The likelihood of the Chinese Yuan starting to appreciate relative to the U.S. Dollar has increased recently as a result of pressure from the U.S. government on the Chinese government to lift the so-called "peg" that is in place between the Chinese Yuan and the U.S. Dollar in addition to mounting concerns that inflation is completely eroding the current rate of interest that Chinese investors are earning on bank deposits.Read more
In a positive economic development, Mergers & Acquisitions ("M&A"), as many analysts have predicted, have already started to heat-up in early 2010. In fact, BersteinReseach has forecasted at 35% increase in M&A activity in 2010. Some of the more noteworthy M&A deals that have been announced thus far in 2010 have included:Read more
The current bull market will mark its official 1 year anniversary this week - March 9th to be specific. History suggests that this is a critical milestone and one in which investors should pay attention to. According to Bespoke Investment Group, of the 26 bull markets - with bull markets defined as at least a 20% rally that was preceded by at least a 20% decline in the S&P 500 - that have taken place in the history of the S&P 500, 13 of them (i.e. 50%) have lasted for more than one year. The average length and gain of bull markets that pass the one year anniversary mark is 4.4 years and 152.81% respectively. Furthermore, only two of the previously highlighted 13 one year + bull markets lasted fewer than 2 years.Read more
As part of our annual portfolio reconstitution process at Hennion & Walsh, we strive to build forward looking, asset allocation-oriented portfolios based on our internal views of where we believe both the markets and economy are heading for the next year.Read more