24/7 Wall St. » CEE

Eight Countries With Credit Ratings Set to Rise Next Year

Administrator — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:14:50 +0000

It seems that all of the nations around the world are facing sovereign credit ratings downgrades or warnings of downgrades. After the United States lost its prized “AAA” rating, the threat of downgrades hangs over all of Europe. Before assuming that the whole financial system is going down the drain with Europe, it is important to realize that some key developing nations are still growing strongly and have better credit metrics. More than 15 nations may even see one or more of the top three ratings agencies upgrade their sovereign credit ratings.

24/7 Wall St. has focused on the ratings with a “positive” outlook from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and/or Fitch with a bias towards nations that investors can easily invest in via ADR shares, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The featured nations that may be upgraded in 2012 are Brazil, Chile, China (with Hong Kong), Indonesia, Peru, Russia, South Korea, and Turkey.

Read: Nations Set For Credit Ratings Beyond Upgrades, Beyond The Euro Crisis

There is another slew of countries for which S&P has a “positive” outlook stance: Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Latvia, Panama, and Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, these nations are almost impossible for Americans to invest in due to their size, the small number of public companies, and a lack of ETFs or mutual funds covering them.

The 24/7 Wall St. list is presented alphabetically and features relevant ratings. Also included are economic details and important developments to consider. Lastly, we have provided a list of the key closed-end funds, ETFs, and ADRs specific to each nation. Population estimates and purchasing power parity GDP for 2010 were taken from the CIA World Factbook.

Filed under: ADR, Austerity, Banking, Bonds, China, Commodities, Currency, Economy, Editor's Picks, Emerging Markets, ETF, International Markets, Labor & Unions Tagged: BAP, BBD, BCH, BRF, BRFS, BVN, BZF, CEE, CH, CHN, CZZ, ECH, EIDO, EPU, ERJ, ERUS, EWH, EWY, EWZ, FXI, GOL, GXC, IDX, IF, KEF, KEP, KF, LFL, MBT, MTL, PBR, PEK, PKX, RBL, RSX, RSXJ, SAN, SCCO, SKM, SKOR, SQM, TDF, TKC, TKF, TLK, TRF, TUR, VALE, VIP

Special Report: Chart Deaths of BRIC & Emerging Markets (EEM, VWO, EWZ, BRF, ECH, CH, RSX, TRF, CEE, EPI, PIN, IFN, IIF, FXI, GXC, TAO, HAO, CHN, TDF)

Administrator — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:46:14 +0000

The old saying goes, “When the U.S. sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.” But what about when Europe gets the flu and when China and India drink the tap water from Latin America? There have been many books about the Post-American economies and about the rest of the world catching up to America’s fiscal dominance. It turns out that our leverage isn’t so bad when you consider some of the other great nations. The recession in America is still only an unofficial and debated recession, but the recession in Europe and the equivalent of a recession is heading back to the developing nations.

All you have to do is look at the exchange-traded funds and closed-end which track the emerging markets and the BRIC nations (and those surrounding the BRICs). Ugly is not quite the right description and we will explain more after showing just how bad the carnage is. Greece is no emerging market, but it is on the path to default faster than emerging markets used to default.

The ETFs for the broad emerging markets is not a good signal for their equity markets. The revolutions of early 2011 did not help, nor did the food inflation, but the economic slowing is taking a hit here left and right. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) closed down 2.1% at $34.36 and the 52-week trading range is $34.29 to $50.43 (52-week low was Monday). Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (NYSE: VWO) closed down 1.75% at $35.20 and the 52-week trading range is $35.13 to $50.92 (52-week low was Monday).

We have included the most active ETF chart on each from Stockcharts.com at the end of this report. The data on the BRICs is almost shocking…

BRAZIL

Brazil may have energy independence and the Olympics headed its way, but the implosion there has been massive. The BOVESPA lost 2.9% of its value on Monday and let’s just say that its high-flyers are now grounded due to more than just weather. It seems that minerals and forestry are not going to generate cash, just like it missed out on royalties from the term “Brazilian” in personal grooming.

iShares MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ) closed down 2.1% at $50.89 and the 52-week trading range is $50.71 to $81.77 (52-week low was Monday). Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: BRF) closed down 3.15% at $37.96 and the 52-week trading range is $37.73 to $63.78 (52-week low was Monday). iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index (NYSE: ECH) closed down 3.8% at $51.16 and the 52-week trading range is $50.92 to $80.38 (52-week low was Monday). Aberdeen Chile Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CH) closed down 4.9% at $13.45 and the 52-week trading range is $13.37 to $26.56 (52-week low was Monday).

Filed under: ADR, Brokerage Firms, Charts, China, Commodities, Corporate Governance, Currency, Defensive Stocks, Economy, Editor's Picks, Emerging Markets, ETF, Exchange News, Index, International Markets, Most Actives, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance, Trading Alert, Value Investing Tagged: BRF, CEE, CH, CHN, ECH, EEM, EPI, EWZ, FXI, GXC, HAO, IFN, IIF, PIN, RSX, TAO, TDF, TRF, VWO

Select Fund Sell-Offs in Europe (EWP, EWI, EWG, EWU, EWQ, IEV, IRL, SNF, GF, RNE, CEE, EWL)

Administrator — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:50:50 +0000

It is not hard to find ADRs which have sold off by about 50%, and some are worse than that out of Europe. These shares are getting the double-whammy now with a declining market and a declining currency. Throw in that the Euro is now the Peso in the eyes of the global safe-haven seekers and that the Europeans are becoming less and less capable of dealing with a bailout. It’s a recipe for disaster. We wanted to take a look at some of the ETFs and closed-end funds which track various countries and/or regions in the Eurozone. Frankly, some of the market performance figures are starting to become shocking. We haven’t even had a classic blow-off panic. Of the ETFs, we looked at the iShares MSCI Spain Index (NYSE: EWP), iShares MSCI Italy Index (NYSE: EWI), iShares MSCI Germany Index (NYSE: EWG), iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index (NYSE: EWU), iShares MSCI France Index (NYSE: EWQ), and then the broader iShares S&P Europe 350 Index Fund (NYSE: IEV). In closed-end funds we looked at The New Ireland Fund, Inc. (NYSE: IRL), The Ibero-America Fund, Inc (NYSE: SNF), New Germany Fund Inc. (NYSE: GF), Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund Inc (NYSE: RNE), and then the Central Europe & Russia Fund Inc. (NYSE: CEE). Even the MSCI Switzerland Index Fund (NYSE: EWL) is off big.

To keep it simple, we focused solely on what use the be the WEBS and are now the iShares. That might not be fair to other ETF and fund families out there, but it keeps it consistent. As for the closed-end funds, those were effectively picked at random so some other funds are likely to be better or worse in performance.

As far as the performance, we looked at the current price of each fund, the 52-week range, and then how much each current price is down from highs.

SELECT COUNTRY/REGIONAL ETFs

iShares MSCI Spain Index (NYSE: EWP) $32.19; $32.06 to $52.67 so it is down almost 39% from highs.
iShares MSCI Italy Index (NYSE: EWI) $13.56; $13.72 – $21.77 so it is down almost 38% from highs.
iShares MSCI Germany Index (NYSE: EWG) $18.25; $16.75 – $23.40 so it is down 22% from highs.
iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index (NYSE: EWU) $13.40, $12.34 to $17.20 so it is down 22% from highs.
iShares MSCI France Index (NYSE: EWQ) $19.62, $19.21 to $27.32 so its is down 28% from highs.
S&P Europe 350 Index Fund (NYSE: IEV) $31.15; $29.40 to $41.05 so it is down 24% from highs.

SELECT CLOSED-END COUNTRY & REGION FUNDS

The New Ireland Fund, Inc. (NYSE: IRL) $5.88; $5.78 – $8.75 so it is down close to 33.5% of the highs.
The Ibero-America Fund, Inc (NYSE: SNF) $; $4.85 – $8.07, so it is down 38% from its highs.
New Germany Fund Inc. (NYSE: GF) $10.44; $7.95 – $13.39, so it is down 22% from its highs.
Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund Inc (NYSE: RNE) $13.24; $9.77 to $17.93 so it is down 35% from highs.
Central Europe & Russia Fund Inc. (NYSE: CEE) $29.01 ; $20.21 – $38.93 so it is down 25.5% from highs.

Switzerland is supposed to be one of the last bastions of safety. Yet the MSCI Switzerland Index Fund (NYSE: EWL) is at $18.92 versus a 52-week range of $17.00 to $23.63 so its shares are down “only” just under 20% from highs.

Oh well, at least it is now suddenly cheaper for Americans than it has been in years to travel once you are inside of Europe.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: ADR, Economy, ETF, International Markets, Mutual Funds Tagged: CEE, EWG, EWI, EWL, EWP, EWQ, EWU, GF, IEV, IRL, RNE, SNF

Russian ADR’s, ETF’s, Funds Hit On Military Actions (TRF, CEE, RSX, MBT, MTL, ROS, VIP, WBD)

247wallst — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:56:30 +0000

Russian shares in ETF’s, closed-end funds, and ADR’s are taking a little beating this morning after Russian forces have rolled in with tanks, troops, and air raids into Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region. Deciding who is responsible is up to you, particularly as Russia and its former Soviet Union states are known for information not coming out at all or not coming out in a timely and accurate manner. Here is a list of the reactions we are seeing in these stocks, funds, and ETF’s.

INDIVIDUAL RUSSIAN STOCK ADR’s:

Mobile Telesystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT) -6.8% at $66.29 on 1.88M shares
Mechel OAO Company (NYSE: MTL) -4.2% at $23.05 on 3.6M shares
Rostelecom OAO (NYSE: ROS) -3.75% at $68.35 on 64,000 shares
Vimpel-Communications (NYSE: VIP) -3.3% at $23.50 on 2.4M shares
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) -6% at $76.10 on 164,000 shares

EXCHANGE TRADED FUND:

Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX) -5% at $40.15 on 946,000 shares

CLOSED-END FUNDS:

Templeton Russia and East European Fund Inc. (NYSE: TRF) -2.9% at $45.19 on 35,000 shares
Central Europe & Russia Fund Inc. (NYSE: CEE) -4% at $43.33 on 45,000 shares

The open ended mutual funds won’t really see any pricing changes untilthe net asset values update at the end of the day, so where thosereally trade at an end of day hypothetical net asset value might beguesswork. OPEN ENDED FUNDS:

ING Russia A Fund (LETRX)
JPMorgan Russia C Fund (JRUCX)
JPMorgan Russia Select Fund (JRUSX)
JPMorgan Russia R5 Fund (JRURX)
Third Millennium Russia Fund (TMRFX)
TEMPLETON RUSSIA AND EAST EUROPE Fund (XTRFX)
JPMorgan Russia A Fund (JRUAX)

Jon C. Ogg
August 8, 2008