2008 February » Investment Postcards from Cape Town

Archive for February, 2008

Monthly Archive

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

SA Budget 2008/9

By Alwyn van der Merwe
In the good old days economists used to work through the night to get their reports out following the budget. The reason was not only work ethics but the fact that previously the budget was full of surprises as the process was certainly not an inclusive and open one. Under Trevor […]

No Comments » - Posted in South Africa by Prieur du Plessis

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

South Africa – so many challenges, so little time.

By Adrian Clayton
Driving along the N2 yesterday I was again reminded without any doubt that South Africa is my home, not Britain, Canada or Australia, but SA with its unique problems and complexities that only a South African can relate to.
Other than swerving for the ever present N2 pedestrian traffic dodger that miraculously escaped a […]

No Comments » - Posted in South Africa by Prieur du Plessis

Monday, February 18th, 2008

How the stock market really works

How the stock market really works Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.
The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (Feb 11 – 17, 2008)

Financial markets ended the past week on a subdued note as economic data, credit concerns and recession talk dominated investors’ mood. Read all about this in my regular weekly blog post, highlighting some thought-provoking news items and quotes from market commentators during the past week, and briefly reviewing the week’s market action on the basis of economic statistics and a performance chart.

13 Comments » - Posted in Money, Markets, Investment by Prieur du Plessis

Friday, February 15th, 2008

When is the right time to buy stocks?

When is the right time to buy stocks? Unfortunately there is no straightforward answer, irrespective of the amount of analysis thrown at the question. This post steps aside from the timing issue by simply considering what the chances would be of losing/making money on the stock market over different holding periods. The results make for interesting reading.

15 Comments » - Posted in Wall Street, Stocks, Investment by Prieur du Plessis

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Wall Street meltdown – the video

The past few months presented investors with a series of unique (perhaps bizarre) events in financial markets. Let’s step back from the rather depressing financial saga unfolding from minute to minute to enjoy a moment of light-hearted relief in the form of a hilarious video clip.

6 Comments » - Posted in Money, Markets, Investment by Prieur du Plessis

Monday, February 11th, 2008

What’s subprime debt worth? Ask Einstein …

Hat tip: John Hussman, Hussman Funds

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (Feb 4 – 10, 2008)

The past week witnessed a turnaround in sentiment as renewed recession fears dominated investors’ actions. Stock markets across the globe were subjected to selling pressure, while credit spreads scaled new highs. “What the market giveth [the previous week], it also taketh away [last week],” was Briefing.com’s very apt description of events.

Read all about this in my regular weekly blog post, highlighting some thought-provoking news items and quotes from market commentators during the past week, and briefly reviewing the week’s market action on the basis of economic statistics and a performance chart.

4 Comments » - Posted in Markets, Investment, Economy by Prieur du Plessis

Friday, February 8th, 2008

Equities – is the bad news priced in?

By Neels van Schaik
One thing that remains true is that financial markets are incredibly efficient at discounting investor expectations. This essentially means that asset prices move in advance of information that “Joe Soap” gets to hears about. It is a point well illustrated in the attached graph, which compares the year-on-year change in the S&P500 […]