Weekly Recap: Language & Decision Making

Equities

world equity markets 2014-05-09.2014-05-16

The Nifty put in a MODIfied return of +5.02% (+7.15% in USD terms) this week…

Major
DAX(DEU) +0.50%
CAC(FRA) -0.47%
UKX(GBR) +0.61%
NKY(JPN) -0.73%
SPX(USA) +0.22%
MINTs
JCI(IDN) +2.72%
INMEX(MEX) +0.84%
NGSEINDX(NGA) +1.21%
XU030(TUR) -0.76%
BRICS
IBOV(BRA) +1.31%
SHCOMP(CHN) +0.76%
NIFTY(IND) +5.02%
INDEXCF(RUS) +1.52%
TOP40(ZAF) +0.77%

Commodities

Energy
Brent Crude Oil +1.86%
Ethanol +3.47%
Heating Oil +1.60%
Natural Gas -2.41%
RBOB Gasoline +2.85%
WTI Crude Oil +2.45%
Metals
Copper +1.94%
Gold 100oz +0.47%
Palladium +1.89%
Platinum +2.51%
Silver 5000oz +1.05%

Currencies

USDEUR:+0.45% USDJPY:-0.25%

MINTs
USDIDR(IDN) -1.03%
USDMXN(MEX) -0.50%
USDNGN(NGA) +0.71%
USDTRY(TUR) +1.06%
BRICS
USDBRL(BRA) -0.23%
USDCNY(CHN) +0.09%
USDINR(IND) -2.07%
USDRUB(RUS) -1.34%
USDZAR(ZAF) -0.16%
Agricultural
Cattle -0.35%
Cocoa +2.99%
Coffee (Arabica) -0.19%
Coffee (Robusta) -0.81%
Corn -4.16%
Cotton -2.24%
Feeder Cattle +1.52%
Lean Hogs +4.06%
Lumber -3.78%
Orange Juice -2.81%
Soybean Meal -3.32%
Soybeans -2.50%
Sugar #11 +4.08%
Wheat -5.79%
White Sugar +4.18%

Nifty Heatmap

CNX NIFTY.2014-05-09.2014-05-16

Index returns

index performance.2014-05-09.2014-05-16

Top winners and losers

UNIONBANK +25.82%
CANBK +26.36%
PFC +27.98%
DRREDDY -11.45%
GLENMARK -7.09%
MCDOWELL-N -4.72%
Banks in, Pharma out…

ETFs

PSUBNKBEES +9.50%
BANKBEES +7.53%
JUNIORBEES +6.61%
INFRABEES +4.97%
NIFTYBEES +4.48%
GOLDBEES -2.25%
We were definitely risk ON this week…

Investment Theme Performance

High beta trumped every other strategy…

Sector Performance

sector performance.2014-05-09.2014-05-16

Yield Curve

yield Curve.2014-05-09.2014-05-16

Thought for the weekend

You are on a footbridge watching a trolley speeding down a track that will kill five unsuspecting people. You can push a fat man over the bridge onto the tracks to save the five. (You cannot stop the trolley by jumping yourself, only the fat man is heavy enough.) Would you do it?

If you thought the language in which a dilemma is posed should make no difference to how it is answered, think again!

Source: Gained in translation