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

Our Taipan Emerging Market Index is up today by 14.7%. Although this is a decline from last week’s stellar gain of 44.2%, we still managed to beat the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.

As of this writing, the Dow was down 32.5% and the S&P 500 dipped 5.8% since Monday. Despite the grim inflation numbers for many emerging markets, our index still managed to outperform the two major U.S. exchanges.

 
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

Asia continues to dominate our index. Last week Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HKSE: ^HSI) came out the big winner. This week, it’s Australia’s ALL ORDINARIES IDX (ASX: ^AORD).

^AORD enjoyed growth across all major sectors — reflecting the general health of the Australian economy and the government’s successful efforts to control inflation.

Today, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said that Australia’s economy has been remarkably resilient in the face of financial turmoil, and is well placed to remain in good shape.

Robust growth in emerging economies had boosted Australia’s terms of trade, countering the impact of slower global growth, tighter credit conditions and higher domestic interest rates, he said.

But he also warned inflation would remain a challenge for the economy.

Bloomberg reported last week that Australia’s economy grew twice as fast as economists forecast in Q1. Gross domestic product rose 0.6% from Q4, when it increased a revised 0.7%, according to the Bureau of Statistics in Sydney. Exports of iron ore and wheat, in addition to construction, saw the highest growth.

Overall, it looks like Asia is still the place to put your money, despite inflationary pressures.

Have a great weekend.

–Irwin Greenstein

The Taipan Emerging Market Index is up today 44.2%, a huge gain from last week when it was virtually flat with an uptick of 0.52%. By comparison, this week saw the S&P 500 up 0.9% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5.3% as of this writing.

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 index shows one thing clearly. When it comes to Big Media’s news rant about wild inflation in emerging markets, you’re not getting the full story. Despite double-digit inflation in resource-rich Russia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, there is still money to be made from the oil, natural gas and other commodities that these countries export to the rest of the world.

The news gap between what you read in Big Media and what our index proves is that inflation impacts the man on the street. Commodities, meanwhile, contribute to the inflation through rising prices that are making investors rich.

With commodities, it’s very possible that the gains you realize far outstrip the corrosive effects of inflation.

For example, our big winner today is Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HKSE: ^HSI). It was largely driven by gains in coal, oil and shipping. ^HSI is a perfect illustration of what I just mentioned about the disconnect between inflation and market gains in economies fueled by the commodity boom.

If you look at the big winners in the ^HSI, notably oil and shipping, they are the culprits blamed for global inflation. And if you had money in ^HSI, your gains could have been much higher than the rate of inflation — putting you ahead.

Sure, you’re feeling the pain of spiking prices in gas, groceries and utilities. But investors are still making money in emerging markets. Are you?

Have a great weekend.

–Irwin Greenstein

Our Taipan Emerging Market Index saw a slight gain today of .52%. Nothing to cheer about — except when you compare it with last week’s trouncing of 14.28%. So that puts us at a five-day gain of 103.6%.

We’ll take it…

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

The biggest winner this week is the New Zealand ^NZ50 Index Gross, which closed with a gain of 1.72%. Although the business climate in New Zealand suffers from inflation fears, the ^NZ50 rose mostly on energy, media and healthcare.

Our weekly 103.6% surge compares with a lackluster weekly gain of 1.61% by the S%P 500 and the Dow’s virtually flat performance as of this writing.

The big swing in our index confirms two important factors for investors interested in emerging markets…

The first confirms that emerging markets are certainly volatile. The second factor could be framed in the spread of global inflation.

The inflation contagion is driven by stratospheric increases in food and energy. What’s important, though, is that a closer look at the global economy reveals that no market is truly safe anymore.

We are living in a new age of volatility — leaving investors to reconsider emerging markets as a successful diversification strategy. After all, if you believe that all markets are now equally volatile, it only makes sense to put your money with higher growth economies.

–Irwin Greenstein