Oil prices serve as a barometer of economic growth because increased consumption in emerging markets goes hand in hand with economic expansion. It’s essential that global investors understand oil price movements. Read More

Central banks have done a good job saving the global economy from a total meltdown, but there are limits to what they can do--monetary policy can only affect the real economy up to a point. Stay alert and protect your profits. Read More

August may bring a bit of a pause to Asian markets. But Asia is still the place to be: Not only has the region's growth surprised on the upside, but increasing domestic demand suggests that its economies are better equipped to generate future growth. Read More

China and India remain hedge-fund favorites and are a hit with institutional investors that take a long view. I continue to believe that the next investment bubble will form in these markets. But that's a story for the next decade. Read More

Global markets are speeding away from lows established earlier in the month, and there's no more talk of a breaks below serious support levels. Everyone is debating the resistance levels where the rally is supposed to stop--at least for now. Read More

The Silk Long-Term Holdings Portfolio continues to outperform. New readers, please note that this is a long-only portfolio. I imposed this restriction in order to fairly compare performance against benchmarks, and all major market indexes are also long only. Read More

Will yesterday’s global equity market bounce evolve into a sustainable rally, or will it prove nothing more than a short-covering flare, as the ultra-purist market observers predict? The reality is that global markets, measured by the MSCI All Country World Index, reached a low at the end of January. And since then, they’re up 6 percent in US dollar terms. Read More

Taiwan is poised to enjoy the view its ascent in the global political and economic scene has made possible. Ma Ying-jeou, the leader of the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) party, was elected president of Taiwan this past weekend. The KMT received almost 60 percent of the vote, a clear indication that the people of Taiwan are ready to end the hostility with China. Read More

The continued deterioration of the US dollar has left it a laughingstock. Any mention of the US dollar elicits sarcastic comments from simple European folk and deep skepticism from the more sophisticated. And as the last dollar bulls are dragged screaming and shouting into the dollar short trade, you can’t help but think that maybe it’s time for a greenback bounce. Read More

American policymakers are one step closer to nationalizing mortgages. The Federal Reserve’s latest effort to inject liquidity in the interbank market--the loans will be collateralized by the weakest assets--is clear evidence of this trend. Read More

Cambodia is coming back from the dead. Just over a decade ago, Cambodia was battling through a bloody political crisis reminiscent of the days after Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Since then, however, the country has achieved relative political stability compared to its past and has pursued pro-development policies as it integrates into the global economy. Read More

The news on the US economy and the global credit crisis is still gloomy, and it will remain so for some time. But as long as the global financial system doesn’t collapse, and my working assumption is that it won’t, the current market volatility provides excellent opportunity to buy Asian stocks. Read More

Infrastructure has been a favorite Silk investment theme for more than a year. Not a day passes that I don’t see solicitations from multiple outlets touting new opportunities. Infrastructure is a great long-term idea, but it shouldn’t have a disproportionate position in your portfolio. Read More

Preliminary economic numbers in China indicate that private consumption was the biggest contributor to China’s GDP for 2007. This confirms the idea that domestic demand is gradually becoming more important to the Chinese economy. Read More

The current earnings reporting season is critical in the sense that the numbers are always important. But also, in light of the current instability in the global economy, what’s reported now will have a significant impact on investor sentiment. Guidance for future operations is the primary factor I’m focusing on. Read More

During economic slowdowns, owning cyclical stocks isn’t the best bet. Furthermore, the coal trade has been crowded of late, and many of the companies are trading at high multiples. But given coal prices and the infrastructure problems, things can improve for coal companies before they get worse. Read More

After the 25 percent drop from its late October highs, Asia looks ready for a rally, bear market or otherwise. Pessimism reigns supreme, and analysis of how the region’s being distracted is in full swing. Read More

Wall Street historian Charles Geisst had a few things to say about the state of the global economic system in a recent story for the online edition of the Financial Times. Geisst addressed the growing economic power that’s spreading throughout the Middle East and Asia. Read More

Investors are still evaluating the impact of the credit crunch on the US economy, Europe is showing early signs of a slowdown, and Japan is yet to establish itself as a viable alternative. Meanwhile, the selloff continues. Read More

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is a year of danger. And although superstition isn’t good company for an investor, last year was quite rewarding, just as the Chinese Zodiac forecast. Read More