In this market environment, it’s difficult to pinpoint opportunities, but there are several companies that have capitalized on the downturn. And they’re common household names.
Although emerging markets aren’t too attractive these days, there are companies within the BRIC markets that will endure through the market malaise and bring long-term growth to your portfolio. The four BRIC markets boast the largest economies and possess some of the largest populations among emerging-market countries. And companies from BRIC countries have large, competitive domestic markets, so they’re already globally competitive when they venture abroad.
The increasing scarcity of water around the world is forcing a global reevaluation. In much of the developed world, wastewater infrastructure has been built on the assumption of a temperate climate. However, the problem now facing first-world countries is adapting to current wastewater infrastructure amid climate change and more extreme bouts of rainfall. Add in global warming, which will bring more severe storms and flooding interspersed with cycles of drought, and that assumption no longer holds firm.
As the death toll mounted to more than 40,000 and an estimated 5 million were left homeless from the Sichuan province earthquake, Chinese companies began totaling the natural disaster’s financial price tag.
Ahead of the vote for Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin set forth plans for a robust macroeconomic financial policy, reigniting the stock market to 2,280--a 3 percent gain--crossing the 2,200 mark for the first time since January as investor confidence swelled. Putin’s primary goal: Reduce the tax burden on the oil sector to stimulate production and crude oil refining and lower inflation to single digits within the next few years.
If you’re looking for some action beyond the grinding bear markets in the US and Europe, there are some emerging markets in Africa worth exploring.
The markets have taken a slight blow with the kickoff of 2008. Despite bleak economic news, we were able to recover slightly yesterday before nose-diving back into negative territory following a significant jump in unemployment.
