ANALYSIS OF MAJOR WORLD INDICES & COMMODITIES
by Ashok Thakwani
February 26, 2006

I have been following Financial Sense since 2000 and have learned more from it about how financial markets operate than through all my academic life. There is no doubt about your views on the big picture -- namely the long-term decline in the US financial markets and the rise of Asia as the next powerhouse. The charts of the respective markets are telling the same story.

In my home country, India, the benchmark BSE Sensitive Index has more than tripled in the last three years along with a strengthening local currency the Rupee. In the past, though our markets did go up, they were not supported by the rise in the rupee.

As a keen reader of your website, I note that the rampant increase in money supply is powering all world indices to major highs. However the American indices have been much slower in their rise as compared to their international peers. One of the best momentum in 2006 to date has been is the Nikkei 225 index and I feel the trend to continue for rest of 2006. Shanghai Composite at 1296.87 has more or less bottomed out, though the momentum would take some more time to build up, maybe by the end of this year.

In the metals sector I feel that Gold will continue to rise though the turnaround-story would be in Palladium, which should produce the best price performance in the current year.

© 2006 Ashok Thakwani

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Ashok Thakwani
West Bengal, India
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The opinions of FSU contributors do not necessarily reflect those of Financial Sense.