Focus on Earnings!

Apologies for my late entry, I was only able to update my other blog yesterday. Anyway, on with our weekly column.

Oil has gone down significantly from its highs, allowing for stocks to inch their way up. However, the lingering question still remains - is this the bottom for stock markets worldwide? I am of the opinion that it's not. In the US, the housing market continues to go down with only a few good news in between.

I don't have any figures or numbers to show you as my details are mostly taken from CNBC or Bloomberg. Apart from the housing problem in the US (which is address already by the US government), the credit crisis is still rearing its ugly head.

On the local front, people seem to have adjusted to the high oil and generally high prices prevalent in the market place. While its true that the cost of standard living has risen significantly, it's a known fact that prices INCREASE over the long term. Behind this rationale, it's not something surprising for all of us, especially those living in the Philippines, and I believe us Filipinos will learn to adapt quite faster than the norm in other countries.

Our stock market went up this week and it managed to stay above 2,500 on Friday's close. It will be interesting to see what will happen next week. My bold prediction is that sometime after September, well basically the 4th quarter, we'll have a good year end rally.

For now, let's look at corporate earnings of the domestic market and see listed companies are hurting from the surge in oil and commodities. Of note will be the following sector - real estate, banking and mining.

I wanted to blog longer but I have an appointment to attend to today. So catch you again next week! I already have something interesting in the pipeline so watch out!