“Those are some crazy numbers.” An old friend had messaged me, and that line caught my attention. As it turned out, he had 36 trillion numbers in mind: the national debt, in other words. That is a pretty striking figure, and it’s fair to ask how the country’s debt could go from a trillion dollars back in 1981 to 36 times that today. “Very irresponsible, imo,” my friend wrote. This sounds like a reasonable response, and many people think this way. But the problem here, from an investment perspective, is that most people look at the debt on its own,…

Li Weizhu, the chairman of Zhou Liu Fu Jewellery, joined the billionaire ranks after shares of his Shenzhen-based gold jewelry retailer soared 67% over their first two trading days on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. Li, 47, is Zhou Liu Fu’s largest shareholder with a 57% stake through wholly-owned investment vehicles. Based on his stake, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $1.2 billion. Li’s older brother Weipeng, who is Zhou Liu Fu’s cofounder and vice chairman, has a fortune of $522 million based on his 24% ownership, Forbes estimates. Li entered the three-comma club a day after…

Week in Review Asian equities were mostly higher this week, as Japan and China outperformed, while Indonesia and Australia underperformed, after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire following US strikes. Six government agencies announced various measures, including expanding consumer lending and strengthening access to pensions for individuals, to stimulate domestic consumption in a joint press release on Wednesday. Brokerage firm Guotai Junan International became the first Mainland China-based company to offer trading accounts for cryptocurrency, making them available to clients in Hong Kong after securing approval from the special administrative region’s (SAR) Securities & Futures Commission (SFC). Starbucks rebuffed…

In trading on Friday, shares of Nike crossed above their 200 day moving average of $71.77, changing hands as high as $72.84 per share. Nike shares are currently trading up about 14.8% on the day. 10 Stocks Crossing Above Their 200 Day Moving Average » The chart below shows the one year performance of NKE shares, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, NKE’s low point in its 52 week range is $52.28 per share, with $90.62 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $71.53. The NKE DMA information…

The Magnificent Seven are often in the spotlight, but not because of any major shifts in their businesses. Some could call it a proverbial flip of the narrative switch to shine the lights on the usual suspects to stir up some fresh buying activity. It’s a classic case of attention reallocation rather than fundamental change. Investors beware – just because the hype machine is revving doesn’t mean there’s substance behind the noise. In a market driven by headlines, hype, and momentum, identifying truly high-quality investment opportunities requires more than surface-level analysis. Research grounded in deep diligence, which considers financial statements,…

Key News Asian equities closed mixed, as Japan and India outperformed and the US dollar weakened overnight. Hong Kong’s four-day winning streak and Mainland China’s three-day winning streak both came to an end with profit taking overnight. Both markets bounced around the room on volumes that were well above their 1-year averages. It was very interesting that Southbound Stock Connect volumes accounted for 64% of turnover in Hong Kong today. I can’t recall a percentage that high, as Mainland investors poured $673 million into Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs, net of selling. Does the high Connect percentage indicate a lack…

Let’s talk about oil and gold dividends. Whether or not the new peace in the Middle East holds, there are some high-quality dividends worth owning anytime. These generous payers (up to 8%!) provide peace of mind just in case the geopolitical Jenga set gets knocked loose again. We’ll start with crude, which had rallied to one-year highs. I was originally going to advise not chasing the “Strait of Hormuz” oil rally. Futures indicated (and still do) that lower prices are likely ahead. January 2026 still trades cheaper—suggesting temporary disruption at worst. Back at home, you’ve probably heard (not least from…

June’s Consumer Price Index report will be released on July 15. Nowcasts project relatively low month-on-month inflation of 0.23% to 0.25%, that’s according to the analysis of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. If so, that would signal continued subdued inflation. It would also be consistent with cooler inflation readings reported since February of this year. Inflation would still be running above the Federal Open Market Committee’s 2% goal on an annual basis, with most inflation metrics closer to 3% than 2%. However, some of that deviation from target on an annual basis reflects rising prices between November 2024 and…

Iconic American musician and Nobel Laureate in Literature Bob Dylan’s words from 1964 apply to today’s markets: “the times they are a-changin.” As political misalignment in the United States emerges as a material investment risk, investors and companies are increasingly risking their long-term sustainability by downplaying it. Let’s examine the hidden cost of downplaying sustainability and why many are underestimating it. The Times Are A-Changin, and Investors Must Change With Them What matters to investors changes over time. This concept of dynamic materiality, first demonstrated by TrueValue Labs (now part of FactSet), can be seen in both cyclical trends and…

easyJet shares (LON:EZJ) have had a turbulent past couple of weeks due to the conflict in the Middle East. Given the geopolitical instability in the region, it’s worth assessing whether the stock is still worth buying. A Sticky Relationship One can be forgiven for thinking of easyJet as an inverted oil stock since April, given how it’s been trading like one. Its share price has had an inverse relationship with oil prices, and it’s understandable considering fuel takes up 29.9% of easyJet’s headline airline EBITDA costs. As such, its cost base could skyrocket if oil prices spike. This can lead…