For the first time since we’ve compiled our index, we’ve experienced a loss. Not too bad really, given the insanity of markets everywhere.Inflation is wreaking havoc this week, ripping through emerging markets like a typhoon. Hopefully by next week, we’ll have clear skies.

Key
ALL ORDINARIES IDX (ASX: ^AORD) Australia
BSE SENSEX (Bombay: ^BSESN) India
IBOVESPA SAO PAULO (^BVSP) Brazil
EGYPT CMA GENL INDX (Cairo: ^CCSI) Egypt
HANG SENG INDEX (HKSE: ^HSI) Hong Kong
COMPOSITE INDEX (Jakarta: ^JKSE) Jakarta
COMPOSITE INDEX (Kuala Lumpur: ^KLSE) Kuala Lumpar
KOSPI Composite Index (KSE: ^KS11) South Korea
MERVAL BUENOS AIRES (Buenos Aires: ^MERV) Argentina
IPC (Mexico: ^MXX) Mexico
NZX 50 INDEX GROSS (NZSE: ^NZ50) New Zealand
IGBM (Madrid: ^SMSI) Spain
TEL-AV TASE-100 IND (^TA100) Israel
TSEC weighted index (Taiwan: ^TWII) Taiwan
SSE Composite Index (Shanghai: 000001.SS) Shanghai
iShares MSCI South Africa Index (EZA) South Africa
RTSI INDEX (RUS: RTS.RS) Russia
ISHARES MSCI THAILAN (NYSEArca: THD) Thailand
iShares MSCI Turkey Invest Mkt Index (TUR) Turkey

Our biggest winner this week is the Shangahi SSE Composite Index. We had written about it in the June 11 issue, suggesting it was time to perhaps double down. Even though it was our biggest winner, we missed the mark. It dipped 7.6% since that article.

Hold tight. Keep the faith. Our first loss is always a bruiser. Have a great weekend.

–Irwin Greenstein

Now it’s China’s turn to publicly humiliate America.It’s one more display of our Cold War defeat that we seem to sweep under the rug.

This story in the New York Times reveals how China dissed America about our dim-witted economic policies. It’s hard to imagine this kind of attack ever taking place a few years ago. It truly reveals the shellacking we took in the Cold War from China and Russia.

The U.S. has been faking it for decades that we won the Cold War. We even tried to dictate terms of China: the valuation of the Chinese renminbi, state subsidies and food safety.

What America was really telling China is that no Communist economic model is capable of trouncing a free-market democracy. It sounded more like good old-fashioned Commie-bashing than enlightened 21st century trade negotiations.

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Ask your stockbroker if he reads Cement World. If he says no, fire him immediately.

Here’s why…

When it comes to commodities, cement could be the next oil of emerging-market investors.

In particular, North Africa’s soaring cement prices present a promising ground-floor opportunity, reported a recent article in Cement World. North African cement is one of those gems that once again proves emerging markets could be far more lucrative than the U.S. providing you know where to look — including Cement World.

Sure, cement is as boring as it sounds. You never hear about cement wildcatters or Somali pirates hijacking a boatload of cement. The most exciting thing you probably know about cement is that the Wise Guys in New Jersey use it to make a pair of boots for some deadbeat taking a one-way trip down the Hudson.

Given the headlines, the most obvious conclusion to draw about cement is that the construction bust in the U.S. put a world of hurt on the industry. And if you only considered U.S. cement makers you’d be right.

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For Russian citizens, bread lines have given way to conga lines at one of the hottest resorts in Turkey.

The commodities boom in Russia is allowing the former Soviet citizenry to enjoy the Life of Riley that Americans once took for granted.

Instead, we now get the Staycation.

Our former Cold War enemy enjoys water aerobics; we park a beach chair under the backyard sprinkler. Our former Cold War enemy hops a plane to some hot resort; we can’t afford to back the SUV out of the driveway. Our former Cold War enemy savors caviar by candlelight; we chow down weenies at the Wal-Mart.

But don’t worry, it’s OK. You’re taking part in that new American sensation called the Staycation. While Big Media would like you to believe that the Staycation is a good thing, it really is just another clue that we lost the Cold War to Russia.

Rather than face up to our Cold War defeat and invest accordingly, we let Big Media package our economic house arrest as a cheery Staycation. You’re not poor; you’re on a Staycation. Sure, go ahead and spend $70 on the family to see the latest Indiana Jones remake set in a time when America ruled. Back then, the Dow Jones Industrial Average really meant something.

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