Looking beyond daily market gyrations

By Dian Vujovich

Getting caught up in the daily swings within the stock markets world-wide is enough to make you reach for jug of Retsina. One swig of that Greek wine can pack enough wow-power to make what’s up look down and visa-versa. And, perhaps even open our minds to some new ways/places to invest.

On that high note, consider the following:

• The very wealthy. According to Bloomberg, yesterday’s equity crash, thanks to the economic woes in Greece and China, left a dent in the portfolios of the world’s richest 400 individuals. Those included in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index lost an average of $175 in their portfolios while the combined loss amounted to a hefty $70 billion.

On the other hand, Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote, was one of only a dozen people on that list who made money Monday. His fortune increased by $180 million. Lucky guy. (Source: Bloomberg.com)

• Water: a precious resource. As of June 25, the water level in Lake Mead was at its lowest level since 1937. Or, roughly 78 years. Lake Mead stores water from the Colorado River for delivery to homes, businesses and farms in Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico (Source: Lake Mead Water Database)

• Real estate. The average price of an existing home in America during the month of May was only 1 percent less that the record all-time high home price reached in July 2006; $228,700 vs. $230,200 respectively. (Source: National Association of Realtors)

• Back to the wealthy. No matter what we hear about the Chinese economy, many citizens in that country are moving from middle to upper class so fast a new term for them has been coined: High-speed households.

According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group, this group of consumers is expected to grow from 81 million to more than 142 million by 2020.

“These high-speed households will power consumer spending in the years ahead,” said Jeff Walters, a BCG partner and co-author of the report, Shanghai. “The overall economy may be slowing, but these more affluent consumers are optimistic about the future and their ability to increase their spending,” he said.
(Source: LuxuryDaily.com)