PINAKi DASGUPTA

Emerging Markets ETFs: Predictable and Consistent

As for your comments , I do hope the same for you.I do appreciate your optimism though, Yes, even after the last week tuesday's decline these ETFs will still be making money,because of the fantastic growth ( shanghai index130% in 2006) have had in the recent past, but the point is the emerging markets are now under increasing pressure to measure upto the same level of optimism they had once showed and are nearing the end of their performance cycle.
(to quote Tom Lyndon 8th march article:"Emerging markets ETFs had a rough week, but Russia seemed to be one of the hardest hit.This makes Russia the worst performer year-to-date among major global benchmarks.

Polya Lesova of MarketWatch.com adds that Falling commodity prices, particularly oils and metal, added to a rush to reduce global risk exposure. This put pressure on the Russian market as well as other emerging markets which tend to have a commodity-driven economy. Other BRIC countries, India, China and Brazil, remain under heavy selling pressure. Insiders to the industry say this market sell-off is following in the patterns of the five previous corrections since 2003.")

The technicalities of P/E or P/E (forward) or PEG does little to calm the investors confidence or hope , when panic/fear grips in.. one rumor is enough to trigger a domino effect. The ETFs being cheap is relative ,varies from investor to investor, although they are cheaper now than last year.

Emerging Markets ETFs: Predictable and Consistent

well the emerging mkt. were cuaght on the web of 9... chinese new year started on feb 18th 2007 .. the year for pig.. 18=9 & 2007 =9 numerology mars / fire element ... year of pig signifies fire and water .. water in chinese fengshui attracts wealth and fire burns it away..

"Pig years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water, conflicting elements that tend to cause havoc,Raymond Lo(fengshui expert) said.

"Fire sitting on water is a symbol of conflict and skirmish," he said. "We'll also see more fire disasters and bombings." China is showing the way...as the water and fire battle it out..and combines to form steam( overheated (fire)speculative market combining with cooler water to form gas) volatility will be up and down this year...( classic brownian motion) also pig came in last 12th in the race to lord buddha hence the last year in the 12 year cycle. 12th house in hindu astrology signifies house of losses/redemption/repe... /let go/hospitals etc...... which shld signify bearish outlook through out this year. so go putting(options).. did I say play golf ??

surprising how one sneeze in china affects global mkts and economy."Tuesday, 9 exchange traded funds based on emerging Asian markets corrected unsustainable performance patterns triggered by a Shanghai stock market that plummeted nearly 9% overnight: ETF, Drop IShares:FTSE/Xinhua (NYSE: FXI - News) -9.9%" you see how number 9 is omnipresent !!!! ....

Sadly, so that is harbinger of things to come.. i know i don't sound too optimistic.. but as US economy is slowing down , i still don't think the bear market has not set in as YET...

General Electric Announces Plans for Algerian Water Desalination

Yes the PX exchanger will lower costs in desalination plants of future and GE will be looking to lap it up one does expect retrofittiing it with the existing ones. .

With Global warming effects / drop in water tables across continents, water is the next resource ,where we would like to see such innovations come thru. But I am surprised at the 20 years loan repayment ( typical projectlisted at ERI site)with 15% ROR.. the recurring costs in desalination plants is usually the operating cost of HP pumps ..( break down/maintanenace) with cost of cartridges. One will have to see the economies of scale ( back log of confirmed orders).. to take the final jump doing LBO..

Amaranth -- When Hedge Funds Forget to Hedge

Just my two cents advice..In sanskrit ...i just did the word analysis of
AMARANTH..=AMAR +ANTH meaning .. Immortal(amar) End ( anth)..Had it been AMARNATH = AMAR + NATH it would mean Immortal (AMAR)god (NATH).. just the question of N before A..
well Mr.Brian hunter ( the star trader ) of amaranth advisors did misread into natural gas hedging till 2011 ..by shorting summer and fall gas contracts and went long on winter contracts...
As they say its all in the NAME!!!!!!!!!!

Goldman Places Stake In India

well that desire for that pot of luck is in every investor's wish list...

Goodbye India Fund, Hello India Note

I believe IFN is managed by The Blackstone group (Ms. Punita Kumar sinha) and not the black rock ..The blackrock group is different from the blackstone group.
yes,ETN from barclays will mirror the ups and downs of the msci india index(68 companies so far) ,definately a much better reflection of the indian market place than IFN.

Is the China Craze a Tech Bubble 2.0?

China's rate of growth declining was more than expected in 2007.but how fast the bust will happen remains to be seen. India appears to have some potential on the real estate /retail segment, though it depends on how they exploit it.The charts do paint a depressing picture