How to Evaluate Investment Opportunities
Investment opportunities come and go. Success comes from recognition of an opportunity and accurate analysis. It is in learning how to evaluate investment opportunities that investors find long term prosperity. Here are some thoughts on how to evaluate an investment from an article in Forbes.
Successful investing boils down to buying assets at a discount to intrinsic value. The greater the discount, the more likely the investment will perform. Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, called this “margin of safety.” The concept is simple in theory and extremely challenging in practice, with the valuation process anything but straightforward.
The problem, as […]
Investing When There Are Too Much Oil and Steel and Too Many Workers
Proponents of automation envision a world of plenty with resources shared by all. But the real result of automation has been increased production coupled with fewer jobs. Workers produce products and they get paid. Then they use their money to buy products. And manufacturers turn around and produce more products. But when fewer workers make products there are fewer people with money to keep the cycle going. Today we look at investing when there are too much oil and steel and too many workers, many without jobs. The New York Times writes that we may be in a long term […]
Can You Hold an Investment for Too Long?
A recent article from The Motley Fool about 3 stocks to buy and never sell got us thinking. Can you hold an investment for too long? The three stocks they mention are Walt Disney, Amazon.com and Activision Blizzard. Each is a strong brand in its respective market. We wrote recently about how many years are required to make an investment long term.
Just how many years are required to make an investment long term? We can get a hint from the so-called Oracle of Omaha who says that he cannot outguess the market in the short term but has a pretty […]
Should You Invest in Defense Contractors as War in Korea Looms?
Defense stocks have outperformed the broader market by 15% to 10% since Trump was elected. These companies are in the news after the USA attacked a Syrian air base with cruise missiles and dropped the MOAB (Massive Ordinance Air Blast) bomb on an ISIS mountain tunnel complex in Afghanistan. Many believe that the weapons were used to send a message to North Korea regarding its nuclear and missile programs. The end result has been a huge elevation of tensions on the Korean peninsula while the US sends an aircraft carrier group to cruise off of Korea. Meanwhile Trump wants to […]
Will United Airlines Survive Their Public Relations Nightmare?
Airline stocks were doing so much better and airline stocks were better investments than they used to be. Then a paying passenger was dragged from a UAL flight to make place for 4 United employees who wanted a ride. The video that another passenger took of the incident went viral and the whole world knew what rats the United Airlines people were. The stock fell three dollars a share and then recouped half of its losses. Will United Airlines survive their public relations nightmare? Market Watch thinks they will.
PepsiCo Inc. and United Airlines have recently come under fire from consumers, […]
Pros and Cons of Foreign Investment in Africa
As populations grow in developing nations, infrastructure investment follows. This is especially true in parts of Africa. We wrote about the risks of foreign investment last week. What are the pros and cons of foreign investment in Africa? Wbug.com writes that booming populations are attracting lots of foreign investment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the United States this week for his first face-to-face meeting with President Trump.
One thing that could come up during those meetings is foreign investment in Africa. The continent’s population is expected to double to 2.4 billion by 2050. Both China and the U.S. are investing heavily […]
What Are the Unique Risks Associated with Foreign Investments?
In our last two articles we asked why aren’t you investing offshore and wondered about a coming European economic boom. But if you are thinking of putting your money to work outside of the USA, what are the unique risks associated with foreign investments and how can you avoid them? Investopedia writes about the three biggest risks that international investors face. These are transaction costs, currency risks and liquidity risks.
The Cost of Investing Offshore
Likely the biggest barriers to investing in international markets are the transaction costs. Although we live in a relatively globalized and connected world, transactions costs can still […]