By SIMON CONSTABLE
Venezuela’s human-made economic calamity just took a turn for the worse. The country’s national debt is now almost double the level of the GDP. At the end of the second quarter, total borrowing hit 198.4% of GDP, up from 102.8% a year earlier, according to a recent report from the Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Institute of International Finance. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
If you want to profit from a possible end to the U.S.-China trade war, then buy shares in U.S.-based copper miner Freeport McMoRan.
"Freeport is a buy because I believe we get a China deal," said Adam Johnson, author of the financial newsletter Bullseye Brief. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Little sparks the interest of investors more than insight into where the market will move next. That’s why you will hear Wall Street pros talk about “investor positioning.” In the simplest terms, it refers to readings of whether professional investors are collectively bullish or bearish on a particular asset class. At certain times, these readings can help signal a future move in prices. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
A bigger world of investing could soon open up for small investors.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering allowing the masses to invest in private-equity funds, which typically buy stakes in nonpublic companies. Currently, such investments are restricted mostly to institutions and well-heeled investors, or those with a net worth (excluding their primary residence) of $1 million or more, or annual income of at least $200,000 for the past two years. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Italy's economy is set to stall again.
The country just reported an annualized growth rate of 0.3% in the third quarter, which would seem to be uplifting news because the country started the year with three months of zero growth. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
A tax on using WhatsApp became the final straw for the residents of Lebanon, and it cost the country's leader his job.
Earlier this month, seething protestors took to the streets after the government said it would impose a 20% on the first WhatsApp call users made every day.
It doesn't matter that the tax quickly got reversed. The government's actions opened the flood-gates of accumulated wrath, leading to what analysts are calling "unprecedented" protests. Read more here.
