To deal with rising inflation and global economic uncertainty, keep at least 30 percent of your investment portfolio in cash, an executive of Cathay Life, the nation's largest insurance company, advised yesterday.
"Cash is king. It is wiser to keep away from risks and uncertainties than to put your money in markets that are likely to decline by 10 percent to 20 percent this year," said Andrew Liu (劉上旗), who is both senior vice president of Cathay Life Insurance Group(國泰人壽) and chairman of the group's securities investment consulting firm.
He warned investors against possible stagflation in the US that could have a contagion effect on the global economy during a personal wealth management seminar yesterday.
"We are conservative on the prospects for the investment environment in 2008," Liu said. "A slowdown in growth, or possibly a recession in the US economy, in the midst of sky-rocketing energy prices would put the Federal Reserves in a dilemma."
Liu recommended Japan and Taiwan as two equities markets that were a safe bet for people who still had the appetite for higher risks and returns than can be had from time deposits.
"These two underperformers may fair better than others because of a relatively low base," Liu said.
Besides predicting an influx of cash fleeing from retreating markets, Liu was also hoping for an improvement in Taiwan-China relations following the presidential elections in March to lift the market out of the doldrums,.
Taiwan's TAIEX rose 8.72 percent last year, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 11 percent.
Although emerging markets and mutual funds investing in natural resources and commodities were still the top choices for long-term investment, Liu said investors who are planning to invest in those markets should beware of risks and volatilities in the short term.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
A German company is putting used electric vehicle batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size units that homes and businesses can use to store their excess solar and wind energy. This week, the company Voltfang — which means “catching volts” — opened its first industrial site in Aachen, Germany, near the Belgian and Dutch borders. With about 100 staff, Voltfang says it is the biggest facility of its kind in Europe in the budding sector of refurbishing lithium-ion batteries. Its CEO David Oudsandji hopes it would help Europe’s biggest economy ween itself off fossil fuels and increasingly rely on climate-friendly renewables. While
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial
RSS