Are The Stars Aligning For Emerging Markets This Year?

[Option Beast]( 01/09/2021   |   [View in browser]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Are The Stars Aligning For Emerging Markets This Year?]( With U.S. markets at record highs, one top money manager is looking abroad for opportunity. Ben Kirby, co-portfolio manager of the $10.5 billion Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund, told CNBC's "Trading Nation" in an email that the "stars are aligning" for emerging markets. "There's a lot of opportunity, a lot of risks, but I think emerging markets are really attractive right now," Kirby added in a "Trading Nation" segment Thursday. "Emerging market cycles tend to last several years. Emerging markets have underperformed for quite a few years until last quarter, and emerging markets outperformed in a bull market. That's interesting to us, so we think we're probably at the early innings of what could be a sustained period of emerging market outperformance." [More...]( SPONSORED CONTENT [I'm Making Over $20,000 A Month Trading A $120,000 Account]( Why reinvent the wheel as a trader if there's a strategy that works? If there's people just like you pulling in $10k, $15k and $20k a month using the same strategy isn't it worth at least checking out? In this eBook, you'll get introduced to this reliable "Income Trading System." Plus, a real life case study of how one man from Texas uses it to make over $20k/month. [CLICK HERE for instant access.]( [REFLECTIONS... A Hope On The Horizon by David Sager](#) The Dow and S & P 500 started and ended this unprecedented year at all time highs, with a lot of volatility along the way. All three indices and the Russell 2000 index, ended the year higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week up 406.61 points, or 1.35%, at 30,606.48, while the S & P 500 rose 1.43%, to 3756.07-- both record highs. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.65%, to 12,888.28 falling just short of Monday's record. It was a rather modest finish to a tumultuous year in which stocks tumbled in fear as the pandemic became a true reality. In early March as the sell off deepened, ripping stocks with many days of record losses- some of the biggest in history, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in the S & P 500 Stock exchange multiple times because the index plummeted too fast several times. Worried investors snapped up 10 year U S Treasury Bonds in defense of the coming unknown, in an effort to safeguard their investments driving the bond's yield below 1% for the first time in history, in March. But in the months that followed, as the pandemic continued, the economic pain softened and the stock market recovered faster than many expected. The unprecedented intervention by the Federal Reserve, which slashed interest rates and initiated a bunch of lending facilities to 'backstop' markets and the economy, helped a great deal A tremendous rally, one of the most powerful trajectories seen in the last 40 years began to formulate, building momentum and reassuring investors and thus spurring major infusion of capital into the markets. The length and strength of the stock market rally was one of the most surprising parts of the year for investors. The S & P 500 closed up 16.26% for 2020 and has gained just shy of 50% over the past two years, its largest two year gain since 1959. The Dow added 2068.04 points or 7.25%, in 2020, while the Naasdaq roared 43.64% higher last year. The small cap Russell gained 18.36% for the year. "People will look back at this year and wonder at how such market records could have been reached against the backdrop of unprecedented economic hardship," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at T.D. Ameritrade. A quiet year might be just what the stock market needs to put the bubble fears to rest. Is that too much to ask? Home Prices Set To Rally In 2021....The latest release of the Case-Shiller home-price index confirmed what other recent data have suggested: Home prices, undeterred by the pandemic and recession, have risen to new highs remarkably quickly. Home prices rose 8.4% year over year in October, according to the S & P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index notching the fastest annual growth since the housing market began to recover in 2014 from the crash that sparked the financial crisis. The home index is now nearly 25% higher than its previous peak in 2006. Home-price appreciation is ordinarily considered a positive, boosting household wealth and contributing to a greater economy, but today it comes as the Covid 19 pandemic has put millions out of work. While home sales in recent months have soared above last year's levels, housing market economists have been sounding the alarm about the potential impact of rising prices and a historically tight inventory of homes for sale. So far rising home prices appear to have had minimal impact on home sales and contract signings, which, despite recent month-over-month declines, remain higher than the same time last year. "It's not a market that's (so) stratospheric it's going to come crashing back down to earth," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told Barron's recently. Smaller Soybean Crops Mean Higher Prices Are In Store....Bad weather is good news for Soybean prices. The recent unseasonable dry weather in South America, and the prospects of more continuing could propel soybean prices more than 40% higher in the first quarter of 2021. "South America is a little too dry and uncomfortably dry," says Sal Gilbertie, founder and CEO of commodity-exchange-traded fund company Teucrium Trading. "We could have a serious lowering of the crop estimates over the next three month." Such continuing dryness could cause irreparable damage to this year's Brazilian (largest grower in the world),soybean crop, also, sending future prices for the grain as high as $18 a bushel, up from $12.43 recently according to a recent Teucrium report. Brazil is the largest soybean exporter. That would follow an already spectacular rally, up from $8.22 in March. Some recent rain in Brazil could quickly rescue partially depleted crops and send prices lower. Still the risks favor betting on higher soybean prices at this time. RUMBLINGS ON THE STREET Berkshire Hatherway Vice Chairman, Charlie Munger, in a California Institute of Technology Interview, Barron's "I try to avoid being stupid.....The single most important thing is to know where you are competent and where you aren't. The human mind tries to make you believe you are smarter than you are." Stephen Stanley, Amherst Pierpont's chief economist, Barron's "Unlike most Fed officials, I do not have a high degree of conviction on where inflation is headed in 2021, but I view a pickup to above pre pandemic levels as at least as likely as a continuation of softer increases," writes Mr. Stanley Alexander Goldfarb, a REIT analyst at Piper Sandler, Barron's "Interest rates are very low, and that bodes well for REITs." Real estate companies should get a lift from a stronger economy. Martin Fridson, chief investment officer of Lehmann Livian Fridson Advisors, Barron's "High yield prices convey a level of optimism that is very difficult to reconcile with the credit outlook unless you count on continued Fed support on a level never witnessed prior to 2020. Investors are pricing high-yield bonds such that the market is effectively predicting a 2% default rate over the next 12 months. This compares with 8% over the past 12 months, as reported by Moody's." [Marijuana Stocks Boom With New Hopes For Legalization]( Marijuana stocks are booming this week following the victories of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia's Senate election runoffs, which will give Democrats control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress. Canopy Growth, the first marijuana stock to ever be publicly traded in North America, is up 13.2% since the election Tuesday. With Warnock and Ossoff's victories, Democrats will have 50 seats in the Senate, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaker vote. It's a narrow majority, but Canopy Growth is hopeful that the new administration will be able to usher legalization through Congress. [Article continues...]( [3 Ways To Start Building Your Wealth Even With Debt]( Americans are dealing with unprecedented levels of debt. According to a study from Experian, U.S. consumers owe more than $14 trillion dollars across all debt types, including mortgages, student loans, credit cards, and more. It's the highest level of debt ever on record. For the average household (which owes more than $90,000 in debt), these burdens can feel heavy. They might keep you from saving up, investing, or building wealth for your future. They could even put you in a bind should an emergency occur. If you're one of the many who are holding back on other financial goals due to high levels of debt, you're not alone. Fortunately, experts say you don't have to let debts drag you down. In fact, with the right strategies, you can both pay down those balances and invest in your future at the same time. Here's how: [Click to continue reading this article...]( [This Surprising State Is Now A No. 1 Retirement Destination]( There's a new top retirement state in town, and it's not Florida, Arizona or any of the usual Sunbelt suspects. The tiny mid-Atlantic corporate enclave, now famous as the home state of the incoming president, came out as the surprising No. 1 destination for retirees (according to one way of calculating, anyway). These results come from the latest United Van Lines annual survey of who's moving where and why. [More here...]( SPONSORED CONTENT [This Trading Book Sells For $19.95 On Amazon. Yours Free.]( Simple Options Trading for Beginners retails on Amazon for $19.95. But for a limited time only, you can download a free copy directly from the author. 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