Taking on equity risk was well rewarded in 2013. It was especially so for shareholders in companies listed on the developed market exchanges led by the New York benchmark, the S&P 500, that returned an extraordinary near 30% annual return. Shareholders in the average Emerging Market (EM) company did not do nearly as well, having seen the USD value of their shares decline. However when measured in depreciated local currencies, strongly positive returns may have been earned on equities, as were provided for the rand investor on the JSE. Furthermore for local EM currency investors equities are likely to have performed much better than local currency bonds or cash as was decidedly the case for rand investors. Even long dated US Treasury Bonds did not provide positive returns in rands given rising long term rates in the US.
Read the full piece here: An overview on Asset Allocation for 2014
Mitzi I can answer this besacue my family lives down there! You are outside of my color planting schedule by about a month. The trick is, Las Vegas gets so hot in the summer, but you can grow almost all winter long. My book is really for a spring-summer-fall planting schedule. The dates I offer might work for you and others who live in warmer climates, but really have a spring-summer and a fall-winter season. I am very aware of your needs, and it’s on my list of things to research and write about. But honestly, I can’t speak from experience, only from my research. I encourage you to contact your local extension service (www.extension.org) for a recommended planting schedule.