Though it is the worst year in decades for U.S. stocks, American investors would have been better off keeping their money at home rather than plowing it overseas.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 33% this year, even after gaining 9.7% for the just-ended week. But many benchmark indexes from Germany to China have fared worse. Germany’s DAX index has slumped 42% in 2008, and China’s Shanghai Composite is off 64%. For U.S. investors, a strengthening dollar has further magnified many overseas losses.
So perhaps US investors have something to smile about after all ! Read the full story from The Wall Street Journal.
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China, Global stock markets, US Shares
There are many here among us, Bob Dylan once sang, who are hard-core stock jocks. OK, Dylan didn’t sing that last part, but it’s true anyway. Finance geek that I am, though, I’m not an investor of the stock-jock persuasion.
Don’t get me wrong: I am a number-crunching Fool, and I can happily while away the hours running screens for, say, long-haul overachievers that have lagged the S&P for the year to date through last Tuesday’s market close. UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) fit that profile, as do Boeing (NYSE: BA) and eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY).
Companies with juicy earnings-growth prospects but below-market price-to-earnings ratios — such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Target (NYSE: TGT) — will likely get my attention, too, as will the dreaded “downside surprise.”
Earlier this year, for example, Intuitive Surgical shares tumbled more than 17% in a single day after the company beat earnings estimates, although not by as much as investors had hoped. For prospective investors, that was good news: When Wall Street overreacts and an otherwise solid company falls hard, it can be a fine time to add its name to your “further research” list. All the better to buy low (or at least lower) in anticipation of selling high.
Interesting read for active equity investors - read the full recommendations of Shannon Zimmerman
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Equity investments, Investment opportunities, US Shares