Now May Be The Best Time To Invest In China

The current COVID-19 pandemic that has halted world economic activity began back in December of 2019 in the country of China. For weeks the world watched as the Chinese government dealt with the viral outbreak. Some called the Chinese government's decision to 'lock-down' the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province and other major cities that were experiencing growing COVID-19 case rates as 'draconian.'

The spread of the virus slowed in China due to the 'extreme' measures they took, but pandora's box had been opened, and the virus had spread throughout the world. At this time, most of China is back to normal in terms of businesses being open, workers returning to factories, and most of the country no longer being in a lock-down situation. However, the lock-downs in China started on January 23rd, and Wuhan, for example, is still under strict movement rules.

In comparison, most European countries, the U.S., and other developed nations just went into 'restricted movement orders' in the last week of March. So, in those terms, China is two months ahead of the rest of the world in terms of fighting this disease and slowing economic activity as a form of fighting the spread of the disease. That also means they are likely two months ahead of the world in terms of when it comes to 'getting back to normal' or getting the economy back up and running.

So, since China is 'ahead' of everyone else, we could induce that some Chinese companies, mainly those who serve the Chinese people, will start to perform better financially, sooner than other companies around the world. This leads to the potential investment opportunity that is currently presenting itself in China, while the rest of the world is in a holding pattern waiting for the second shoe to fall before, they put more money to work in the markets.

So, let's take a look at a few ETFs that you can invest in today, which will give you exposure to the Chinese economy, and potentially a Continue reading "Now May Be The Best Time To Invest In China"

Maybe FAANG Isn't For You, But BAT May Be

Long before the trade war started, investors have been arguing over whether it’s better to invest in an established market like the US or growing, larger population market like China. This debate has stretched for years, well before the terms FAANG (Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN),Netflix (NFLX), and Alphabet (GOOG)(GOOGL)) or BAT (Baidu (BIDU), Alibaba (BABA), and Tencent (TCEHY)) were coined.

But now, as the trade war between China and the US continues to heat up, investors have been battling over another China Vs. US technology investments. Perhaps because these stocks have been monster winners and some believe that since these companies are mainly technology stocks, they will be exempt from the pain that could come from the trade war. However, while it is unknown how much the trade war will affect these big technology companies, it should be noted that if each country’s economy suffers from the new tariffs, that the FAANG and BAT stocks could feel some adverse effects.

But in the meantime, if you are still interested in finding some Exchange Traded Funds which will give you exposure to FAANG and BAT stocks, you are in luck. I recently highlighted a few FAANG related ETFs which you can read about here, or continue below for some BAT related ETFs. Continue reading "Maybe FAANG Isn't For You, But BAT May Be"