|
|
 |
|
| News & Scoreboards |
10 Questions for Your Private Banker - 6/04
06/01/2004
|
U.K. mining giant Anglo American
said its 2003 earnings fell by $578 million due to unhedged adverse currency
movements. Meanwhile, Scottish Power, another U.K. firm, said it made $728
million by hedging its currency exposures wisely last year. How can I determine
if the companies in which I invest adhere to state-of-the-art risk management
techniques that will help them avoid losses?
Hungary, Poland and the Czech
Republic—the three largest countries to join the E.U. last month—have seen their
stock markets roar higher by 44 percent to 70 percent over the past year,
compared with a 23 percent rise across greater Europe. How can I tap this
investment opportunity? Is the rally over?
Half of the countries in the
eurozone will fail to meet the membership criteria this year. The E.U.’s
Stability and Growth Pact requires eurozone members to keep their borrowing at
or below 3 percent of gross domestic product. France and Germany have failed to
do so already, severely undermining the currency’s credibility, but Brussels
Eurocrats now expect four other states to breach that cap this year. What effect
will this have on the currency? Should I adjust my investment strategy toward
Europe?
Institutional corporate governance activists like CalPERS and
Institutional Shareholder Services are voting against corporate board titans
like Warren Buffett and Sandy Weill whom, they say, have allowed auditors to
take on non-audit work like consulting. Should this be a consideration in my own
investments?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
