desperately want to avoid an escalation. The eurozone sends 7.4% of its exports to Russia and receives 12% of its total imports, mostly in energy products. Russia sells more than half (53%) of its exports and receives 42% of its imports from the region.  Russia may fall into a technical recession on second-quarter GDP results, and Europe just pulled itself out of more than a year of declining economic activity. Neither can afford the loss of an important trading partner.  The competing economic and social forces could mean a protracted standoff. And that could mean big changes to oil exploration in Europe — and one company in particular. Russia has responded to sanctions by threatening a cut to energy exports. The eurozone depends on imports from Russia for 40% of its natural… Read More

Thirteen years ago, four emerging markets were singled out by a Goldman Sachs economist as possessing a strong chance at stealing some of the G7 countries’ thunder.#-ad_banner-# Neatly packed into a four-letter acronym, the BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India and China — rose to prominence after the term was coined by Jim O’Neill. The tides have shifted, however, and O’Neill is endorsing a new slate of players in the developing world. Since the end of last year, the torch has been passed from the BRICs to the MINT countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. These four have emerged… Read More

Thirteen years ago, four emerging markets were singled out by a Goldman Sachs economist as possessing a strong chance at stealing some of the G7 countries’ thunder.#-ad_banner-# Neatly packed into a four-letter acronym, the BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India and China — rose to prominence after the term was coined by Jim O’Neill. The tides have shifted, however, and O’Neill is endorsing a new slate of players in the developing world. Since the end of last year, the torch has been passed from the BRICs to the MINT countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. These four have emerged as the next wave of rapidly growing markets soon to gain global clout, and investors are taking note.   Each economy possesses a relatively younger population and a budding middle class, both supporting attention-worthy GDP growth — but do they offer real promise as investments? Let’s take a closer look. Mexico​ Advancing infrastructure, a large domestic consumer market, and increasing exports to the U.S. and its Latin American neighbors helped land Mexico on the MINT list. Mexico’s close ties with the U.S. could help or hinder the nation, as the economic links between the two are tight, and slow growth… Read More