By 2 Cents on December 31st, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents |  I hope you have all been enjoying a relaxing holiday season. I’ve been keeping a much lighter writing schedule over the past couple of weeks, but I’ll be back at it by Monday. In the meantime, I did take a break from festivities long enough to put together this great collection of articles from the final month of 2010. Enjoy!
1. The Oblivious Investor had a great post on Annuity Payouts: Why Are They Higher Than Bond Rates? Annuities are one of the elements of financial planning that I don’t know a great deal about, but I intend to learn a lot more this year, and this article was a good start.
2. Jim Yih asked Is Understanding Economics Important to Personal Finance? Of course, I think a basic understanding of the economic climate is a good idea, [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from December 2010
By 2 Cents on December 27th, 2010 | Category: Collections |  If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.
~Pearl Buck
As 2010 draws to a close, I thought we might take a look at some of the major themes we’ve explored this year at Balance Junkie. I’ve chosen ten main ideas and included a few posts for each. Enjoy!
1. Balance
Of course, balance was an idea that was woven through most of the articles for this year, so I’ll just highlight a few that address the concept more specifically:
Your Life Balance Sheet How to Cultivate a Better Life What Is a Balanced Portfolio?
2. Deficits
We discussed a lot of different types of deficits this year, from budget deficits to integrity deficits. It seems we’re in the red in more than one area:
What If Your Budget Doesn’t Balance? Read on and enjoy … Year in Review: 10 Themes from 2010
By 2 Cents on December 20th, 2010 | Category: Money Psychology |  Get me through December A promise I’ll remember Just get me through December So I can start again
~ from the song “Get Me Through December“
Markets and economics, like life, move in cycles. The only sure thing about a very long up or down-swing is that it will inevitably reverse. December is a time when neither markets, economics or our lives may necessarily be at the peak or bottom of their cycles, but the end of the calendar year still makes us reflect on where we stand on all three.
The holiday season only adds to that effect. We (hopefully) have some time to see friends and family we may not see throughout the rest of the year, and take some time to stop and reflect on the year that was and the year yet to come. December finds many of us a little weary [...]
Read on and enjoy … Get Me Through December
By 2 Cents on December 17th, 2010 | Category: Economics |  “Nobody…nobody…knows for sure what it going on,” said he. “On the one hand, there are plenty of excesses and bad investments in China. There must be. We’ve been growing so fast. And there must be a lot of bad debt hidden in the banking system, for example.“But on the other hand, China is booming. There have never, ever been so many people working so hard to make money. It’s a bit like the US probably was a hundred years ago. Only bigger. Faster. And with more government involvement.”
~ Chinese businessman, quoted in The Daily Reckoning
Today we wrap up our 3-part series on China. So far, we’ve looked at the bear case and the bull case. Today, we’ll look at some of the basic similarities and differences between what’s happening in the Chinese economy and what’s happening in Western economies.
Today’s opening [...]
Read on and enjoy … Is China Different?
By 2 Cents on December 15th, 2010 | Category: Economics |  The Chinese have been effective at dealing with every economic problem they have faced.
~ Byron Wien
On Monday we looked at the bearish side of the China debate. Today, we turn our attention to the bulls. They look at the growth potential in China and see investment there as a long term no-brainer. Not only that, but they believe “The Chinese Miracle” might be just what the rest of us need to pull out of the economic morass we’ve created.
On Monday’s post, Mich from Beating the Index commented that even if China’s GDP halved to 5% as one expert predicted, that still means robust and increasing demand for commodities – just at a slightly slower pace. Again, it’s the sheer scope of the Chinese economy that makes it different. (I know – famous last words. But let’s hear out the bulls.)
China: The Bull Case
By 2 Cents on December 13th, 2010 | Category: Economics |  I remain convinced we are witnessing a bubble of epic proportions which will burst – catching investors as unawares as the bursting of the Asian bubbles of the mid-1990s. Ignore these indicators at your peril.
~ Albert Edwards
Update: This article was featured in the 11th Canadian Personal Finance and Investing Carnival at Investing Thesis. Thanks!
Is China a bubble in search of a pin, or the global growth engine that will save us all from our debaucherous debt? You can find plenty of smart people to argue either side, so I thought I would put together some of the information I’ve collected on the topic over the past couple of months and let you decide what you think. There’s so much analysis out there, however, that I’m going to take on this task in three parts. Today we’ll just look at the factors that [...]
Read on and enjoy … China: The Bear Case
By 2 Cents on December 10th, 2010 | Category: Investing |  I don’t think the market discounts anything anymore. I think it is purely a day trader’s market that’s trading off the Fed, trading off the headlines. One day it’s manic. The next day it’s depressive. I think we can’t really draw any conclusions.
~David Stockman
Update: This article was included in the Carnival of Wealth #16 posted at Personal Dividends. Thanks!
We’ve been looking at some solid investing guidelines from an experienced Balance Junkie reader over the past couple of days. Some of you were probably wondering whether I was going to start cheering on the market after drinking a pint of bullish Kool-Aid. While I do intend to point out some different investment options, my fundamental caution on the market hasn’t changed.
There are profits to be made in stocks. The gains from the 2009 bottom are phenomenal, [...]
Read on and enjoy … Equities: Curb Your Enthusiasm?
By 2 Cents on December 9th, 2010 | Category: Investing |  A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.
~Chinese Proverb
Yesterday I introduced you to Thomas, a regular reader who offered some general investment thoughts. Today, he shares some more specific ideas gleaned from 35 years of do-it-yourself investing. For the record, his professionally managed portfolios lost about 30% during the 2008-2009 economic collapse while his DIY portfolio lost 20%. The professionally managed portfolios have not fully recovered, but his DIY portfolio has.
The following is more or less copied from an email Thomas sent me last week:
All of the big 5 Canadian banks are an excellent long-term investment. Even the Laurentian and Western banks are not too shabby. The banks have a better than most record of dividend increases and while their market values will oscillate, often for no good reason, there is absolutely no reason to fear investing in them. [...]
Read on and enjoy … Stock Selection Advice from a Veteran DIY Investor
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