John Wasik

CHICAGO, Dec 31 (Reuters) – At this point, most investors
are peering over the fiscal cliff and feeling like Jimmy Stewart
in the classic Hitchcock film “Vertigo.” But if you look beyond
the precipice, there is some solid ground.

For one thing, the U.S. housing market will be better than
most people expect, which bodes well for patient investors
holding onto consumer-sector stocks. Most economists are not
predicting any startling jump in home sales or prices next year,
and they largely have not forecast how a housing rebound will
spill over into the wealth effect of increasing consumer
spending and job creation.

Home foreclosures in November hit their lowest rate in six
years, a trend that is likely to continue, according to
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace of foreclosure properties.

If the Obama administration can come up with a plan to stem
foreclosures or accelerate turnover of unoccupied properties,
that would reduce overall home inventories and boost sales and
prices.

Such a plan would also spur sales of appliances, vehicles
and other consumer durable and discretionary goods and services.
To make the most of this opportunity, consider the iShares Dow
Jones Consumer Services ETF or the Industrial Select
Sector SPDR.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – You may be waiting to optimize your retirement portfolio, thinking that you should know what’s going on in Washington and Europe before you act.

However, there are some changes you can set in motion right now that could make a big difference down the road regardless of what happens with the fiscal cliff, tax changes and Wall Street:

1. Boost your contribution rate

The longer you wait to contribute, the greater return you will need to achieve your goals. Thanks to the compounding effect, the more your contribute, the more you can accumulate when dividends and appreciation are added.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The end of the year is a good time to illuminate your personal financial situation in a different way. Instead of focusing exclusively on financial capital – how much money you have accumulated – look at your human capital.

This calculus of human capital, which economists wonkily define as “the net present value of your lifetime earnings,” matters as much to your lifelong financial situation as the size of your nest egg.

When some people gauge their human capital, they find that they are not making enough money and decide to make some changes. That could mean starting a second or third career.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – For as long as I can remember, the investment maxim that most evokes a mix of adulation and performance anxiety is “Invest like Warren Buffett.”

How can mere mortals emulate an investing deity? In truth, most of us will never come close to “the Sage of Omaha.” He’s done all the things a stellar investor should do: He buys when there’s blood in the street, finds solid companies at great prices and keeps them “forever.” Lacking Buffett’s phenomenal verve and mettle, though, most of us won’t do this. But that doesn’t mean we’re doomed to failure.

Fortunately, the multibillionaire chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has been generous with his wisdom and two recent books published in November compile and analyze it elegantly: “Tap Dancing to Work” by Carol Loomis, a long-time Fortune writer and Buffett friend and “Think, Act and Invest Like Warren Buffet” by Larry Swedroe, principal and director of research for Buckingham Asset Management, LLC.

CHICAGO, Dec 14 (Reuters) – With China, Brazil and India
hitting icy patches on their economic growth paths, investing in
even younger emerging markets looks promising.

The so-called “frontier” economies offer diversification and
profit opportunities as big global investors look for low-cost
labor and resources. Most of these 25 or so countries won’t
appear on most individual investors’ radar screens, though. They
range from Bangladesh to Vietnam and are expanding due to
industrialization or global demand.

Vietnam, for example, benefiting from normalized relations
with the U.S. and membership in the World Trade Organization, is
one of the only Asian countries to have grown faster than China
since 2000, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. The
country’s manufacturing sector alone grew at a 9-percent annual
compounded growth rate from 2005 to 2010.

CHICAGO, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Let’s assume, for a moment, that
the “fiscal cliff” bears are wrong.

Underlying pending tax increases and more debt-ceiling
battles is some fairly positive economic news. Job growth
surprisingly soared last month and U.S. home prices in October
posted their biggest increase in six years, according to
CoreLogic. Factory orders also rose unexpectedly during the
month. And the Federal Reserve’s stimulus policy is keeping
mortgage rates low.

That all bodes well for a low-growth, sustainable recovery
in which basic materials, industrials, emerging markets and even
utilities regain favor. The upswing in employment and personal
income will translate into a substantial consumer wealth effect,
and more people will be spending money on homes, autos,
appliances and consumer goods. Overseas, the rising U.S. tide
will lift emerging markets. Renewed confidence combined with
secular economic growth represents “a likely catalyst for the
next multi-year bull market,” notes the BMO Private Bank 2013
outlook for financial markets.

CHICAGO, Dec 6 (Reuters) – One of the ways to globalize your
portfolio and to tap growth in emerging markets is to recognize
the new China Syndrome. The world’s most populous country is
becoming a primary buyer for resources and technologies for its
growing population.

China’s growing demand will continue to boost prices on
everything from farmland to oil. The country now consumes more
than 40 percent of the world’s base metals, 23 percent of major
agricultural commodities and 20 percent of non-renewable energy
resources, according to a recent report by the International
Monetary Fund. Those figures are up from single-digit levels in
2000, in terms of net imports as a percentage of world imports.

There are a number of ways to invest in this trend through
exchange-traded funds, but first you need to understand the
breadth of its global implications.

CHICAGO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – It’s easy to believe in
technology stocks again.

After a dismal recession and sluggish recovery, the sector
is up 13.3 percent this year through Nov. 30, according to
Standard & Poor’s, slightly ahead of the broader S&P 500 Index.
Expect that run to continue, since gadget-buying will be strong
this holiday season and may continue into next year.

Yet the question for tech investors is whether Apple Inc
should remain a key holding. The stock already
dominates most tech portfolios because of its mammoth market
capitalization, making it one of the most valuable companies on
the planet. Apple is still the largest holding in the S&P 500
and peaked above $700 a share back in September. It’s been
trading below $600 since late October.