Results for Martin Hutchinson
Let’s Make a Deal: How the Mergers-and-Acquisitions Boom Will Hurt the U.S. Economy
With its $39 billion hostile bid for Canada’s Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT), mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE ADR: BHP) capped an active August in the mergers-and-acquisitions market.
With the moribund growth prospects of the U.S. economy, there would seem to be no great urgency for companies to go on an M&A spree, yet the total value of announced buyout deals for August alone has topped $175 billion.
Cynics are reaching only one conclusion: With interest rates so low and corporations so cash-rich, it seems that company management teams would rather do anything with that cash than to give it back to shareholders via stock buybacks or boosted dividends.
And those deals signal additional trouble ahead for the U.S. economy.
To understand the problems that this rampant dealmaking figures to cause, please read on…
Russia: Is it Time to Invest in One of the Coldest Countries on Earth?
Of all the unpleasant societies in which to live, Vladimir Putin’s Russia is among the nastiest. Journalists and businessmen disappear, a knock on the door at 3:00am can prove fatal, and nothing gets done without endless side-payments to obscure fixers.
Still, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) in 2001 identified Russia as one of the four great "BRIC" growth economies. And while much of its gilt has been worn off, Russia still has many supporters in the investment world. So the question is: Provided you don’t have to live there, is it worth devoting a few of your investment dollars to the country?
To find out if Russia is worth the investment continue reading…
The Tobin Tax: The Deficit-Busting Levy Wall Street Hates
[Editor's Note: When it comes to explaining how politics feeds off business, Money Morning's Martin Hutchinson is unmatched. Months before the actual events, Hutchinson correctly predicted the outcomes - and the investment impact - of the U.S. presidential primaries and the general election. More recently he's turned his attention to the looming U.S. midterm elections, the debate over the Bush tax cuts, and plausible deficit-reduction strategies.]
After the Nov. 2 midterm elections, the Obama administration and Congress are going to have to scramble to fill a trillion-dollar hole in the U.S budget, and tax increases may be the only option.
A tax increase won’t be good news for an already wheezing economic recovery that seems to get weaker with each new report or indicator that’s issued. But the type of tax that’s chosen will go a long way in determining just how much damage the U.S. economy will have to endure.
With a deficit in excess of $1 trillion, there aren’t a lot of options. One possibility would be to allow the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts to expire, which would have a depressing effect on the economy and most people’s pocketbooks.
But a better option would be to devise some new taxes that may prove less damaging. Indeed, there’s even one possibility that might even do some economic good if it’s implemented correctly.
It’s called a "Tobin tax."
Three Ways to Profit as China Causes Gold Prices to Spike
China’s growing importance in the world economy is about to have ramifications for the entire commodities market. Specifically, for Gold. Find out why China will push gold prices through the roof – and how to profit now.
How Washington Should Handle the Bush Tax Cuts
[Editor's Note: When it comes to explaining the nexus of business and politics, Money Morning's Martin Hutchinson is unmatched. Months before the actual events, Hutchinson correctly predicted the outcomes - and the investment impact - of the U.S. presidential primaries and the general election. And he recently did the same for Great Britain. Now he turns his attention to the Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of December.]
The big political issue for the remainder of this year will be the so-called “Bush tax cuts” engineered by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003.
Those tax cuts are scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, with taxes reverting to their 2001 levels.
It’s not at all clear which of the cuts will be extended and which will be repealed.
But one thing is clear: The outcome of the Bush-tax-cut debate will have major implications for the U.S. economy.
To understand the economic implications of extending the Bush tax cuts, please read on…
Investing Strategies: How to Protect Yourself if the U.S. Economy Catches the "Japan Disease"
[Editor's Note: Is the United States in the midst of a Japan-like "Lost Decade?" If that's the case, how can investors protect themselves? Money Morning's Martin Hutchinson, a noted commentator, author and longtime international merchant banker, answers both those questions in today's report.]
Grim unemployment figures, growing worries about crushing debt loads and the apparent absence of any inflation are causing many investors to ask a tough question: Is the U.S. economy catching the "Japan disease," the dreaded and dreadful malaise that has left the onetime Asian powerhouse in a stagnant state since 1990?
It’s a crucial question.
And the answer will guide your investment decisions for the next 20 years.
To find out the best investments to be making right now, please read on…
Three Ways to Profit as China Causes Gold Prices to Spike
[Editor's Note: News reports yesterday (Monday) showed that China leapfrogged Japan to become the world's No. 2 economy. China's growing importance in the world economy is positioning the Asian giant to become the catalyst for the next big move in gold prices. Martin Hutchinson, a longtime international merchant banker, shows us why.]
When recently gold sold off and fell as much as 8% below its record high level of $1,260 an ounce, investors had to be more than a little concerned.
With the huge debt loads top world economies have taken on to rebound from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, investors have grabbed onto gold as the best way to hedge against the inflation and other financial calamities they felt were certain to come. So far, those calamities haven’t materialized.
But those investors shouldn’t be worried. There’s another catalyst on the horizon. It’s headed directly for us. And, at least as far as gold prices are concerned, it figures to be an almost ideal catalyst: Even if it doesn’t spawn the near-term price spikes some gold bugs predict, it’s a near-certainty to send the yellow metal skyward in the long run.
I’m talking, of course, about China.
To see just how powerful a gold-price catalyst China figures to be, please read on.
It’s Time to Invest in Chile and Colombia – Latin America’s Reigning ‘Good Guys’
Looking for the next emerging markets set to skyrocket? Look no further than Chile and Colombia. That’s right, thanks to recent elections, these two countries are ready to lead growth in Latin America. Read this report to find out exactly where to invest…
The Headline You Never Expected: Foreign Growth Could Bail Out the U.S. Economy
[Editor's Note: Money Morning's Martin Hutchinson, a noted commentator, author and longtime international merchant banker, understands the intricacies of the global economy as well as anyone. So while you'll be surprised by the conclusion he reaches in today's essay, be sure to take his recommendations very seriously.]
During a period of increasingly worrisome headlines about the U.S. economy, there is one bright spot.
The rest of the world appears to be doing much better than we are.
In the long run, that’s good news for the United States. Rapid world growth will eventually rekindle the economic fires here, producing a growth that is more balanced than the bubbles of 1995-2008.
Still, getting to that point will be a challenge, since – economically speaking – the home fires don’t appear to be burning all that brightly.
To see how foreign growth could bail out the U.S. economy, please read on…
The CIVETS: Windfall Wealth From the ‘New’ BRIC Economies
Forget the BRICs. There’s a brand new set of emerging market economies set to make investors windfall profits… but only if you know which ones to pick – and which to avoid completely! Read on to find out which new emerging market is worthy of your investing dollar…
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