ICYMI: Time to Consider Buying Chinese Equities? Not Exactly.

This article was originally published August 26, 2021. Image Shown: Shares of Alibaba Group have plummeted over the past year in the wake of Beijing’s crackdown on China’s domestic tech and fintech titans. By Callum Turcan Many would argue that the key event that kicked off Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on its domestic tech giants started back in October 2020 when the once domestically revered entrepreneur Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce, fintech, payment solutions, and cloud computing giant Alibaba Group (BABA), gave a speech critical of Chinese regulators. A WSJ article published August 20, Jack Ma’s Costliest Business Lesson: China Has Only One Leader, covered the situation in great detail. Mr. Ma noted at the time that he viewed Beijing’s … Read more

ICYMI — Podcast: 2nd Annual Nelson Exclusive Yearly Round Up Call

Tune in to President of Investment Research Brian Nelson’s Exclusive Yearly Roundup Call. Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for joining us on our second annual Nelson Exclusive roundup call. I appreciate your interest very much, and I appreciate your attention even more. Just an important reminder, Valuentum is an information provider, not a broker or financial advisor, and we do not issue recommendations of any kind. With that said, let’s get started. These are the best of times. We have now surpassed the 9-year mark since the March 2009 panic bottom that sent shudders through the global financial system, and the US economy is as strong as it has ever been. US gross domestic product is now approaching $20 trillion … Read more

Valuentum’s Economic Roundtable: Trade War, Factors and Beyond

Tickerized for holdings in the DIA. The markets rallied hard September 5 on relief that the US and China (FXI, MCHI) will go back to the negotiations table next month. This back-and-forth news cycle is enough to give any investor whiplash. Let’s catch up with the Valuentum Team on the latest developments, not only with the trade war but also with respect to factor investing, possible bubbles and beyond. Let’s kick things off with the following prompt from ForeignPolicy.com, released August 2: Trump Hired Robert Lighthizer to Win a Trade War. He Lost. Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, agreed to serve in President Donald Trump’s cabinet in order to test his theory: that if the United States freed itself … Read more

More First-Quarter Earnings Flying In: GM, Ford, Big Oil and More

Image Source: General Motors GM’s dividend yield and valuation opportunity are incredible, while Microsoft’s free cash flow generation and solid net cash position speak to tremendous dividend strength. We liked what we saw out of Union Pacific during the first quarter, and you have to be aware of Big Oil’s bloated balance sheets. All of this and more included in this piece. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s puzzling to think about, but with the first-quarter 2017 US GDP print today, April 28, coming in at just 0.7%, below expectations, one wouldn’t think the stock market is near all-time highs. Interestingly, in the report, too, the weakest area came from real consumer spending, which registered a pace of growth as poor … Read more

Valuentum Weekly: Yields on New Series I Savings Bonds Have Soared!

The Valuentum Weekly is a brand-new weekly market commentary from Valuentum Securities, released each weekend in digital form. The Valuentum Weekly offers members a weekly synopsis of the markets and major events. It will be straight and to-the-point. Our goal is to deliver to you the latest information and insights. We welcome your feedback on how we can make the Valuentum Weekly as useful and as relevant for you as ever! — —– — Markets  — The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures are all indicated up Sunday night (March 13), but that may not mean much when trading kicks off tomorrow. The start to 2022 has been one of the worst stretches during the past decade, but broader … Read more

Seeking Balance: What’s Happening in the Crude Oil and Iron Ore Markets

Image Source: Sollven Melindo Commodity prices are notoriously volatile as the global markets often struggle to maintain a sustainable balance of supply-demand. Let’s take a look at some recent developments and coming events that are impacting the prices of crude oil and iron ore. By Kris Rosemann We’re not rushing to add any commodity-based exposure at the moment. We have some of course – but we’re not looking to add more to the newsletter portfolios. For starters, the iron ore pricing market appears to be setting itself up for another period of pain, and we’re preaching serious levels of caution for those considering the space as iron-ore prices have already begun to descend from the peak of the puzzling early-2017 … Read more