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Tag Archive 'Taipan Emerging Market Index'

Jul 25 2008

Friday Snapshot 7/25/08: Taipan Emerging Market Index Drops 59%

Published by Irwin Greenstein under Taipan Emerging Market Index

There’s pain, and then there’s pain.

Today marks the worst day for our Taipan Emerging Market Index, with a fall of 59%. I think the only consolation here is that the major U.S. markets took a beating too.

Last week we were up 9.3%. It looks like the world markets have gone completely bi-polar. That’s what happens when sentiment overtakes logic in an electronic web of global markets.

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
For you true believers, all I can say is that it’s time to double down. For cynics, skeptics and scaredy cats…well you know what you have to do.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that things will get worse before they get better. For how long, I can’t really say. However, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to post a comment. We look forward to hearing from you.

Have yourself a great weekend. I think some grilled burgers and couple of beers sound good right now.

–Irwin Greenstein

3 responses so far

Jul 18 2008

Friday Snapshot 7/18/08: Taipan Emerging Market Index Gains 9.3%

Published by Irwin Greenstein under South Asia, Taipan Emerging Market Index

Can we get a rousing Hallelujah?

Our Taipan Emerging Market Index jumped 9.3% this week as financial institutions come crashing down around us. Our 9.3% gain follows last week’s 5% rise. All I can say is that the numbers have spoken.

I won’t regurgitate the bad news on Wall Street, since I don’t want to rub it in. All I can say is that while most investors are crying in their beer, readers of the Taipan Emerging Market Blog are raising a glass of Champaign. (Oops, did I just rub it in?)

Once again the best news comes out of Asia. Our biggest winner this week is India’s Sensex Index (Bombay: ^BSESN) at +3.99%. It barely beat out our long-term gainer, the Shanghai SSE Composite Index (Shanghai: 000001.SS), which rose 3.49%.

The Times of India credits the boost to expectations on inflation.

Data released after market closed on Thursday showed annual inflation at 11.91% in early July, slightly higher than the previous week’s 11.89%, but below market expectations for more than 12%, according to the Times of India.

It also reported that lower crude prices helped interest-sensitive sectors like banks and real estate.

If this trend can continue in India, it’s likely to spread to other emerging markets. Inflation has been hurting just about all of these markets — undermining otherwise thriving economies. Although it’s too soon to tell if this is a long-term trend, I’d suggest you put your broker on speed dial.

Have a great weekend.

–Irwin Greenstein

5 responses so far

Jun 06 2008

Friday Snapshot 6/6/08: Taipan Emerging Market Index Gains 44.2%

Published by Irwin Greenstein under East Asia, Global Markets, Taipan Emerging Market Index

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.

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

One response so far