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Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

US stock market confirms primary downtrend

“Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call, and I’ll be there, you’ve got a friend …” These are the lyrics of Carol King’s song. Yes, as life swings from boom to gloom it is the support of friends that often provide the necessary solace.
It is unlikely that Mr Market will come […]

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

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

Stock market an excellent predictor of US recessions

The hot financial topic of discussion at the moment is the likelihood of a US economic recession. Against the background of a deteriorating economic landscape, it is not surprising that more and more commentators have started declaring that a recession was either already underway or just around the corner.
A noteworthy contribution to this debate has […]

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

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Words from the wise for the week that was (Dec 31, 2007 – Jan 6, 2008)

A trading week made up of a bit of the old year and a bit of the new caused some anxiety in financial markets as economic woes escalated and weighed on investor sentiment. The problems related to the housing market and the subprime implosion seemed to be coming to a head. After all, the Dow Jones […]

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

Friday, January 4th, 2008

Byron Wien’s Ten Surprises of 2008

Dead on target on the first day of the New Year, Byron Wien again published his annual list of surprises to expect in the coming year. Wien, chief investment strategist of Pequot Capital, has been publishing his list of economic, market and political surprises since 1986.

Reviewing Wien’s 2007 list, he got about half of his predictions right.
He […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Investment by Prieur du Plessis

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Investment strategy: guidelines from 2007’s performance

2007 ended with a nasty hangover in the case of some asset classes and stock market sectors, but also with pockets of splendid performance. Reviewing the past year’s investment returns makes for interesting reading, but also provides guidelines in some instances of what to expect in the year ahead.
In order to glean the macro view of what […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Performance round-up, Investment by Prieur du Plessis

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

Gold glitters brightly at start of 2008

Waving the old year goodbye with a few new records under the belt is no mean feat, but the real glitter for gold bullion is that most indicators seem to point to more good news down the line.
The first record is that the gold price recorded its first ever month-end close above $800 on Monday, […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Gold by Prieur du Plessis

Sunday, December 30th, 2007

Words from the wise for the week that was (Dec 24 – 30, 2007)

This week’s edition of “Words from the Wise” is briefer than most as I must answer the call of family to spend a last few days with them before putting shoulder to the 2008 wheel.
My kids have asked me to help them fly a kite, but the wind seems to be a bit too gusty […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Markets, Investment, Housing, Money, Oil, Wall Street, US dollar, Stocks, Gold, Finance, Commodities, China, Business, Currencies, Economy, Equities, Emerging markets, Bonds by Prieur du Plessis

Friday, December 28th, 2007

Investment recommendations for troubled times

I read a great many reports from investment strategists and other market gurus, but a firm favorite always remains Donald Coxe, Global Portfolio Strategist of BMO Financial Group. I largely share Donald’s investment recommendations as published in the December edition of Basic Points, entitled “Double, Double, Greed and Trouble, CDOs and Housing Bubble”, and have therefore […]

11 Comments » - Posted in Oil, Money, Markets, Stocks, Sub-prime, Wall Street, US dollar, Investment, Gold, Currencies, Commodities, Economy, Emerging markets, Finance, Equities, Business by Prieur du Plessis

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

Gold bullion – a belated Christmas gift

I am spending a few days of the Christmas break at a village alongside the coastline of the Cape Town Peninsula. It is quaint, picturesque and simply an ideal location for enjoying quality time with the family. The only drawback is that it does become quite windy on occasion - at best not a highly […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Investment, Markets, Money, Gold, Finance, Commodities, Currencies, Economy, Business by Prieur du Plessis

Monday, December 24th, 2007

Season’s greetings

Here’s wishing you a great festive season full of fun, laughter and joy. It has certainly been an eventful year, especially as far as financial markets were concerned.
Thank you for your friendship and support in making Investment Postcards such a fulfilling experience, and here’s to a wonderful 2008.

And now for a good laugh. In the […]