13 months ago we wrote a article in which we told you about the enormous value that existed in the Russian stock market.. In it we cited some companies that were trading at extraordinarily low earnings multiples, whose businesses were very stable and therefore had a dizzying potential for revaluation. Well, the geopolitical circumstances, i.e. the botched EU/US attempt to foment a pro-European revolution in a Ukraine at least half of which is pro-Russian, have caused the semi-war conflict to affect Moscow's stock market with sharp falls, adding even more value to some of its companies.
We should not lose sight of the fact that the conflict does not directly affect Russian territory or its economy. Or at least not as much as it does the EU itself, which is as recklessly dependent on Russian oil and gas supplies as a diver is on his oxygen tank. You will get a clearer idea of what I mean by looking at the graph at the end of this article. this Gurusblog article.
It is clear, then, that it is not Russia that has the most to lose in this conflict, but the EU. And yet the Western (US-EU) strategy, in its eagerness to incorporate Ukraine into NATO and thus advance the allied military border to the very line between Ukraine and Russia, has upset the fragile balance of the government in Kiev. A once pro-Russian government, but governing a single state, and now non-existent, unrecognised by the east and southeast (Russian-speaking) and financially bankrupt. Thus the secession of Ukraine into two antagonistic camps, pro-Russian and pro-Western, seems unstoppable. (more…)
Investment gurus such as Warren Buffett have it ingrained in their very DNA: Investing is like playing any sport whilst focusing on the game itself, whereas doing so whilst focusing on the score is pure speculation. The matches, the championships and the well-deserved glory go to those who focus on the pitch – on constantly improving their strategy and competitive skills when selecting companies in which to invest – rather than on the absurd speculation of managing a digit displayed on a neon sign, which, incidentally, is as volatile as our own incompetence.
The party continues. Following the rallies on the American and European stock markets – particularly the Spanish one – it seems that most investors are set to stumble over the same old stumbling block once again. When? It’s impossible to say for certain, but what is certain is that the stumbling block is there and investors, giddy from such a rally, are running about like headless chickens. And what is this stumbling block that so many are set to trip over? Well, logically, it’s the valuations in developed stock markets, which are by no means cheap any longer – not to mention that they’re already starting to look expensive. Especially when we bear in mind that corporate profits are at record highs and interest rates at record lows, which inevitably brings us closer to the end of this cycle and the start of the next.
China’s new financial experiment covers an area of 29 km²: Shanghai FTZ. A «free trade zone» in which the Communist Party’s economic restrictions are lifted as if by a stroke of political policy. In this financial centre, international investors will be exempt from the investment restrictions that apply elsewhere in China. And, note this: in this artificial oasis, the Chinese currency, the Renminbi (RMB), will be freely traded, as will its interest rates!
