Continue reading Oil at $80: Overpriced or Underpriced?

Oil at $80: Overpriced or Underpriced? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Europe is hot, if you don't look too far over your shoulder. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index played well through the stock market recovery of 2009, ticking up 28% (60% from its March 2009 low). This was the index's best annual performance in a decade.

Basic resources and banks gained 100% and 46%, respectively, this year, after having turned in dismal performances the year before. China helped, as well, with its elevated economic growth forecast good for another 0.5% gain during the shortened week of Christmas.

Continue reading Good Year, Bad Decade for Europe

Good Year, Bad Decade for Europe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

British and Dutch investors turned to Iceland a few years ago, attracted by savings account deposit rates that were competitive with equity investment returns. It was an amazing situation, and the money just seemed too easy.

Then, Iceland got the sort of IMF loan that is normally reserved for countries like Somalia, and the Brits and Dutch worried that they'd never get their money back from an investment as supposedly safe as a savings account.

Continue reading Iceland Voters Resist Debt Repayment

Iceland Voters Resist Debt Repayment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors in developing countries no doubt wonder which countries that issue debt are safe and which ones could default. CMA Datavision, a subsidiary of CME, has put together the "Sovereign Risk Monitor."

The Risk Monitor uses five-year credit default swaps (CDSs) and ranks the countries according to volatility. It uses the percent of change to determine the ranking of these countries. The new index is called the cumulative possibility of default (CPD). If, for example, a country has a 20% CPD, it has a one in five chance of defaulting in the next five years. Also included is their most recent credit rating.

Continue reading Which Government Debt Issuers Are Most Likely to Default?

Which Government Debt Issuers Are Most Likely to Default? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For McDonald's (MCD), 32,000 restaurants in 100 countries isn't enough. The quick service restaurant announced in a meeting with Wall Street analysts that it will open 1,000 new restaurants next year. Most will be in the United States, China, Australia, Russia, Germany and France. Don't expect to see any in Iceland, though, as the company is closing its three restaurants there and has no plans to return in the near future.

The company is also looking to rehabilitate the interiors and exteriors of another 2,300 locations in 2010 - approximately half of them in Europe. In all, this should cost around $2.4 billion. For 2009, McDonald's expects its capital expenditures to reach $2.1 billion on 900 new restaurant openings. The chain is increasing its rate of new restaurant openings by more than 10% from 2009 to 2010.

Continue reading McDonald's to add another thousand golden arches next year

McDonald's to add another thousand golden arches next year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You're now free to invest in Iceland ... should you be so inclined. On Sunday, the country will begin lifting its post-financial disaster capital controls, giving investors a bit more elbow room. Foreign currency investments coming in won't be subject to the existing controls.

According to a statement released by Iceland's central bank, "Investors are authorized, without restrictions, to convert into foreign currency the sales proceeds from assets in which they invest after Nov.1." The statement also said, "Previously, non-residents were fully authorized to transfer foreign currency deriving from interest and dividends on investments in Iceland."

Continue reading Iceland is now open for business once more

Iceland is now open for business once more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Double your money in 4.6 years -- invest in Iceland. Iceland's central bank just lowered interest rates to 15.5% from 17%. Using the rule of 72's (which says that if you take the number 72 and divide it by the interest rate, it will tell you how many years it takes to double your money), it will take 4.6 years to double your money. So $100,000 becomes $200,000 in 4.6 years.

Iceland received a $10 billion bailout last year from the International Monetary Fund on the condition that it would raise interest rates to stabilize the country. Iceland's government also imposed policies to control local currency sales and capital flight, forcing Iceland exporters to repatriate foreign currency.

Continue reading Double your money in 4.6 years by investing in Iceland

Double your money in 4.6 years by investing in Iceland originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Faced with economic disaster, Icelanders could care less that their prime minister is gay

Faced with economic disaster, Icelanders could care less that their prime minister is gay originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our feature on Money Losers of 2008. See all 20.

Almost every investor might be counted as a Money Loser of 2008, but anyone who is not living in or invested heavily in Iceland should thank their lucky stars (or anything else they might like to thank). With the global economic situation called as a financial crisis, then I can only assume that the Icelandic meltdown would be a supercrisis or maybe ubercrisis.

Iceland's three largest banks essentially failed in early October of this year, partially as a result of the crisis in U.S. financial markets. As interbank loans were getting tougher and tougher to acquire, Iceland ran into trouble because its banks were too large for the country's central bank to backstop.

From January of 2008 through September, the krona, Iceland's currency, had lost about 35% against the euro. Over the past few years, the U.S. dollar has lost about half of that amount, and it was still a big deal. However, this was just the precursor to Iceland's problems. At that point, it was roughly 130 krona to each euro. By the second week of October, the currency had collapsed and the last trade was at 340 before the government takeover of the banks halted trading. Currently, the system has been stabilized, but it is still 150 krona to each euro.

Continue reading Money losers of 2008: People of Iceland as its economy collapses

Money losers of 2008: People of Iceland as its economy collapses originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

In a year of financial chaos, how can one even narrow the choice of most shocking financial collapse to just five candidates? Financial collapses took down venerable Wall Street firms and government enterprises. Even an entire country fell on the weight of this worldwide financial storm. There were so many financial casualties that the task to narrow this down to just five was difficult. We have chosen these five and placed them in alphabetical order.

Bear Stearns
Bear Stearns held a respected place on Wall Street dating back to before the Great Depression, but in March 2008, this once-respected Wall Street firm was bought by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) for just $2 per share (or about $236 million). The stock price had been $36.75 on March 14, 2008 -- just two days before the JPMorgan deal was struck. Bear Stearns had been the most aggressive player in packaging and selling mortgage-backed securities, and their hedge funds were heavily loaded with the junk they sold. Many saw the fall of Bear Stearns as justice because it was the only major Wall Street bank that did not work with the Fed and participate in the $3 billion bailout of Long Term Capital Management in 1998. Payback is a bitch.

Continue reading Best & Worst in Money 2008: Most shocking financial collapse

Best & Worst in Money 2008: Most shocking financial collapse originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund is dispelling any notion that the global financial crisis will not have significant ripples for the developing world.

Simon Johnson, former IMF chief economist, said emerging market countries may need as much as $1 trillion, given difficulty accessing money in international credit markets, Bloomberg News reported.

"If we are really facing the problem I think we are, you need about $1 trillion," Johnson said.

IMF starts new liquidity facility

This week the IMF announced it's establishing an emergency loan program, an IMF Short-Term Liquidity Facility (SLF), that almost doubles borrowing maximums for emerging market countries. The goal is to prevent contagion, or the collapse of developing nation economies -- including overcome short-term liquidity problems -- due to the financial crisis.

Continue reading Ex-IMF chief economist: Emerging markets may need $1 trillion to deal with crisis

Ex-IMF chief economist: Emerging markets may need $1 trillion to deal with crisis originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), parent of American Airlines, was urged by one of its top shareholders to consider "all options to enhance shareholder value" such as spinning-off American's frequent flier program, according the ' DealBook blog.

In a letter to the Fort Worth-based company, FL Group of Iceland said "a conservative analysis" of AMR
shows "there is significant hidden shareholder value to be unlocked." In particular, FL Group believes that unbundling AMR's AAdvantage ("AAD") Frequent Flier program could increase shareholder value "by more than $4 billion."

The idea isn't without precedent. As DealBook notes UAL Corp (NYSE: UAUA), the parent of United Airlines, are expected to consider spin-offs at its annual meeting this week and that Air Canada has already spun off its frequent flier plan. Shares of AMR, which have plunged 50% since January, are trading slightly higher today. But investors who have watched airlines destroy billions of dollars in shareholder value over the years shouldn't get their hopes up.

Ceylon Securities analyst Ray Neidl told Bloomberg News that AMR sees "greater value in keeping all of the parts together."

Maybe AMR will change its tune if other shareholders join forces with FL Group.

Should AMR spin-off its frequent flier business? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.