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Christmas Present Tips for Guys

Christmas Shopping Tips for Guys

giftgreen1Most of us guys are useless at Christmas shopping. Here's a few tips I've picked up over the years.

Ladies, you might want to share this with the men in your family to avoid getting an undesirable and badly wrapped present this Christmas.

  1. Buying your Christmas presents at a petrol station or dairy on Christmas morning really isn't the done thing - apparently not everyone wants a funnel, box of biscuits or a car care kit. Don't do it.
  2. Get started early, no not on Christmas Eve, yesterday was already too late.
  3. First thing in the morning is the best time to Christmas shop, and I mean first thing, teenagers are still in bed.
  4. It's not the thought that counts, it's how MUCH thought that counts.
  5. Cash is a GREAT present for teenagers - and me.
  6. If you must give gift vouchers make sure they are from a shop the recipient actually shops in and try and avoid those with an expiry date.
  7. Wrapping and cards are important, you and I know it's just paper but for some reason they are important.
  8. Before you start browsing in a shop check that it does gift wrapping and accept the service - wait if necessary. If the shop doesn't do gift wrapping move on to the next. Unless you are an expert present wrapper - Yeah Right!
  9. Even if every present you buy is gift wrapped, buy plenty of wrapping paper and sellotape. You are going to need it because dairy's and petrol stations don't gift wrap and being a bloke you'll probably ignore number 1.

Guys ignore the above at your peril and have a wonderful Christmas.

Posted in Commentary on the Investment Environment.

Things Appear to Be Looking Up in the US

Things Appear to Be Looking Up in the US

Some economists say that palm reading was invented to make them look good!

So often it seems that forecasts made by economists and market commentators often fall wide of the mark. Often when these forecasts revolve around a particular issue or problem these then tend get fixed and of course then the forecast does not turn out correct!

Some forecasts however are worth watching. These are the ones made by the so-called ‘leading indicators’. These are certain economic statistics whose values reach peaks or troughs in advance of the actual economy achieving its peaks and troughs.

One of these indicators I find worth watching for its good track record is published by the New York-based Conference Board. They have put together a series of statistics into an index which is issued monthly. The series includes figures for factory hours worked, jobless claims, supplier delivery times, changes in share prices, numbers of building permits, orders for capital goods, the level of the money supply, the cost of money and levels of consumer expectations.

While any one factor may not give a reliable pointer to the future when they are taken together they give a fairly good indicator of what is happening in an economy. Their movements point to the direction and strength of change.

The Conference Board Index of US Leading Indicators has now improved fairly steadily for some months, leading to a 1.4% rise in March, the biggest since May 2009.

These indicators show the US economy is definitely improving. While there are still issues to be addressed we should take some comfort from this improvement as the strength of the US economy still has a significant bearing on global economic activity.

For investors this points to the need to maintain an exposure to global share markets to capture gains from this improvement. Portfolios should be reviewed to ensure the level of exposure and the performance of the holdings are where they should be.

This is one economic forecast we should have some confidence in!

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