Chinese Stocks Bludgeoned!

Image: Large cap Chinese equities are now back to levels first reached more than 15 years ago on a price-only basis, to levels first attained in early 2006. By Brian Nelson, CFA Successful investing is as much about selecting big winners such as Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) as it is about avoiding big losers – and wow have Chinese stocks been bludgeoned! The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) traded down nearly 10% on October 24, 2022, putting its 5-year declines at a whopping 50%+, on a price-only basis. The FXI is now back to levels, on a price-only basis, first reached at the beginning of 2006, more than 15 years ago. We don’t include any Chinese ADRs in … Read more

Valuentum: Outlook for Europe, China Is Bleak

Video: Valuentum’s Associate Director of Research and Co-Portfolio Manager of the simulated newsletter portfolios, Callum Turcan, shares his thoughts about the global economy. Europe is facing considerable pressure from energy prices, while China may face a mortgage meltdown. Join Valuentum for this brief 6 minute video to get up to speed on the goings-on of the global economy and what troubles may be lurking ahead. –——— Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE. Some of the other securities written about in this article may be included in Valuentum’s simulated newsletter portfolios. Contact Valuentum for more information … Read more

Chinese Stocks Getting Hammered

Image shown: A confluence of factors are driving Chinese stocks lower, not the least of which is heightened regulatory concerns. By Brian Nelson, CFA The collapse in Chinese equities (FXI) (MCHI) during the trading session July 26 is a reminder (again) why you should consider combining momentum with *enterprise valuation* in stocks, as in the Valuentum process. It’s not enough for you to think a stock is undervalued or cheap. The market must agree with you, too. A falling stock price says the market disagrees. Our favorite ideas for consideration are always in the newsletter portfolios, whether the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, or High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. We do not have any direct exposure to … Read more

Nothing May Derail the U.S. Economy In the Long Run

Image Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. U.S. gross domestic product is back on the upswing, and we fully expect the U.S. economy to recover, and then continue its expansion in coming years. U.S. GDP, January 1947 through October 2020. Warren Buffett may have said it best in Berkshire Hathaway’s 2020 Annual Report: “Never bet against America.” By Brian Nelson, CFA The long-term U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) chart provides a good lesson in perspective. For one, look at how resilient the U.S. economy has been during the post-World War II era. Remember our “Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am” article we wrote in mid-May 2020 and then republished again in early June 2020? The S&P 500 was trading below 2,900 … Read more

Alert — Chinese Stocks Hit the Skids

Image Source: Michael Vadon We don’t think US and China are anywhere close to any sort of meaningful trade agreement, regardless of what you hear from the White House. The latest move in this high-stakes trade war by the US may be to de-list Chinese stocks. This actually happening seems surreal given the implications on U.S. investors, but given weakness in US-listed Chinese names, the market is factoring in some probability of this occurring. By Brian Nelson, CFA On September 27, news hit the wires that indicated the White House is evaluating ways to curtail US investors’ “portfolio flows into China,” and that may include de-listing Chinese stocks on U.S. exchanges. Although the development comes amid the view that discussions … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of February 28

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 28. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                          AerCap (AER): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Affinity Bancshares (AFBI): now $1.50 per share special dividend. Allstate (ALL): now $1.00 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.92. American Financial (AFG): now $2.00 per share special dividend, was $0.80. AMERISAFE (AMSF): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD): now EUR 1.00 per share annual dividend, was EUR 0.82. Aura … Read more