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The heart of Markowitz’s research was grounded in the basic relationship between risk and rewardHarry M. Markowitz, an economist who launched a revolution in finance, upending traditional thinking about buying stocks, died Thursday in San Diego. He was 95. Markowitz won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1990 for his breakthrough research in stock market investments, what became known as ‘modern portfolio theory’, widely referred to as MPT. The death, at a hospital, was caused by pneumonia and sepsis, Mary McDonald, a longtime assistant to Markowitz, said, the New York Times (NYT) reported. In 1952, he published his...

China assesses its gold strategy By Russell Hsiao Chinese leaders convening in Beijing for the annual plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) - China's ceremonial legislature - this week will, among other things, hammer out a blueprint for the ascendancy of the country's currency, the yuan (or renminbi). China's 2010 economic blueprint, which was officially unveiled at the plenary's opening, set the country's target growth rate at the proverbial 8%, which is the rate Chinese economists deem sufficient to generate enough domestic demand to make up for dwindling exports to regions such as the United States and Europe....

China sells more US T-bonds By Shangguan Zhoudong (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2007-06-19 15:23 China sold more US treasury bonds in April than any time in at least seven years, a signal that the nation may be diversifying the world's largest foreign-exchange reserves, Shanghai Securities News reported today. Statistics from the US Treasury Department show that China sold a net US$5.8 billion of T-bonds, the first drop in holdings since October 2005. Japan remains the largest holder of US T-bonds, with its holdings reaching US$614.8 billion in April, according to the statistics. China remained the second-largest holder of US T-bonds, as its...

Some very worrisome news came out of China this Saturday — but it got a little more than a blip in the U.S. press. At a high-level financial conference this past weekend, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said, “China would actively explore and expand the channels and methods for using [its] foreign exchange reserves.” Considering that the bulk of China’s reserves are in U.S. dollars, it should send tremors about the future of the greenback. The dollar has been reeling in recent years. A shift by China out of dollars — as Wen is hinting — could be catastrophic. China’s reserves...

WILL CHINA LEAD A STAMPEDE OUT OF THE US DOLLAR? by Gary Dorsch Editor, Global Money Trends Magazine November 29, 2006 The $2 trillion per day foreign exchange market never sleeps. Yet for the past six months, the big-3 central banks, the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan managed to lull the currency markets into a deep trance. Since last May, the big-3 central banks corralled the US dollar to within a 3% to 5% trading range against the British pound, the Euro and Japanese yen. The big-3 central banks utilized their three major weapons,...

Diversification talk adds to euro debt glow Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:54 AM ET By Ana Nicolaci da Costa and George Matlock - Analysis LONDON (Reuters) - Renewed talk of central banks diversifying their foreign currency reserves out of dollars should add to the longer-term appeal of euro-denominated bonds. People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said earlier this month that China is looking to diversify its $1 trillion reserves across currencies and asset classes, sharpening a long-running debate about the dollar's dominance that has intensified since Europe's single currency was launched in 1999. PBOC Deputy Governor Wu Xiaoling fueled...

Dollar Drops as China to Diversify Holdings MoneyNews Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 LONDON -- The dollar sank to a two-month low on Friday after further comments from China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan on the bank's plans to diversify its $1 trillion in currency reserves, while European and Asia shares fell amid soft economic data. Already under pressure after a weak reading of U.S. consumer sentiment, the dollar extended Thursday's losses after Zhou said China had a clear plan to diversify its FX reserves. Zhou, speaking at a meeting of central bankers in Frankfurt, said diversification would include different currencies...

Dollar falls as speculators readjust positions By Steve JohnsonPublished: April 11 2005 11:34 | Last updated: April 11 2005 11:34 The US dollar extended its late Friday slide in European trade on Monday as technical factors held sway and the market eyed Tuesday's US trade data. Data released late on Friday from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission indicated that as of April 5, net short positions in the dollar had fallen to their lowest level since February 8, when the dollar's early-year rally hit a brick wall. Indeed, speculators had actually built up sizeable long dollar positions against both the...

In graduate school, every finance student is required to take the diversification class. This class is sacrosanct among all school curricula, particularly in graduate school. Graduate school is where all aspiring young investment advisors learn the special answer to all investment quandaries: diversify. When all else fails, diversify. If you're not sure what to do, diversify. If you're just getting started, diversify. If you're nearing retirement, diversify. If you're conservative, diversify. Aggressive? Diversify. If you hate your mother, want to lose weight, or drink too much? Diversify, diversify, diversify. Following the precepts of the diversification class, a wise investor with...